Holmes v. Tacoma Public School District No. 10 et al

Filing 29

ORDER denying 20 Motion to Compel signed by Judge Benjamin H. Settle.(TG)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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SANDRA HOLMES,

CASE NO. C16-5317 BHS
Plaintiff,

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v.

ORDER DENYING
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO
COMPEL

TACOMA PUBLIC SCHOOL
DISTRICT NO. 10,

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Defendant.
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This matter comes before the Court on Defendants Tacoma School District’s
(“District”) motion to compel discovery (Dkt. 20), the Court’s order requesting a joint
status report (Dkt. 27), and the parties’ response (Dkt. 28).
On December 13, 2016, the District served Plaintiff Sandra Holmes (“Holmes”)
with discovery requesting the sources and amount of her income since leaving
employment with the District. Dkt. 20 at 1. On April 27, 2017, the District filed the
instant motion asserting that Holmes has failed to fully comply and requesting that the
Court order complete production of the financial information. Id. Holmes’s only defense
is that production is ongoing and is difficult because it involves interacting with various

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ORDER - 1

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government agencies. Dkt. 22. The District contends that, while obtaining the requested

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information may be difficult, Holmes has failed to show diligence in corresponding with

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the agencies. Dkt. 25.

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On June 1, 2017, the Court requested a status report because the production

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appeared to be ongoing and the extent of prejudice to the District was unknown. Dkt. 27.

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On June 16, 2017, the parties responded stating that Holmes had produced all requested

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information, except for payment history from the Social Security Administration

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(“SSA”). Dkt. 28. Holmes, however, has signed a release to acquire the SSA

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information and the documents have been requested. Thus, the only remaining dispute is

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whether the District is entitled to sanctions for having to seek the Court’s involvement.

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The Court concludes that sanctions are not appropriate at this time and defers ruling on

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this issue. If Holmes is responsible for additional discovery problems, then the Court will

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revisit the issue of sanctions. Accordingly, the District’s motion is DENIED as moot.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated this 20th day of June, 2017.

A

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BENJAMIN H. SETTLE
United States District Judge

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ORDER - 2