Stelter v. Pollard et al

Filing 59

ORDER signed by Judge Pamela Pepper on 12/14/2015 DENYING 58 Motion to Compel. (cc: all counsel; by US Mail to plaintiff) (pwm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
______________________________________________________________________________
ANTHONY B. STELTER,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 14-cv-904-pp

ANTHONY MELI,
RANDY VANDE SLUNT,
BELINDA SCHRUBBE,
PAULA TIRAVEECULA,
JAY CERNY, and
CORY SABISH,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL (DKT. NO. 58)
______________________________________________________________________________
On October 15, 2015, the plaintiff filed a motion to compel the defendant
to produce the results of an MRI he underwent on August 26, 2015. Dkt. No.
58. He also asks the court to order that all tests or lab results done from now
on be provided to him in a timely manner. Id.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, a party may file a motion to
compel discovery where another party fails to respond to interrogatories or
requests for production of documents. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3)(B)(iii) and (iv).
The movant “must include a certification that the movant has in good faith
conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make
disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.” Fed. R.
Civ. P. 37(a)(1). Additionally, Civil Local Rule 37 requires the movant to “recite
the date and time of the conference or conferences and the names of all parties
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participating in the conference or conferences.” A motion to compel discovery
pursuant to Rule 37(a) is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court.
EEOC v. Klockner H & K Machines, Inc., 168 F.R.D. 233, 235 (E.D. Wis. 1996)
(citation omitted).
What this means is that, if a party wants the other side to give him
certain discovery, he first must ask the other side for it (complying with
discovery procedures in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure listed above). If the
other side doesn’t give the requesting party what he’s asking for, the requesting
party must try, in good faith, to discuss the issue with the other side. He must
ask why they won’t give him what he’s asking for, and see if there’s anything he
can do to address their concerns so that they can give him what he’s asking
for. Only if the requesting party has (a) made a proper request, (b) had the
other side refuse to comply with it, and (c) made a good-faith effort to work out
the dispute may the requesting party file a motion to compel. And the
requesting party has to attach to the motion to compel the certification
discussed above—the one that says that he made that good-faith effort. It
doesn’t appear that the plaintiff has done any of that here. His motion doesn’t
indicate that he made a proper discovery demand to defendant Schrubbe,
asking for the MRI results and documentation. He doesn’t indicate that the
defendant refused to turn over the information. And he doesn’t indicate that he
made a good-faith effort to communicate with the defendant about getting the
documents.

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For these reasons, the court DENIES the plaintiff’s motion to compel.
Dkt. No. 58. The plaintiff is free to ask the defendant for the information he
seeks.
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 14th day of December, 2015.

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