Castillo v. Solano County Jail, et al
Filing
40
ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 3/4/10 ORDERING that 33 Motion to Compel is GRANTED IN PART; Defendants shall provide, within 21 days of the filing date of this order, all of the documents sought by plaintiff in his Request fo r Production of Documents; Plaintiff shall, within 21 days of the filing date of this order, file with the court and serve upon defendants, two Amended Requests for Admission; Defendants shall, within 14 days after service of plaintiffs Request(s) for Admissions, serve their answers upon plaintiff and file copies with the court; discovery deadline and deadline for filing substantive motions are vacated pending further order of this court. (Dillon, M)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 This action is referred to a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), Local General Order No. 262, and E.D. Cal. L.R. ("Local Rule") 302. 1
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA REYNALDO JOSHUA CASTILLO, Plaintiff, vs. SOLANO COUNTY JAIL, et al., Defendant. / Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action was reassigned to the undersigned on February 9, 2010.1 Presently pending are: (1) defendants' motion for summary judgment filed September 9, 2009 (Dkt. No. 29); and (2) plaintiff's motion to compel discovery filed November 17, 2009 (Dkt. No. 33). The discovery deadline in this action was November 30, 2009, with dispositive motions due by March 22, 2010. (Dkt. No. 25). For the following reasons, defendants shall be ordered to show cause for their failure substantively to respond to plaintiff's discovery motion. Defendants filed their motion for summary judgment more than six months before ORDER and ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE No. 2:08-cv-3080 GEB KJN P
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the discovery deadline. In response to plaintiff's subsequent but timely-filed motion to compel discovery,2 defendants failed to respond to the substance of plaintiff's motion, characterizing it as a "purported" motion and complaining that plaintiff had failed to comply with the meet and confer and joint statement requirements of Local Rule 251. (See Dkt. No. 38.) However, in this court's Discovery and Scheduling Order filed July 7, 2009, this court explicitly stated that "unless otherwise ordered, Local Rule 37-251 shall not apply." (See Dkt. No. 25, at 5:20.) Moreover, review of plaintiff's motion demonstrates legitimate confusion concerning defendants' production through the California Forensic Medical Group ("Group") of plaintiff's medical record, but defendants apparent refusal to disclose other requested documents because they are not in defendants' possession but in the possession of the "Group." Further, while plaintiff's Request for Admissions set forth compound statements not amenable to straightforward answers, plaintiff will be given an opportunity to serve amended requests. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. Plaintiff's motion to compel discovery (Dkt. No. 33) is granted in part. 2. Defendants shall provide, within twenty-one days of the filing date of this order, all of the documents sought by plaintiff in his Request for Production of Documents (see Dkt. No. 33-2, at 1-6), which shall be confirmed in a response filed in this court by the same deadline, and/or defendants shall substantively explain to plaintiff and the court their requestspecific rationale for refusing disclosure. Defendants shall respond to the substance of plaintiff's motion, not merely reiterate the objections set forth in defendants' discovery responses. 3. Plaintiff shall, within twenty-one days of the filing date of this order, file with the court and serve upon defendants, two Amended Requests for Admission written and addressed, respectively, separately to each defendant; the requests may be the same, or different, for each defendant. Plaintiff seeks: (1) production of documents responsive to his Request for Production Nos. 1-3, 5 and 6; and (2) answers to his Request for Admissions, Nos. 1-20. 2
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4. Defendants shall, within fourteen days after service of plaintiff's Request(s) for Admissions, serve their answers upon plaintiff and file copies with the court. 5. The discovery deadline and deadline for filing substantive motions are vacated pending further order of this court. SO ORDERED. DATED: March 4, 2010
_____________________________________ KENDALL J. NEWMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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