Peralta v. Martel et al
Filing
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ORDER denying 34 Motion to Compel signed by Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows on 11/10/11. (Plummer, M)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CION PERALTA,
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Plaintiff,
No. CIV S-09-3228 GEB GGH P
vs.
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MICHAEL MARTEL, et al.,
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Defendants.
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ORDER
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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to
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42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges that, at Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP), inmates classified
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as close-B and serving life sentences are not allowed to work. Plaintiff alleges that the named
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defendants have refused to obey the law requiring them to offer jobs to inmates classified as
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close-B and with life terms. Pending before the court is plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery
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(Doc. 34), filed September 16, 2011.
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Motion to Compel Discovery
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A party may bring a motion to compel discovery when another party has failed to
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respond or respond adequately to a discovery request. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3). A party may
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“obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or
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defense” but “for good cause, the court may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject
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matter involved in the action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b). As the moving party, plaintiff bears the
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burden of informing the court which discovery requests are the subject of his motion to compel
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and for each disputed response, why defendants’ objections are not justified or why the response
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provided is deficient.
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By this motion, plaintiff seeks an order compelling documents and answers to
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twenty interrogatories. However, plaintiff has not set forth the documents requested, the
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interrogatories, defendants’ objections, or why the court should compel discovery. Plaintiff
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merely states that defendants have violated the rules of the court.
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Fortunately, defendants have provided the necessary information regarding the
discovery requests and the interrogatories. With regard to plaintiff’s document request, he made
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only one, seeking defendants to turn over any documents being relevant to these proceedings.
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Opposition, Carroll Decl. Exh. B. Defendants correctly objected to this request as being overly
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broad, and this request is therefore denied.
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With respect to the interrogatories, plaintiff sent a letter to defendants seeking
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answers to interrogatories 13, 14, 16, 17 and 25. Motion to Compel, Exh. A. As plaintiff’s
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motion did not specifically address what discovery he sought the court to compel, defendants
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addressed the interrogatories from the letter. Plaintiff then filed a reply (Doc. 37), that provided
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a few specific discovery requests, but did not address the interrogatories from his letter. As the
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court cannot guess as to what interrogatories are at issue, the court will address those discussed in
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plaintiff’s reply. The court will not review every interrogatory as plaintiff has failed to describe
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why the court should compel their answers, and plaintiff bears the burden.
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It is not clear if this request was ever formally made to defendants as it does not
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appear in plaintiff’s interrogatory requests, but plaintiff states defendants did not truthfully
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answer the question: “Do you admit that the plaintiff has already received an order to show cause
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in this matter in case no. C05645 in the California Court of Appeals-Third Appellate District in
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Sacramento?” Plaintiff provides a copy of the order to show cause issued by the state court, so to
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the extent defendants may not have been aware of this case, they have been notified.
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Plaintiff seeks the court to compel an answer from interrogatory set 1, no. 2:
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What is the Policy of Mule Creek State prison regarding Close-B custody inmates
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working inside of the Plant Operations Department? Opposition, Carroll Declaration, Exh. D.
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Defendants answered:
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Objection. Vague, ambiguous, and overly broad as to time, “Policy,” and “Close-
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B custody inmates.” Not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence as
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there is no indication that plaintiff has pursued a job assignment in the Plant Operations
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Department. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Without waiving these objections, responding parties
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answer as follows: MCSP DOM Supplement Section 53130.9 provides that special skills and/or
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sensitive positions (i.e., clerks and teacher’s aides) shall be interviewed by the prospective
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supervisor before being assigned from the appropriate wait list. Additionally, MCSP DOM
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Supplement Section 53130 provides that inmates serving a life term who are being considered for
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assignment as plumbers, stationary engineers, painters, and carpenters will require a case-by-
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case- review by the Facility UCC. If UCC recommends the assignment, the case will be referred
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to ICC for review and/or denial/approval. Opposition, Carroll Declaration, Exh. D.
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Plaintiff argues that these committees always deny close-B inmates from
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obtaining jobs. While this may or may not be true, with respect to discovery, defendants have
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sufficiently provided an answer regarding the policy of close-B inmates working at this
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department, thus there is nothing for the court to compel.
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Plaintiff seeks the court to compel an answer from interrogatory set 1, no. 9:
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Is the staff at MCSP following the CCR Title 15 § 3377.1 (a)(4)(B) regarding
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whom this prison will and will not allow to work in Plant Operations, Maintenance, and Prison
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Industry Authority? Opposition, Carroll Declaration, Exh. C.
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Defendants answered “Yes.” Opposition, Carroll Declaration, Exh. D. However,
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plaintiff disagrees with this answer. The court is unable to compel defendants to change their
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answer, thus this request is denied.
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Plaintiff raises the same objection to another request from interrogatory set 1, no.
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11, regarding if there are currently any close-B inmates working in the Plant Operations
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Department. Defendants answered “Yes,” but plaintiff disagrees. Opposition, Carroll
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Declaration, Exh. D. Similarly, the court cannot compel a different answer and this request is
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denied.
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The remainder of plaintiff’s reply does not provide any more specific discovery
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requests, except for saying that defendants are being evasive on at least ten interrogatories and
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refused to give answers on five interrogatories, without citing the specific interrogatory at issue.
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For the reasons stated above, the motion to compel is denied and to the extent plaintiff seeks
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sanctions, any such request is denied.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to compel (Doc.
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34) is denied.
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DATED: November 10, 2011
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/s/ Gregory G. Hollows
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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