Adams v. Lewis

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA

CHRISTOPHER ADAMS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No.: 1:22-CV-125-SKL ) RANDALL LEWIS, ) FRANK STRADA, and ) SHAWN PHILLIPS, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER Defendants have filed a motion for leave to depose Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 [Doc. 82]. Because Defendants seek to depose an incarcerated witness, the Court’s authorization is required. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(a)(2)(B). Plaintiff initiated this action. “It is axiomatic that when a party initiates a lawsuit. . . the opposing party has the presumptive right to depose him.” In re Ohio Execution Protocol Litig., No. 2:11-CV-1016, 2019 WL 11851135, at *2 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 23, 2019). And Plaintiff’s sworn testimony constitutes discoverable information under Rule 26(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b). Therefore, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion [Doc. 82]. Defendants may depose Plaintiff at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center at a time that is mutually agreed upon by the parties and Plaintiff’s custodians, and the deposition may be recorded by videographic and stenographic means. SO ORDERED.

ENTER: s/Susan K. Lee SUSAN K. LEE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE