Dryden v. State of Nevada

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedFebruary 10, 2020
Docket2:16-cv-01227
StatusUnknown

This text of Dryden v. State of Nevada (Dryden v. State of Nevada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dryden v. State of Nevada, (D. Nev. 2020).

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3 * * *

4 BRYAN DRYDEN, Case No. 2:16-cv-01227-JAD-EJY

5 Plaintiff, ORDER 6 v.

7 STATE OF NEVADA, et al.,

8 Defendants.

9 10 Before the Court is Plaintiff Bryan Dryden’s First Motion to Compel Discovery (ECF No. 11 106); Plaintiff’s Second Motion to Compel Discovery (ECF No. 107); Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint 12 Private Investigator (ECF No. 108); Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel (ECF No. 109); 13 Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 110); Plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary 14 Restraining Order (ECF No. 111); Plaintiff’s Third Motion to Compel Discovery (ECF No. 120); 15 Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Reply to Defendants’ Opposition for a Preliminary Injunction 16 and Temporary Restraining Order (ECF No. 124); Plaintiff’s Fourth Motion to Compel Discovery 17 (ECF No. 125); and, Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend Discovery (ECF No. 127). The Court has also 18 reviewed Defendants Ted Nielson and Kenneth Osborne’s Response to Plaintiff’s First Motion to 19 Compel Discovery (ECF No. 114); Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Second Motion to Compel 20 Discovery (ECF No. 115); Plaintiff’s Reply to Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s First and Second 21 Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF No. 121); Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Motion to 22 Appoint Private Investigator (ECF No. 118); Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Motion for 23 Appointment of Counsel (ECF No. 119); Plaintiff’s Reply to Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s 24 Motion for Appointment of Counsel and Private Investigator (ECF No. 123); Defendants’ Response 25 to Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 116); Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s 26 Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (ECF No. 117); Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Third 27 Motion to Compel Discovery (ECF No. 122); and, Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Fourth 1 I. BACKGROUND 2 Plaintiff Bryan Dryden is an inmate incarcerated in the Nevada Department of Corrections 3 (“NDOC”), and currently housed at High Desert State Prison (“HDSP”). Plaintiff alleges that on 4 January 8, 2014, Defendant Correctional Officer (“CO”) Kenneth Osborne placed Plaintiff, a 5 Protective Custody (“PC”) inmate, in a transport van full of General Population (“GP”) inmates at 6 the Clark County Detention Center (“CCDC”). ECF No. 35 at 6–7. Osborne allegedly informed the 7 GP inmates that Plaintiff was a “snitch” and was supplying evidence to the state of Nevada, leading 8 the GP inmates to threaten to kill Plaintiff and make aggressive derogatory remarks. Id. at 7. 9 Plaintiff supposedly yelled for the officers to help him at which point another CO, Defendant Ted 10 Nielson, “ordered the plaintiff against the wall[] while plaintiff was in [f]ull restraints[,] . . . slammed 11 plaintiff into the wall [and] into the transport van . . . in plain view of the jail cameras, caus[ed] 12 Plaintiff’s eyebrow to lacerate, and threatened to murder plaintiff.” Id. Once the transport van 13 arrived at HDSP, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Nielson continued his assault in plain view of 14 Sergeant Joseph who failed to stop Nielson from supposedly beating Plaintiff.1 Id. at 7. After 15 sending Plaintiff to the infirmary for treatment, Defendant Nielson warned Plaintiff to “[n]ot [f]ile a 16 grievance or else.” Id. at 8. Approximately three weeks later, on January 29, 2014, Plaintiff alleges 17 Defendant Nielson threw him against a wall, and warned Plaintiff that if he continued with the 18 grievance process, Nielson would find a way to kill him. ECF No. 106 at 3. 19 On June 18, 2019, Plaintiff claims Defendant Nielson placed Plaintiff in a court holding tank 20 full of GP inmates. ECF Nos. 110 and 111 at 3. Plaintiff contends that his experience is one of 21 numerous similar events over the last few months in which a PC inmate has been deliberately placed 22 into holding tanks with GP inmates, with COs urging GP inmates to beat the PC inmate and 23 rewarding them for doing so. Id. at 4. Despite filing multiple grievances repeating these allegations, 24 25 26

27 1 As of the May 22, 2018 Screening Order issued by United States District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey, Sergeant 1 Plaintiff claims NDOC Warden Brian E. Williams, Sr. has denied that Defendant Nielson has had 2 any contact with Plaintiff. Id. at 5. The most recent denial allegedly occurred on June 18, 2019.2 3 Id. 4 On June 23, 2019, NDOC issued an Inmate Grievance Report denying Plaintiff’s grievance 5 and stating:

6 When it became apparent that inmate Dryden, Bryan . . . was on a randomly assigned court transport run with Officer Ted Nielson, it was immediately decided 7 to have the second Transport Officer Adam Burnside be the hands on escorting Officer for [inmate] Dryden. The Transportation Office was notified. Correctional 8 Officer Neilson [sic] had no conversation with inmate Dryden and no direct contact. Inmate Dryden has made false claims of assault against C/O Nielson prior. In lieu 9 of that, the NDOC Lieutenant has ordered that C/O Nielson not to be involved in any future escorts involving inmate Dryden. 10 Id. at 9 (“Inmate Grievance Report”). 11 A. Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF Nos. 106, 107, 120, 125) 12 To date, Plaintiff has filed four Motions to Compel. Id. Plaintiff’s First Motion to Compel 13 asks the Court to compel Defendant Kenneth Olson to fully answer Interrogatory No. 4 (set one) 14 signed June 24, 2019.3 ECF No. 106 at 1. Plaintiff also asks the Court to compel (1) the Attorney 15 General’s Office to produce CCDC carport camera footage for January 8, 2014 from approximately 16 noon to 2 p.m., and (2) the Clerk of Court to subpoena the Attorney General’s Office for camera 17 footage of the court holding tanks in the hallway next to Metro. Id. at 3. Finally, Plaintiff asks the 18 Court for assistance in obtaining camera footage from CCDC of the court holding tank where 19 Plaintiff claims he was singled out by Ted Nielson on June 18, 2019. Id. at 4. 20 With respect to Interrogatory No. 4, in addition to objections, Defendant Osborne responded 21 that he has no “specific knowledge regarding the cameras at court holding on January 8, 2014, or 22 any other date.” ECF No. 114-2 (Defendant Osborne’s Answer to Interrogatory No. 4) at 4. 23 Defendants reiterate this fact in their Opposition to Plaintiff’s First Motion to Compel and further 24

2 Warden Williams was dismissed from this case on May 22, 2018. ECF No. 34. 26

3 Plaintiff’s Interrogatory No. 4 asks Defendant Kenneth Osborne: “What do you know about the cameras at 27 court holding on Jan. 8, 2014, under carport 8, in the hallways? Expectations of P.Q.#4…To establish grounds for a 1 state that “Osborne is a NDOC Corrections officer and does not have any knowledge of the camera 2 system at either the court or CCDC, as neither the court nor CCDC are NDOC facilities.” ECF No. 3 114 at 4-5. 4 Plaintiff’s Second Motion to Compel requests the Court compel Defendant Nielson and 5 Deputy Attorney General “M. Feeley” to produce the January 8, 2014 Inspector General report 6 “involving Ted Neilson [sic].” ECF No. 107 at 1–2. Plaintiff represents that he “submitted a written 7 request for these documents . . . on May 18, 2019,” but the documents have not been received. Id. 8 at 2:4–7. Defendant Nielson objected to Plaintiff’s request because it assumes a battery occurred, 9 which Defendant disputes. ECF No. 115-2 (Defendant Nielson’s Response to Plaintiff’s Request 10 for Production of Documents No. 1) at 5. In their Opposition to Plaintiff’s Second Motion to 11 Compel, Defendants explain that Nielson “is a NDOC Corrections Officer and does not work for the 12 Inspector General’s Office. Defendant Nielson is not in possession of an I.G. report concerning the 13 January 8, 2014 incident nor is he aware if the report even exists.” ECF No. 115 at 4.

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Dryden v. State of Nevada, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dryden-v-state-of-nevada-nvd-2020.