Joe Martinez, Jr. v. Sergeant Villanueva, et al.

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: November 17, 2025
• Docket: 1:24-cv-00527
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 JOE MARTINEZ, JR., Case No. 1:24-cv-00527-JLT-EPG (PC) 8 Plaintiff, SCHEDULING ORDER

9 Exhaustion Motions: February 18, 2026

10 v. Motions to Compel: June 18, 2026

11 Non-expert Discovery: July 17, 2026 12 SERGEANT VILLANUEVA, et al., Dispositive Motions: August 18, 2026 13 Defendant(s). 14 15 This Court now sets a schedule for this action through the filing of dispositive motions.1 16 I. DISCOVERY PROCEDURES 17 Discovery is now open, and the parties are granted leave to serve discovery requests. 18 Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1, 16, and 26–36, discovery shall proceed as 19 follows: 20 1. The parties may take the following types of discovery from other parties: 21 22 23 1 The Court notes that Plaintiff’s statement regarding scheduling and discovery indicates that he 24 believes that this case proceeds against Dr. Deborah Massetti: “Irrespective of exclusion of some named defendants during screening, Plaintiff has named by correction (Debbie) as Deborah Massetti, Chief 25 Operational Doctor, Madera County Jail by notice filed October 12, 2025.” (ECF No. 49, p. 4) (minor 26 alterations). However, the Court rejected this requested substitution in its October 22, 2025 minute order. (ECF No. 47). Further, Plaintiff filed a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, adding Dr. 27 Deborah Massetti as a defendant, on November 10, 2025, which remains pending. (ECF Nos. 52, 53). 28 Thus, this case does not currently proceed against Dr. Deborah Massetti. 1 a. Interrogatories (an interrogatory is a written question or request for 2 information and “may relate to any matter that may be inquired into under 3 Rule 26(b).” Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(2)); 4 b. Requests for Production (a request for production is a written request that the opposing party produce documents or electronically stored information, 5 “including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound 6 recordings, images, and other data or data compilations,” or a written request 7 that the opposing party produce any designated tangible things. Fed. R. Civ. 8 P. 34(a)(1)); 9 c. Requests for Admissions (a request for admission is a written request that 10 the opposing party “admit, for purposes of the pending action only, the truth 11 of any matters within the scope of Rule 26(b)(1)” that relate to “(A) facts, 12 the application of law to fact, or opinions about either; [or] (B) the 13 genuineness of any described documents.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(1)); and 14 d. Depositions (a deposition is where one party (or that party’s counsel) 15 questions someone under oath, and a court reporter is present to record 16 the proceedings). 17 1. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(a)(2)(B), 18 Defendant(s) may depose any witness confined in a prison on 19 the condition that, at least fourteen (14) days before such a 20 deposition, Defendant(s) serve all parties with the notice required 21 by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(1). Plaintiff’s failure to 22 participate in a properly noticed deposition could result in sanctions 23 against Plaintiff, including monetary sanctions and/or dismissal of this case. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(4), 24 the parties may take any deposition under this section by video 25 conference without a further motion or order of the Court, relieving 26 the court reporter of the requirement to be in the physical presence 27 28 1 of the witness under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 28(a)(1) 2 during that deposition. 3 2. If Plaintiff wishes to take a deposition, Plaintiff must file a motion 4 requesting the Court’s permission to do so. Before filing a motion, Plaintiff must contract with a licensed court reporter, also known as 5 Certified Shorthand Reporters (CSRs). CSRs are not court 6 employees; they are private individuals. Plaintiff is responsible for 7 paying CSRs their fees for taking the deposition and producing 8 a transcript. Plaintiff’s pro se or in forma pauperis status does not 9 entitle Plaintiff to a free deposition. Every motion for leave to take 10 deposition must include the name of the person to be deposed, 11 the name and contact information for the court reporter with whom 12 Plaintiff contracted, the estimated cost for the CSR’s time and the 13 recording, and the source of funds for payment of that cost, or the 14 motion may be summarily denied for failure to comply with this 15 order. The Court may request input from Plaintiff’s institution of 16 confinement to determine if the deposition(s) can proceed in a safe 17 and secure manner before ruling on a motion for a deposition. 18 2. A party may serve on any other party no more than 15 interrogatories, 15 requests for 19 production of documents, and 15 requests for admission. If a party wishes to serve 20 additional discovery requests, that party may file a motion for additional discovery 21 requests with the Court, explaining why additional discovery requests are necessary. 22 3. Discovery requests and responses should be sent to the opposing part(ies), or their 23 counsel if represented. They should not be filed with the Court. 4. Responses to written discovery requests shall be due forty-five (45) days after the 24 request is first served. This means that written discovery requests must be served 25 within a timeframe that allows the opposing party a forty-five (45) day period to 26 respond prior to the close of non-expert discovery. Any party who is served a request 27 where the forty-five (45) day period for response would end after the close of non- 28 1 expert discovery is entitled to object to that request on the ground that the request is 2 untimely. 3 5. Boilerplate objections are disfavored and may be summarily overruled by the Court. 4 Responses to document requests shall include all documents within a party’s possession, custody, or control. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1). Documents are deemed to be 5 within a party’s possession, custody, or control if the party has actual possession, 6 custody, or control thereof, or the legal right to obtain the property on demand. If 7 Defendant(s) cannot obtain documents from Plaintiff’s institution(s) of confinement, 8 Defendant(s) shall clearly respond that a third-party subpoena will be necessary to 9 obtain documents from Plaintiff’s institution(s) of confinement. 10 6. If any party or third party withholds a document on the basis of privilege, that party or 11 third party shall provide a privilege log to the requesting party identifying the date, 12 author, recipients, general subject matter, and basis of the privilege within thirty days 13 after the date that responses are due. Failure to provide a privilege log within this time 14 shall result in a waiver of the privilege. Additionally, if a party is claiming a right to 15 withhold witness statements and/or evidence gathered from investigation(s) into the 16 incident(s) at issue in the complaint based on the official information privilege or 17 confidentiality, the withholding party shall submit the withheld witness statements 18 and/or evidence to the Court for in camera review, along with an explanation of why 19 the witness statements and/or evidence should be withheld.2 The witness statements

20 2 See Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 94–95 (2006) (“[P]roper exhaustion improves the quality of those prisoner suits that are eventually filed because proper exhaustion often results in the creation of an 21 administrative record that is helpful to the court. When a grievance is filed shortly after the event giving 22 rise to the grievance, witnesses can be identified and questioned while memories are still fresh, and evidence can be gathered and preserved.”). 23 The “common law governmental privilege (encompassing and referred to sometimes as the official 24 or state secret privilege) . . . is only a qualified privilege, contingent upon the competing interests of the requesting litigant and subject to disclosure. . . .” Kerr v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for N. Dist. of Cal., 511 F.2d 192, 25 198 (9th Cir. 1975) (citations omitted). The Ninth Circuit has since followed Kerr in requiring in camera review and a balancing of interests in ruling on the government’s claim of the official information 26 privilege. See, e.g., Breed v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for N. Dist. of Cal., 542 F.2d 1114, 1116 (9th Cir. 1976) (“[A]s 27 required by Kerr, we recognize ‘that in camera review is a highly appropriate and useful means of dealing with claims of governmental privilege.’”) (quoting Kerr v. U. S. Dist. Ct. for N. Dist. of Cal., 426 U.S. 28 394, 406 (1976)); Sanchez v. City of Santa Ana, 936 F.2d 1027, 1033–34 (9th Cir. 1990), as amended on 1 and/or evidence shall be Bates stamped and emailed to 2 EPGorders@caed.uscourts.gov. The withholding party shall also file and serve a 3 notice that they have complied with this order. All other claims of privilege may be 4 challenged via a motion to compel. 7. If Plaintiff seeks documents from someone who is not a party in this case, Plaintiff 5 must file a request for the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum with the Court. In any 6 request for a subpoena, Plaintiff must: (1) identify the documents sought and from 7 whom; (2) explain why the documents are relevant to the claims in this case; and 8 (3) make a showing in the request that the records are only obtainable through a third 9 party. If the Court approves the request, it may issue Plaintiff a subpoena duces tecum, 10 commanding the production of documents from a non-party, and may command 11 service of the subpoena by the United States Marshals Service. Fed. R. Civ. P. 45; 28 12 U.S.C. § 1915(d). However, the Court will consider granting such a request only if the 13 documents sought from the non-party are not obtainable from Defendant(s) through a 14 Rule 34 request for production of documents. 15 8. The parties are required to act in good faith during the course of discovery and the 16 failure to do so may result in the payment of expenses pursuant to Federal Rule of 17 Civil Procedure 37(a)(5) or other appropriate sanctions authorized by the Federal 18 Rules of Civil Procedure or the Local Rules. 19 9. The parties have until June 18, 2026, to file motion(s) to compel further discovery 20 responses. Motions to compel can be used to challenge failure of a party to respond to 21 a discovery request, failure to produce documents on the basis of privilege, or failure 22 to produce privilege log. The motion(s) should include a copy of the request(s) and 23 any response to the request(s) at issue. 10. The Court will not require an informal discovery dispute conference prior to the filing 24 of any discovery motion. Nor are the parties required to follow the procedures set forth 25

26 denial of reh’g (Feb. 27, 1991), as amended on denial of reh’g (May 24, 1991) (“Government personnel 27 files are considered official information. To determine whether the information sought is privileged, courts must weigh the potential benefits of disclosure against the potential disadvantages. If the latter is greater, 28 the privilege bars discovery.”) (citations omitted). 1 in Local Rule 251 for dealing with discovery motions, including the preparation of a 2 joint discovery statement. Instead, the parties shall follow the briefing schedule 3 provided by Local Rule 230(l) for any discovery motion brought pursuant to Federal 4 Rules of Civil Procedure 26–37 and 45. 11. The parties are advised that each party is responsible for planning and timing their 5 own discovery. This means that the Court will not sua sponte extend the deadline for 6 any party to file motions to compel or to respond and/or serve written discovery 7 requests. 8 II. PAGE LIMITS, COURTESY COPIES, AND REQUIREMENT TO RESPOND 9 The parties are advised that unless prior leave of the Court is obtained before the filing 10 deadline,3 all moving and opposition briefs or legal memoranda shall not exceed twenty-five (25) 11 pages. Reply briefs by the moving party shall not exceed ten (10) pages. These page limits do not 12 include exhibits. The parties shall not file multiple or supplemental briefs to circumvent this rule. 13 Unless otherwise ordered, all motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, motions 14 concerning discovery, motions pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 7, 11, 12, 15, 41, 55, 15 56, 59 and 60, and Local Rule 110, shall be briefed pursuant to Local Rule 230(l).4 Failure to 16 timely oppose such a motion may be deemed a waiver of opposition to the motion. Local Rule 17 230(l). Unsigned affidavits or declarations will be stricken, and affidavits or declarations not 18 signed under penalty of perjury have no evidentiary value. Opposition to all other motions need 19 be filed only as directed by the court. 20 Pursuant to Local Rule 133(j), depositions should not be filed. However, counsel 21 referencing a deposition in any filing must submit pertinent portions of the deposition as 22 exhibit(s). In addition, counsel should also email a copy of the entire deposition as a .pdf file to 23 EPGorders@caed.uscourts.gov “and concurrently email or otherwise transmit the deposition to all other parties.” L.R. 133(j). Counsel should not email links to file sharing services that require the 24 Court to download the deposition. 25 26 27 3 Parties may seek leave by filing a short motion. 28 4 As noted below, the deadline to file oppositions is different for dispositive motions. 1 III. NON-EXPERT DISCOVERY DEADLINE 2 The deadline for the completion of all non-expert discovery is July 17, 2026. As 3 discussed above, this deadline includes all written discovery requests and responses. Any written 4 discovery request must be made so that the opposing party is allowed the entire amount of time allotted for response by this deadline. 5 IV. EXHAUSTION MOTION DEADLINE 6 The deadline for Defendant(s) to present any challenge for failure to exhaust 7 administrative remedies is February 18, 2026.5 Failure to raise the exhaustion defense by this 8 deadline will result in waiver of the defense. See Albino v. Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1170 (9th Cir. 9 2014) (providing that the exhaustion question should be decided as early as feasible). 10 V. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS DEADLINE 11 The deadline for filing dispositive motions, including motions for summary judgment 12 (other than dispositive motions based on the defense of failure to exhaust administrative 13 remedies), is August 18, 2026. The deadline to file oppositions to dispositive motions, including 14 motions for summary judgment, is thirty days from the date the motion is filed. The deadline to 15 file replies to oppositions is fourteen days from the date the opposition is filed. If a party needs 16 an extension of any of these deadlines, that party may file a motion for an extension of time. 17 If Defendant(s) file a motion for summary judgment, Defendant(s) shall simultaneously 18 provide Plaintiff with the notice and warning required by Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952 (9th 19 Cir. 1998). In addition to the language suggested by Rand in Appendix A of that opinion, id. at 20 962, this notice must also include a short and plain statement of the Local Rule 260 requirements 21 and be titled “This Notice is Required to be Given to you by the Court.” 22 The parties are also advised of the following requirements regarding motions for summary 23 judgment contained in the Local Rules: (a) Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication. Each motion 24 for summary judgment or summary adjudication shall be accompanied by a 25 “Statement of Undisputed Facts” that shall enumerate discretely each of the specific material facts relied upon in support of the motion and cite the 26 particular portions of any pleading, affidavit, deposition, interrogatory

27 5 If Defendant(s) need an extension of this deadline, Defendant(s) shall file a motion requesting an 28 extension of this deadline. 1 answer, admission, or other document relied upon to establish that fact. The moving party shall be responsible for the filing of all evidentiary documents 2 cited in the moving papers. See L.R. 133(j). 3 (b) Opposition. Any party opposing a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication shall reproduce the itemized facts in the Statement of 4 Undisputed Facts and admit those facts that are undisputed and deny those that are disputed, including with each denial a citation to the particular 5 portions of any pleading, affidavit, deposition, interrogatory answer, 6 admission, or other document relied upon in support of that denial. The opposing party may also file a concise “Statement of Disputed Facts,” and 7 the source thereof in the record, of all additional material facts as to which there is a genuine issue precluding summary judgment or adjudication. The 8 opposing party shall be responsible for the filing of all evidentiary documents cited in the opposing papers. See L.R. 133(j). If a need for 9 discovery is asserted as a basis for denial of the motion, the party opposing 10 the motion shall provide a specification of the particular facts on which discovery is to be had or the issues on which discovery is necessary. 11 Local Rule 260(a)–(b). 12 If Defendant(s) file a motion for summary judgment, the accompanying Statement of 13 Undisputed facts shall contain an additional blank column titled “Plaintiff’s Response and 14 Supporting Evidence,” which Plaintiff may use to respond to each fact. Here is an example of a 15 format Defendant(s) may follow: 16 Supporting Plaintiff’s Response and Number Undisputed Material Fact 17 Evidence Supporting Evidence 18 On X date, Plaintiff was confined X Decl. ¶ 20. 1. at X institution. 19 2. The X incident alleged in the X interrogatory 20 complaint happened on X date. response. 21 3. Plaintiff saw Dr. Y on X date. Y Decl. ¶ 45. 22 Plaintiff may use Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts to comply with requirements 23 of Local Rule 260(b), which requires the responding party to “reproduce the itemized facts in the 24 Statement of Undisputed Facts and admit those facts that are undisputed and deny those that are 25 disputed, including with each denial a citation to the particular portions of any pleading, affidavit, 26 deposition, interrogatory answer, admission, or other document relied upon in support of that 27 denial.” For example, Plaintiff may complete it as follows: 28 ] ° gps Number Undisputed Material Fact Supporting Plaintiff s Response and 4 Evidence Supporting Evidence 3 1 On X date, Plaintiff was confined | X Decl. ¥ 20. Admitted. at X institution. 4 2. The X incident alleged in the X interrogatory Denied. PI. deposition 5 complaint happened on X date. response. at 2:4-6. 6 Plaintiff saw Dr. Y on X date. Y Decl. 4 45. 7 | VI. FURTHER DATES AND DEADLINES 8 If this case is still proceeding after dispositive motions have been resolved, or if no 9 | dispositive motions are filed, the Court will set expert disclosure deadlines,° a pretrial conference, 10 || pretrial deadlines, and a trial date. 11 Additionally, within fourteen days after a final ruling on any dispositive motion, if the 12 | case proceeds, Defendant(s) shall confer with Plaintiff and file a report indicating each party’s 13 position on whether a settlement conference would be productive. 14 VII. EFFECT OF THIS ORDER 15 This order represents the Court’s best estimated schedule through dispositive motions.

16 Any party unable to comply with the dates outlined in this order shall immediately file an appropriate motion or stipulation identifying the requested modification(s). 17 The dates set in this order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent 18 a showing of good cause, even if a stipulation to modify is filed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). 19 Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions. 20 21 | SO ORDERED. 22 . pP 4 . Dated: _ November 17, 2025 [spe Fy —— 23 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 {—§_ -—AA ® While the Court is not setting a deadline for expert disclosures at this time, the parties may 27 provide their expert disclosures at any time. Such disclosures must conform with Federal Rule of Civil 28 Procedure 26(a)(2)(B)-(C).