Marquis D. Turner v. A. Yers

Opinion

6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 MARQUIS D. TURNER, Case No. 1:25-cv-00677-EPG (PC) 10 Plaintiff, ORDER AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF 11 SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM AND SETTING v. DEADLINES 12 A. YERS, AND 13 Defendant. ORDER DIRECTING CLERK 14 TO SEND PLAINTIFF A COPY OF FORM AO 88B AND FORM USM-285 15 Plaintiff Marquis D. Turner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in 16 this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 17 In his amended complaint, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant A. Yers, a nursing assistant at 18 the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (“CSATF”), sexually harassed him on May 19 27, 2024, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. (ECF No. 13). Following screening, the Court 20 found Plaintiff’s claim cognizable (ECF No. 14 at 5) and ordered service of the complaint under 21 the Court’s E-Service pilot program for civil rights cases by providing copies of relevant 22 documents electronically to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 23 (“CDCR”) and the California Attorney General’s Office (ECF No. 15). 24 In response, the CDCR timely filed with the Court its Notice of Intent to Not Waive 25 Service. (ECF No. 18). In the Notice, CDCR indicated that it was “unable to identify” Defendant 26 Yers as “[n]o record of employee by this name at CDCR.” (Id.). On May 5, 2026, the 27 U.S. Marshals Service returned the summons unexecuted and advised that A. Yers was not at the 28 service address. No alternate address was provided. (ECF No. 19). 1 To proceed against Defendant Yers, Plaintiff must identify an alternate address and serve 2 this Defendant. Plaintiff will have an opportunity to seek information to learn Defendant Yers’ 3 current address and contact information. However, it remains Plaintiff’s responsibility to serve 4 Defendant Yers. Although Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1) generally provides that “[a] party may 5 not seek discovery from any source before the parties have conferred as required by Rule 26(f),” a 6 party may do so “when authorized . . . by court order.” Here, the Court finds good cause to permit 7 Plaintiff to issue a subpoena duces tecum for the limited purpose of discovering the current 8 address and contact information for Defendant A. Yers so that this case may proceed. See Malibu 9 Media, LLC v. Doe, 319 F.R.D. 299, 305 (E.D. Cal. 2016) (noting that a court may permit, for 10 good cause, early discovery to learn the identities of Doe defendants). 11 Accordingly, the Court will authorize the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to seek 12 documents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Clerk of Court 13 is directed to send Plaintiff one copy of form AO 88B and one copy of form USM-285, to be 14 completed by Plaintiff. When completing these subpoena forms, Plaintiff should only request 15 documents that may assist him in identifying the current address and other relevant contact 16 information for Defendant Yers. The CDCR may provide the confidential information directly to 17 the Court. See Kindred v. Cabrera, No. 1:19-CV-00901-JLT-EPG, 2022 WL 1017938, at *1 18 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 5, 2022). 19 On the AO 88B form, in the section that beings with “To: (Name of person to whom this 20 subpoena is directed),” Plaintiff should identify the person or entity he is seeking the documents 21 from. Because Plaintiff is seeking information about an employee at Central California Women’s 22 Facility, their employer, CSATF, appears to be the logical recipient of the subpoena. 23 In the blank space between the lines starting with “production” and “place,” Plaintiff should identify the documents he is seeking that would assist his in identifying and serving the 24 Defendant Yers, such as any documents related to current home or mailing address of Kelly Vang 25 Yers or other relevant contact information. 26 27 28 1 The “place” and date and “time of the production” boxes refer to the date on which the 2 documents should be produced to the Plaintiff and the address of where the documents should be 3 sent, such as the place of his incarceration or his residence. 4 Plaintiff should not fill out Proof of Service section of the AO 88B form, it will be completed by the U.S. Marshals after they serve the subpoena. Similarly, Plaintiff should not fill 5 out the section of the USM-285 form that is marked “Space Below for Use of U.S. Marshal Only 6 – Do Not Write Below this Line.” 7 The “Serve At” Section on the USM-285 form should match “To:” section on the AO 88B 8 form, providing the name and address of the person or entity to whom subpoena is directed, such 9 as CSATF. 10 Once Plaintiff has completed and returned forms AO 88B and USM-285, the Court will 11 review the documents and, if they are correctly completed, the Court will direct the United States 12 Marshals Service to serve the subpoena.1 The Court notes that it may limit Plaintiff’s request for 13 production of documents. 14 Plaintiff has 120 days from the date of this order, until September 8, 2026, to serve 15 Defendant Yers with summons and complaint. Failure to file a motion to substitute by this 16 deadline may result in the dismissal of this action. 17 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that: 18 1. The Clerk of Court is directed to send Plaintiff one copy of form AO 88B and one 19 copy of form USM-285; 20 2. Plaintiff has 30 days from the date of service of this order to complete and return 21 forms AO 88B and USM-285; and 22 \\\ 23 \\\ \\\ 24 \\\ 25 \\\ 26

27 1 If after being served with the subpoena, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation fails to respond or objects to providing documents, Plaintiff may file a motion to compel. The motion must be 28 filed with the Court and served on the responding person or entity. 1 3. Plaintiff has 120 days from the date of this order, until September 8, 2026, to serve 2 Defendant Yers with summons and complaint. Failure to serve Defendant Yers by 3 this deadline may result in the dismissal of this action. 4 ; IT IS SO ORDERED.

6 | Dated: _May 11, 2026 [Je hey — 4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28