(PC) Davis v. Portillo

District Court, E.D. California·Decided December 6, 2024·No. 1:22-cv-00457·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHRISTOPHER BRANDON DAVIS, Case No.: 1:22-cv-00457-KES-CDB (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL 13 v. (Doc. 46) 14 M. PORTILLO, et al., ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 15 Defendants. FOR ADDITIONAL INTERROGATORIES

16 (Doc. 49)

17 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S 18 MOTION FOR SUBPOENA

19 (Doc. 50)

20 21 Plaintiff Christopher Brandon Davis is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this 22 civil rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 23 I. INTRODUCTION 24 On September 18, 2024, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Motion to Compel Discovery 25 Pitches Motion.” (Doc. 46.) Defendants filed an opposition (Doc. 51) and Plaintiff replied (Doc. 26 55). 27 On September 30, 2024, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Request for Relief of 25 1 On October 7, 2024, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Memorandum in Support of 2 Subpoena.” (Doc. 50.) 3 II. DISCUSSION 4 Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel (Doc. 46) 5 The Parties’ Briefing 6 Plaintiff states that on September 3, 2024, Defendants responded to his first request for 7 production of documents by objecting “on the grounds the request is overly broad and irrelevant 8 to the case.” Plaintiff sought copies of Defendants’ “personnel and employee files, as well as 9 copies of any and all complaints made against Defendants individually by an inmate, civilian, 10 and/or correctional employee or third party representative.” Plaintiff argues his request is not 11 burdensome, oppressive, or harassing and that if Defendants Portillo and Molina have truthfully 12 answered interrogatories, any such request should not be burdensome or oppressive. Plaintiff 13 states he “has knowledge, belief the Defendants previously received complaints against them for 14 being confrontational, using excessive force, due process violations, harassment, and retaliation.” 15 He maintains that because Defendants have access to Plaintiff’s central file and disciplinary 16 records, the “same courtesy” should be extended to him. 17 Plaintiff contends Defendants’ objection on the basis that investigative techniques and 18 procedures would be revealed if required to produce the requested documents is “unjustified and 19 attempt to delay the discovery process.” He states he is not requesting information “such as 20 procedures of investigation or names of any third party witness, Plaintiff is requesting copies of 21 the complaints themselves.” Plaintiff asserts any confidential information can be redacted. 22 Plaintiff asserts he is entitled to the requested discovery “since past conduct is relevant to 23 punitive damages” and the information “will show prior acts of similar nature to this case alleged 24 against the Defendants.” He maintains his “requests are lawful, not improperly motivated, and not 25 unreasonably burdensome or expensive.” 26 Plaintiff states he seeks the following: (1) “Any and all complaints filed against Defendant 27 M. Portillo including within his personnel and employee files;” (2) “Any and all complaints filed 1 complaints filed against Defendant Lt. Brown including within his personnel and employee files.” 2 Defendants oppose Plaintiff’s motion. Defendants objected to Plaintiff’s request for 3 production of complaints of misconduct because the requests “are overly broad, seek documents 4 that are not relevant to any element of a claim or defense in this case, and are not proportional to 5 the needs of the case.” Defendants state they “did identify and produce the relevant grievances 6 that pertain to the allegations in this case.” 7 Defendants argue Plaintiff’s “request for any and all complaints filed against Defendants, 8 by any person, about any subject, from any time period or location” should be denied. They 9 contend Plaintiff’s assertion that his requests are needed to show patterns of misconduct or prior 10 acts of a similar nature “makes clear he intends to use the documents for the improper purpose of 11 arguing propensity.” Defendant maintain Plaintiff has failed to show relevancy and how the 12 information he seeks would lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. 13 In reply, Plaintiff contends “Defendants falsely argue that Plaintiff specifically 14 argues/seeks the requests documents for the prohibited purposes of showing propensity” and 15 character evidence. Plaintiff asserts Defendants’ argument concerning the confidentiality 16 concerns are contradictory because “they have already provided some of the complaints filed by 17 Plaintiff” with no such concern. Plaintiff argues Defendants’ relevancy objections are an “attempt 18 to dictate which documents are relevant to his case or not” and maintains his requests are 19 relevant. Plaintiff cites to another action filed in this Court in support of his claim the discovery 20 he seeks is relevant. He contends Defendants’ concern that his requests are not limited regarding 21 subject matter, circumstances, time period and the like are objectionable because “civil rights 22 violations in prison against prisoners can happen at any time in any place within the prison 23 facility.” Plaintiff contends he does not intend to waste the Court’s time “with senseless 24 objections or failure to comply with Federal Rules of Evidence, with admissible character 25 evidence, as Defendants would have the Court believe.” 26 Plaintiff contends he “did not request every document within the Defendants’ personnel or 27 employee files, rather the request was made with specificity to complaints against the Defendants 1 documents in their respective files.” Moreover, Plaintiff argues Defendants “have failed to 2 produce a privilege log or object with the requisite specificity,” thus waiving confidentiality and 3 privilege. 4 Plaintiff’s reply includes nine exhibits in support of his motion to compel. 5 The Applicable Legal Standards 6 The Court has broad authority to manage its docket and control discovery. See, e.g., 7 Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 751 (9th Cir. 8 2002) (“broad discretion is vested in the trial court to permit or deny discovery”). 9 A motion to compel is appropriate where a party fails to produce relevant, non-privileged 10 documents requested pursuant to Rule 34. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3). If a party, in response to a 11 request for production under Rule 34, fails to produce or permit inspection, the discovering party 12 may move for an order compelling production. Id. An evasive or incomplete answer or response 13 to a discovery request “must be treated as a failure to disclose, answer or respond.” Fed. R. Civ. P 14 37(a)(4). The party seeking the motion to compel discovery has the burden of informing the court 15 why the defendants’ objections are not justified or why the defendants' responses are deficient. 16 Generally, if a responding party objects to a discovery request, the party moving to 17 compel bears the burden of demonstrating that the objections are unjustified. See, e.g., Grabek v. 18 Dickinson, No. CIV S-10-2892 GGH P, 2012 WL 113799, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2012); 19 Womack v. Virga, No. CIV S-11-1030 MCE EFB P, 2011 WL 6703958, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 20 2011).

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