Raygoza v. City of Fresno

297 F.R.D. 603, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29177, 2014 WL 869271
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 5, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13-cv-00322-LJO-MJS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 297 F.R.D. 603 (Raygoza v. City of Fresno) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raygoza v. City of Fresno, 297 F.R.D. 603, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29177, 2014 WL 869271 (E.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR DISCOVERY SANCTIONS

MICHAEL J. SENG, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. FACTS AND ISSUES

This is an excessive force/wrongful death case brought on behalf of Manuel Armenia, deceased, his widow and his children against the City of Fresno and two Fresno police officers. Fiona Raygoza proceeds as an individual Plaintiff, as successor to Manuel Armenia and as guardian ad litem for Manuel Armenia, Jr. Candelería Sanchez proceeds as the guardian ad litem for minor Plaintiffs Isaiah, Ivan and Calah Armenia.

The action was filed March 5, 2013. On July 3, 2013, this Court ordered that nonexpert discovery be completed by December 6, 2013.

Defendants served written discovery on Plaintiffs on August 19, 2013. Complete, verified responses were not provided by the initial or twice extended, October 11, 2013, deadline. Depositions of Raygoza and Sanchez did not go forward in November 2013 as scheduled because of the lack of responses to the written discovery and the fact that Raygoza’s whereabouts were unknown.

A Discovery Dispute Conference was held by the undersigned on November 21, 2013, to address these issues. The Court Ordered (ECF No. 27) complete responses to written discovery by December 19, 2013, and gave Defendants until January 19, 2014 to conduct discovery triggered by the written responses.

Sanchez ultimately, but not timely, responded to the written discovery as ordered. Raygoza did not. A second Discovery Dispute Conference was held January 6, 2014. Plaintiffs’ counsel acknowledged an inability to locate Raygoza. He was admonished that the obligation to move the case forward rested with him, and he was forewarned that the failure of communication between him and his client would not be permitted to prejudice Defendants. In its Order (ECF No. 31) the Court authorized Defendants to move for sanctions against Raygoza for her failure to respond to discovery.

[605]*605Facing the Court’s extended January 19, 2014, deadline for depositions, Defendants scheduled both Raygoza’s and Sanchez’s depositions for January 10, 2014, in Fresno. Neither appeared. Raygoza’s absence was expected given Plaintiffs’ counsel’s acknowledged inability to locate her. Sanchez absence was unexpected. She knew the deposition had to be forthcoming, and her attorney had sent her written notice of its time and place. Such written notice had been sufficient to secure her presence at the previously scheduled deposition. Before the deposition, counsel also tried, without success, to call her to confirm. Then, on the day of the deposition, he personally traveled to two different possible residences to look for her. He learned later that she had left word at his office that she had had to travel out of state for her sister’s funeral and would not be back until January 14, 2014.

Thus, defense counsel returned to his office in Santa Ana California empty-handed and, given Court imposed deadlines, promptly filed this motion seeking monetary and issue sanctions against both Raygoza and Sanchez (EOF No 32). Plaintiffs filed opposition (EOF No. 35) and Defendants a reply (ECF No. 37.)

There is little of note in the moving and opposition papers beyond that referenced above and advice that Plaintiffs’ counsel has now located Raygoza (in the Fresno County jail).1 During the hearing on the motion, Plaintiffs’ counsel advised that Raygoza had fully answered the written discovery and verified her responses, and he had mailed and emailed them to Defendants’ counsel on February 27, 2014. Raygoza’s declaration in opposition to the sanctions shows that while she is still in jail and expects to be there until April 29, 2014, she intends to pursue and participate in this litigation.

Defendants argue that Raygoza’s failure to respond to written discovery and appear at her deposition and Sanchez’ failure to attend her deposition warrant imposition of terminating sanctions against Raygoza and evidentiary and monetary sanctions against both Raygoza and Sanchez. More specifically, Defendants want the Court to strike the two Plaintiffs’ discovery responses and to preclude either from providing any testimony in any form in this case. Defendants note, accurately, that they have timely and properly complied with all rules and met all deadlines in this case and been reasonably accommodating to Plaintiffs. They point out that they have been prejudiced insofar as Plaintiffs failures to comply have frustrated timely preparation of the defense case and caused them to expend time and effort, and hence attorney fees, needlessly. They seek recovery of $5,080.94 in monetary sanctions.

Plaintiffs’ original counsel, to his credit, has been relatively forthright in acknowledging Plaintiffs’ responsibility for the past failures and delays and taken steps to offset the harm done thereby. Thus, given the delays in producing, and related problems, with Plaintiffs’ written discovery responses, Plaintiffs have waived all objections to them and clarified for the record the intended scope of the responses to them. Given Sanchez’s failure to appear at her deposition, counsel offered to bring her to be deposed at defense counsel’s office in Santa Ana, California, at his own expense. He offers to do the same with Raygoza when she is released from jail.

Plaintiffs’ explanation also seems to suggest that the problems and delays were attributable in large part to circumstances beyond the control of client or counsel. They argue, in effect, that any harm can be ameliorated and that the remedies sought by Defendants would effectively leave Plaintiffs without viable eases. They argue that such extreme remedies would be too harsh given the parties clear desire to pursue their cases [606]*606and their commitment to do so in a timely and corrective fashion.2

II. APPLICABLE LAW

Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if a party “fails to obey an order to provide or permit discovery ... the court where the action is pending may issue further just orders.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(b)(2)(A). “Just orders” may include the following:

(i) directing that the matters embraced in the order or other designated facts be taken as established for the purposes of the action, as the prevailing party claims;
(ii) prohibiting the disobedient party from supporting or opposing designated claims or defenses, or from introducing designated matters in evidence;
(iii) striking pleadings in whole or in part;
(iv) staying further proceedings until the order is obeyed;
(v) dismissing the action or proceedings in whole or in part;
(vi) rendering a default judgment against the disobedient party; or
(vii) treating as contempt of court the failure to obey any order except an order to submit to a physical or mental examination.

Id. The Ninth Circuit explained, “Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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Bluebook (online)
297 F.R.D. 603, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29177, 2014 WL 869271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raygoza-v-city-of-fresno-caed-2014.