STANLEY A. BOONE, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff Dennis Curtis Hisle is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Currently before the Court is Plaintiff's motion to compel, filed August 8, 2018.
This action is proceeding against Defendants Marlyn Conanon and John Doe (at Mercy Hospital) for deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.
On April 10, 2018, Defendant Conanon filed an answer to the complaint. On April 11, 2018, the Court issued the discovery and scheduling order.
As previously stated, on August 8, 2018, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel. Defendant filed an opposition on August 27, 2018, and Plaintiff filed a reply on September 10, 2018.
Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and he is a state prisoner challenging his conditions of confinement. As a result, the parties were relieved of some of the requirements which would otherwise apply, including initial disclosure and the need to meet and confer in good faith prior to involving the Court in a discovery dispute. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1); Local Rules 240, 251; ECF No. 19, Discovery and Scheduling Order, ¶4. Further, where otherwise discoverable information would pose a threat to the safety and security of the prison or infringe upon a protected privacy interest, a need may arise for the Court to balance interests in determining whether disclosure should occur.
However, this is a civil action to which the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply. The discovery process is subject to the overriding limitation of good faith, and callous disregard of discovery responsibilities cannot be condoned.
Generally, if the responding party objects to a discovery request, the party moving to compel bears the burden of demonstrating why the objections are not justified.
The Court opened discovery in this case on April 11, 2018. (ECF No. 19.) On April 25, 2018, Plaintiff served written requests for production of documents and interrogatories. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 2, Ex. A.) Plaintiff sought the results of an x-ray or CT scan examinations from Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP), Community Residential Medical Center (CRMC), Memorial Hospital, and Mercy Hospital. (
Defendant served responses to Plaintiff's requests for written discovery on or about June 7, 2018. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 3, Ex. B.) In response to Plaintiff's request for "any and all writings, graphs, printouts, or photographs" for Plaintiff's treatment at these hospitals, Defendant provided Plaintiff with eight DVDs. (
On June 14, 2018, Plaintiff and Defendant held a teleconference at Defendant's request in which they discussed outstanding discovery matters. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 5.) At this time, Plaintiff advised defense counsel that he could not access the contents of his eight DVDs because the prison's computers did not have the hardware or software to open them. (
Defendant thereafter supplemented her response to Plaintiff's request for production of documents with paper copies of the images; however, Gear View basic does not allow the user to print the images directly from the program. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 6, Ex. C.) While there were still images, there were also video files of the CT scan images that could not be printed. Defendant identified thirty-four images responsive to Plaintiff's request for production of documents that were able to be printed, and the litigation support services had to take screen shots of the still images contained on the DVDs and print that image. (
In his reply, Plaintiff contends that defense counsel "said he would arrange for me to have `two hours' in which to review the DVDs if I agreed to drop my motion to compel." (Reply at 3, ECF No. 32.) Plaintiff responded that only two hours of examination of all eight DVDs was unacceptable because he did not know the amount of data on each DVD. (
Litigation Coordinator at VSP, Vanessa Soza, declares that "[i]n order to ensure inmate Hisle does not possess the DVS in violation of the [Department of Operations Manual], a custody staff member would maintain possession of the DVDs and observe him when viewing the DVDs on a secured laptop that is not connected to the internet." (Sosa Decl. ¶ 4.) "[I]f inmate Hisle wishes to view the contends of the DVDs in this manner, he must submit a request to staff. Once the request is received, he will be given a period of two hours to view the contends of the DVDs. The time of inmate Hisle's two-hour appointment to view these DVDs would subject to the discretion of VSP staff." (Sosa Decl. ¶ 4.) "If inmate Hisle requests additional time beyond the two-hour period, he would have to make a second request. Additional time is subject to the discretion of VSP staff, and due to staff issues, inmate Hisle would not have more than one two-hour period per month. VSP would maintain custody of the DVDs for a period of one year from the date of this declaration. After that period of time, inmate Hisle would have to send the DVDs to a family member or third-party." (Sosa Decl. ¶ 4.)
In Plaintiff's first set of interrogatories, Plaintiff requested that Defendant "provide the name of the x-ray technician whom performed the x-ray exam of Plaintiff Hisle, that lead to the discovery of his three broken ribs." (Perkins Decl. ¶ 8, Ex. A.) Defense counsel consulted with Defendant and reviewed Plaintiff's medical records. (
By way of letter dated July 11, 2018, Plaintiff sought the "records that must be reviewed in sufficient detail to enable [him] to identify the full name of the x-ray technician whom discovered Plaintiff's broken ribs." (Perkins Decl. ¶ 10.) In response, Defendant re-disclosed paper copies of the eighteen pages of reports about Plaintiff's x-ray exams. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 10, Ex. D.) A review of these records indicates that Plaintiff's rib fractures were first observed by x-ray on May 4, 2016, by a radiologist named C. Schultz, M.D. (
Plaintiff seeks the Court to either order Defendant to produce DVDs in a format accessible to him or assign him a private investigator who will print everything on the disc. Plaintiff also seeks the Court to compel Defendant to produce records regarding the full name and identity of an x-ray technician he identifies as "Quincy."
Defendant argues that she provided Plaintiff with copies of eight DVDs containing x-ray and CT scan images in her initial responses to Plaintiff's first request for production of documents. When Plaintiff could not access the content of the DVDs, Defendant provided Plaintiff with paper copies of the images that were responsive to his request, as well as the reports of the radiologists who reviewed and interpreted these images. Defendant also arranged for Plaintiff to view the materials on a secured laptop in the presence of prison staff, but Plaintiff rejected such offer. With regard to Plaintiff's second request, Defendant submits that it is a new request that Plaintiff has not propounded upon Defendant.
A party may serve on any other party a request within the scope of Rule 26(b) to produce and permit the requesting party or its representative to inspect, copy, test, or sample the following items in the responding party's possession, custody or control: any designated documents or tangible things. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1) (quotation marks omitted). AProperty is deemed within a party's `possession, custody, or control' if the party has actual possession, custody, or control thereof or the legal right to obtain the property on demand."
In responding to discovery requests, a reasonable inquiry must be made, and if no responsive documents or tangible things exist, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(g)(1), the responding party should so state with sufficient specificity to allow the Court to determine whether the party made a reasonable inquiry and exercised due diligence,
A party may serve on any other party a request within the scope of Rule 26(b) to produce and permit the requesting party or its representative to inspect, copy, test, or sample the following items in the responding party's possession, custody or control: any designated documents or tangible things. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1) (quotation marks omitted). AProperty is deemed within a party's `possession, custody, or control' if the party has actual possession, custody, or control thereof or the legal right to obtain the property on demand."
In responding to discovery requests, a reasonable inquiry must be made, and if no responsive documents or tangible things exist, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(g)(1), the responding party should so state with sufficient specificity to allow the Court to determine whether the party made a reasonable inquiry and exercised due diligence,
Moreover, defense counsel arranged with Valley State Prison (VSP) staff to provide Plaintiff with an opportunity to view the paper copies along with the DVDs content to ensure accuracy. (Sosa Decl. ¶ 4.) Defendant submits that as of August 22, 2018, Plaintiff refused that request. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 11.) Plaintiff cannot simply contend that the initial two-hour period of time to review the DVDs is insufficient without taking advantage of such viewing and a showing of specific need for further time. Furthermore, litigation coordinator, Vanessa Soza, declares that if "additional time beyond the two-hour period" is necessary, Plaintiff may make a second request. (Sosa Decl. ¶ 4.)
Lastly, Plaintiff has not demonstrated that the material produced in the format requested is proportional to the needs of the case. Indeed, as Defendant points out, Plaintiff is not an expert and is not qualified to interpret the x-ray and CT scan images. Defendant has provided Plaintiff with the accompanying radiology reports that explain the observations of the examining radiologist. Plaintiff fails to explain how his personal ability to view these images is of any greater importance or relevant to his claim than the reports of the non-party radiologists who interpreted these images during his examination.
In sum, Defendant has not withheld the requested materials from Plaintiff. If or when Plaintiff obtains an attorney or a qualified expert to review the materials on these DVDs, Plaintiff can send them to such person at that time. (Sosa Decl. ¶ 8.) Therefore, in balancing the considerations under Rule 26(b)(1), Plaintiff's request to provide him previously disclosed material in a specific format is not proportional to the needs of this case. However, Plaintiff may request to view the DVDs with staff assistance as set forth in Vanessa Soza's declaration, and the discovery deadline does not expire until December 11, 2018.
With respect to Plaintiff's request for appointment of a medical expert, the test is not whether Plaintiff would benefit from the appointment of an expert, or the appointment of counsel. Were that the test, every litigant proceeding pro would be entitled to the appointment of an expert and/or counsel.
While the Court has the discretion to appoint an expert and to apportion costs, including the apportionment of costs to one side, Fed. R. Evid. 706;
Furthermore, Rule 706 is not a means to avoid the in forma pauperis statute and its prohibition against using public funds to pay for the expenses of witnesses,
An interrogatory may relate to any matter that may be inquired into under Rule 26(b), and an interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it asks for an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact. Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(2) (quotation marks omitted). Parties are obligated to respond to interrogatories to the fullest extent possible under oath, Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(3), and any objections must be stated with specificity, Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(4);
Based on Plaintiff's medical records, defense counsel submits that he interpreted this interrogatory to refer to the technician that conducted the May 4, 2016 x-ray, since that x-ray was the first documentation of Plaintiff's broken ribs. (Perkins Decl. ¶ 9.) Defense counsel conferred with Dr. Conanon and reviewed Plaintiff's medical records. (
Plaintiff argues that Rule 33(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows him to require Defendant to produce business records "if the answer to an interrogatory may be determined by examining a party's business records[.]" However, there was no record of x-ray technician Quincy's name in Plaintiff's medical records maintained at the institution. As previously stated, Plaintiff was provided eighteen pages containing the results of each and every x-ray and CT scan in response to his July 11, 2018 letter to Defendant. Plaintiff cannot now, by way of a motion to compel, expand his request for all CDCR health care information regarding the contact information for x-ray technician Quincy. If Plaintiff seeks to narrow his request to all of the identifying information regarding a technician named Quincy, he must do so by way of a new request and not a motion to compel. Pursuant to the Court's April 11, 2018 discovery and scheduling order, the deadline for completion of all discovery is December 11, 2018. (ECF No. 19.)
While the Court recognizes that Plaintiff may be disinclined to accept Defendant's discovery responses at face value, he is in a position no different than any other civil litigant: he is required to accept legally sufficient discovery responses. Mere distrust and suspicion do not form a legitimate basis to further challenge facially sufficient discovery responses. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(g)(1), 33;
IT IS SO ORDERED.