RICHARD MARK GERGEL, District Judge.
Before the Court are various motions by the Parties: Motion for a Protective Order by Defendants (Dkt. No. 101); Motion for an Extension of Time to File Dispositive Motions (Dkt. No. 104); Motion to Compel by Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 107); Motion to Allow Production of Expunged Record by Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 114), and Motion to Compel Deposition of Blake Gordon (Dkt. No. 115.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants in part and denies in part the motions.
Plaintiff Garcia Wilson brought this suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that Defendants violated his constitutional rights by failing to protect him from inmate violence, by using excessive force and by denying him medical care while incarcerated at the Evans Correctional Institution ("ECI") of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. (Dkt. No. 66.)
This is the third time that this Court has had to address multiple discovery disputes between these parties, in addition to the multiple discovery motions presented to the Magistrate Judge before the case was unreferred. Pending before this Court currently is: Motion for a Protective Order by Defendants (Dkt. No. 101); Joint Motion for an Extension of Time to File Dispositive Motions (Dkt. No. 104); Motion to Compel by Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 107); Motion to Allow Production of Expunged Record by Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 114), and; Motion to Compel Deposition of Blake Gordon (Dkt. No. 115). The Court ruled on these matters at a hearing on July 11, 2019. (Dkt. No. 125.) Regardless, the Court issues this Order to specify the Parties' duties and required production. The Court expects that, now that the Court has clarified required disclosures, the Parties moving forward will confer in good faith regarding discovery, produce discovery required under Rule 26, and confer regarding whether any discovery requests need to be clarified.
In general, parties to civil litigation may obtain discovery regarding "any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense" so long as the information is "proportional to the needs of the case. . . ." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). The scope of discovery permitted by Rule 26 is designed to provide a party with information reasonably necessary to afford a fair opportunity to develop her case. See, e.g., Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, P.A. v. Murray Sheet Metal Co., Inc., 967 F.2d 980, 983 (4th Cir. 1992) (noting that "the discovery rules are given `a broad and liberal treatment') quoting Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 507 (1947). The court "must limit the frequency or extent of discovery. . . if it determines that the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C)(i). "The scope and conduct of discovery are within the sound discretion of the district court." Columbus Am. Discovery Grp. v. Atl. Mut. Ins. Co., 56 F.3d 556, 568 n.16 (4th Cir. 1995); see also Carefirst of Md, Inc. v. Carefirst Pregnancy Ctrs., 334 F.3d 390, 402 (4th Cir. 2003) ("Courts have broad discretion in [their] resolution of discovery problems arising in cases before [them].") (internal quotation marks omitted). To enforce the provisions of Rule 26, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, a "party may move for an order compelling disclosure or discovery." Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1). Additionally, a party from whom discovery is sought may move for a protective order to prohibit or specify the discovery to be provided. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).
As explained at the hearing, past investigations into similar conduct as alleged here are potentially highly relevant to Plaintiff's claims. Therefore, Defendant's motion for an order protecting Defendant Sims from questioning is denied in part, and questions regarding investigations, terminations, lawsuits or prosecutions regarding SCDC officers and employees for assault, excessive use of force, failure to protect, failure to provide medical care, or allegations of implicit or explicit involvement with gangs in prison are permissible. However, Plaintiff states he seeks testimony regarding "contraband inspections," and simple drug possession by SCDC officers or employees is not relevant to Plaintiff's claims here. Further, to the extent that any of the testimony relates to currently pending investigations, Defendant is directed to produce that evidence in camera initially to protect the security of any current investigations. However, any investigations that have been completed, including those that resulted in criminal charges or civil claims, may be discussed without prior submission in camera. To the extent that Defendant Sims needs to be deposed a second time to ask about these limited topics now ordered by the Court, the expense shall be borne by the Defendants. Therefore, Defendants' Motion for a Protective Order is granted in part and denied in part.
As ruled on at the hearing, this Motion is granted, and the deadline for dispositive motions in this case is now July 31, 2019.
Plaintiff's motion to compel requests that the Court compel nine categories of discovery, many implicating multiple requests in discovery. The Court ruled on each request at the hearing on July 11, 2019, and further explains its holdings below:
First, Plaintiff seeks the Court to compel a response to Plaintiff's subpoena duces tecum dated March 21, 2019, to Defendant's expert Jeff Eiser requesting eight sets of documents. (Dkt. No. 100-1 at 6.) The Court discusses each:
Plaintiff's second, third and fourth requests relate to Plaintiff's Second Set of Interrogatories, which contains three requests (Dkt. No. 100-58). The Court discusses each below.
Plaintiff's fourth,
To the extent Plaintiff believes relevant information exists on the cell phone of Cory Lucas, that information should be sought by a subpoena duces tecum from Defendant Cory Lucas specifying precisely the information sought.
The Parties agree that it is unclear whether records of the 2015 and 2018 Security Audits exist. Therefore, within ten (10) days of this Order, Defendants must provide to Plaintiff's counsel confirmation whether or not 2015 and 2018 Security Audits exist for ECI. If they do exist, and there is no assertion of privilege, Plaintiff's must produce the audits. To the extent Defendants' assert any claim of privilege over the audits, the Court shall review them in camera before production.
Plaintiff moves for production of records that were expunged in criminal cases brought against SCDC correctional officers, including Cory Lucas. As explained above, these records are highly relevant to this case, as the case is related to a failure to protect in SCDC custody involving Cory Lucas, and the state law regarding expungement permits disclosure where it is "allowed by court order." S.C. Code Ann. § 17-1-40. Further, the production is not for any criminal prosecution based on the expunged records, and rather relates to discovery in a civil suit. The Court therefore orders disclosure of these records. Further, even where records are sealed, the underlying facts leading to the criminal charge is not under seal and may be inquired about. The Court therefore grants Plaintiff's Motion for Production of Expunged Records.
The Parties represent that they have resolved this motion and have scheduled the deposition of Blake Gordon. (Dkt. No. 115.) The Motion is therefore denied as moot with leave to refile.
The information that the Court has ordered here today is clearly relevant to this case. However, the Court is further aware that this case involves inmates at South Carolina correctional facilities and potentially includes information that could impact the safety of current and former SCDC officers and employees and other witnesses in this case. Therefore, the information ordered produced in this Order is for attorneys' eyes only.
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's Motion for a Protective Order is
The Parties Joint Motion to Extend the Deadline for Dispositive Motions (Dkt. No. 104) is
Plaintiff's Motion to Compel (Dkt. No. 107) is
Plaintiff's Motion for Production of Expunged Records (Dkt. No. 114) is
Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Deposition of Blake Gordon (Dkt. No. 115) is