Opinion
No. CV-15-00093-PHX-ROS (ESW)
02-13-2019
Gary John Emerson, Plaintiff, v. Corizon Health Services, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
This Order sets forth the Court's rulings on Plaintiff's (i) "Request for a Discovery Conference" (Doc. 112) and (ii) "Motion for Supeana [sic] Duces Tecum" (Doc. 128).
I. DISCUSSION
A. Plaintiff's "Request for a Discovery Conference" (Doc. 112)
The Court has reviewed the parties' briefing concerning Plaintiff's "Request for a Discovery Conference" (Doc. 112). After considering the factors set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1), the Court concludes that Plaintiff discovery requests are overbroad and not proportional to the needs of the case. Plaintiff's "Request for a Discovery Conference" (Doc. 112) will be denied.
B. Plaintiff's "Motion for Supeana [sic] Duces Tecum" (Doc. 128)
In his January 2, 2019 Motion (Doc. 128), Plaintiff requests the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to be served on non-party Arizona Department of Corrections.
A subpoena issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 is subject to the permissible scope of discovery set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. See Advisory Committee's Notes to Fed. R. Civ. P. 45 (1970 Amendments) ("The changes make it clear that the scope of discovery through a subpoena is the same as that applicable to Rule 34 and the other discovery rules."). Rule 26(b) provides for a broad scope of discovery: "Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case . . . ." Rule 26(b)(2)(C) requires the Court, on motion or on its own, to limit discovery where "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) (emphasis added).
The Court finds that the requests contained in Plaintiff's proposed subpoena duces tecum are overly broad, unduly burdensome, and not proportional to the needs of the case. Plaintiff's Motion (Doc. 128) will be denied.
II. CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing,
IT IS ORDERED denying Plaintiff's "Request for a Discovery Conference" (Doc. 112).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying Plaintiff's "Motion for Supeana [sic] Duces Tecum" (Doc. 128).
Dated this 13th day of February, 2019.
/s/_________
Eileen S. Willett
United States Magistrate Judge