Opinion
No. Civ S-03-0732 MCE CMK P.
February 9, 2006
ORDER
Plaintiff, who is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel and in forma pauperis, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to the undersigned by Local Rule 72-302 by the authority of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). On January 12, 2006, the court issued an order directing plaintiff to show cause, in writing, within twenty days why this action should not be dismissed as to defendant John Doe #5 for failure to serve in a timely manner.
On January 26, 2006, plaintiff responded to the court's order. Plaintiff stated that he had been making diligent attempts to serve defendant Doe #5. Immediately after discovery commenced, plaintiff served upon defendants interrogatories calculated to reveal the identity of John Doe, a psychiatrist, who was present at plaintiff's classification committee hearing on June 27, 2002. Defendants, by written response, identified John Doe #5 as Dr. Nolan. Plaintiff informed defense counsel that he did not believe that defendant Doe #5 was Dr. Nolan, based on personal interaction that plaintiff had with Dr. Nolan. Plaintiff seeks administration segregation log books, which he believes will reveal the true identity of defendant Doe #5. Plaintiff seeks more discovery to identify defendant Doe #5.
In his response to the order to show cause, plaintiff states "Plaintiff . . . notified counsel that . . . the person that identified himself to Plaintiff on June 20, 2002 as Dr. Nolan, was not the person present at the hearing on June 20, 2002 . . ."
The undersigned finds that defendants have identified John Doe #5 as Dr. Nolan and, therefore, provided plaintiff with information to serve defendant Doe #5. Accordingly, plaintiff's request for production of documents is denied.