Opinion
CV-19-00290-TUC-RM (LAB)
12-10-2021
Greg Moore, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Sean Garnand, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Honorable Rosemary Marquez, United States District Judge
Plaintiffs Greg and Patricia Moore initiated this action on May 24, 2019. (Doc. 1.) On September 24, 2019, Defendants filed a Motion asserting the law enforcement investigatory privilege over Tucson Police Department (“TPD”) files related to the TPD's criminal investigation of Plaintiffs. (Doc. 23.) Both Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman and this Court found that the law enforcement investigatory privilege was applicable (Docs. 74, 113), but this Court noted that application of that privilege did “not permit Defendants to indefinitely delay discovery in this case, ” and that “[a] civil litigant has a right to a reasonably prompt determination of her claims.” (Doc. 113 at 12-13 (internal quotation marks omitted).)
In an Order filed on November 29, 2021, the Court noted that Defendants have had a lengthy period of time to complete their investigation of Plaintiffs, and it warned Defendants that it was considering requiring disclosure under a protective order of relevant matters previously shielded by the law enforcement investigatory privilege. (Doc. 304 at 7.) Before doing so, the Court allowed Defendants to deliver for in camera 1 review a supplement regarding the status of their investigation. (Id.)
The Court has reviewed Defendants' ex parte supplement regarding the status of their investigation. Given the information contained in that supplement, and the length of time that Defendants' investigation and this action have been pending, the Court finds that the balance of the potential benefits and disadvantages of disclosure has changed, and that disclosure under a protective order of relevant matters previously shielded by the law enforcement investigatory privilege is now appropriate.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that application of the law enforcement investigatory privilege to TPD files related to TPD's investigation of Plaintiffs is lifted. The parties shall engage in personal consultation with one another to develop a stipulated protective order for purposes of disclosure of matters previously shielded by the law enforcement investigatory privilege. Any motion for entry of protective order shall be filed within thirty (30) days and will be referred to Magistrate Judge Bowman for resolution. This case remains referred to Magistrate Judge Bowman for all pretrial proceedings and Report and Recommendation. 2