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Willis v. United States

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Jun 21, 2022
1:19-cv-00761-BAM (PC) (E.D. Cal. Jun. 21, 2022)

Opinion

1:19-cv-00761-BAM (PC)

06-21-2022

KENTRELL WILLIS, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant.


ORDER DIRECTING PARTIES TO FILE FURTHER STATUS REPORT REGARDING DISCOVERY DISPUTE

BARBARA A. MCAULIFFE, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

Plaintiff Kentrell Willis (“Plaintiff”') is a federal prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2401, et seq. Plaintiff seeks monetary damages from the United States of America for alleged sexual assault and negligence arising out of events at the United States Penitentiary, Atwater. All parties have consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. (ECF No. 49.)

I. Procedural History

On February 28, 2022, Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on all claims against it due to failure to exhaust administrative remedies and/or untimeliness. (ECF No. 50.) Plaintiff did not file an opposition, and instead filed various motions to compel discovery, to postpone consideration of the motion for summary judgment, and to stay proceedings. (ECF Nos. 57, 59, 62.) In response to the Court's April 14, 2022 order, Defendant filed a response to the motion to postpone consideration of the summary judgment order, but did not file responses to the motion to compel or the motion to stay.

On May 10, 2022, Plaintiff filed a document that was docketed as a declaration. (ECF No. 63.) The Court construed the declaration as another motion to compel discovery and issued an order directing the parties to meet and confer regarding the discovery disputes, and to file a joint statement following the parties' conference. The Court further stayed briefing on Plaintiffs motions to compel. (ECF No. 64.)

The parties filed a joint statement on June 3, 2022, indicating that two of the four issues raised in Plaintiff's filings were resolved, and two would involve additional searches for documents. (ECF No. 65.) Due to the additional searches for documents to be conducted by Defendant, the Court directed the parties to file a further joint status report providing an update on any additional productions that have been made, the results of Defendant's further search efforts, and any remaining discovery issues that remain unresolved between the parties. (ECF No. 66.)

II. June 17, 2022 Joint Statement

On June 17, 2022, the parties filed a further joint status report regarding the discovery dispute. (ECF No. 68.) Defendant has determined that all archived emails-including any deleted emails-between Mr. Colbert and Mr. Dressler between November 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019, inclusive have been requested and should be turned over to defense counsel for review in the near future. Once those emails are received, Defendant will expeditiously review them and produce any relating to Plaintiff.

With respect to the alleged Dressler memorandum Plaintiff states was attached to Central Office appeal 973091-A2, Defendant has obtained the entire Central Office file for this appeal, including a letter Plaintiff sent to the Central Office, and those documents have been bates-labeled and mailed to Plaintiff. Those documents, however, do not include the alleged Dressler memorandum, which still has not been located in any electronic or hard copy form. Defendant has also formally requested the Bureau's central file s relating to Plaintiff's administrative appeals, which Defendant anticipates will be received by June 24, 2022 for review. Defendant will review these documents to see if any other documents relating to Central Office appeal 973091-A1 or -A2 exist, and to the extent Mr. Dressler emailed his memorandum to any individuals, it would be obtained through the archived email search described previously. (Id.)

III. Further Joint Status Report

In light of Defendant's continuing efforts to locate documents that may be responsive to Plaintiff's requests, the Court finds it appropriate to maintain Plaintiff's discovery motions on the docket, and briefing will remain stayed. The Court further finds that it will be beneficial to receive a further joint status report from the parties indicating the results of Defendant's further search efforts, whether any additional productions have been made, and any remaining discovery issues that remain unresolved between the parties. All parties must sign the Joint Statement. Electronic signatures are acceptable; a wet signature is not required.

IV. Order

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:

1. Briefing on Plaintiff's motions to compel remains stayed until further order of the Court; and
2. Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, the parties shall file a further status report regarding any remaining discovery issues, as set forth above.

IT IS SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

Willis v. United States

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Jun 21, 2022
1:19-cv-00761-BAM (PC) (E.D. Cal. Jun. 21, 2022)
Case details for

Willis v. United States

Case Details

Full title:KENTRELL WILLIS, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant.

Court:United States District Court, Eastern District of California

Date published: Jun 21, 2022

Citations

1:19-cv-00761-BAM (PC) (E.D. Cal. Jun. 21, 2022)