Opinion
1:19-cv-00615-AWI-SAB (PC)
07-20-2021
RODNEY JEROME WOMACK, Plaintiff, v. W. GIBBONS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER DIRECTING DEFENDANTS GIBBONS AND GOMEZ TO PROVIDE COPY OF PLAINTIFF'S DISCOVERY RESPONSE, CONTINUING THE MOTION TO DISMISS, AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS SMITH AND O'BRIEN LEAVE TO SUPPLEMENT THE MOTION TO DISMISS
Plaintiff Rodney Jerome Womack is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On May 3, 2021, the Court granted Defendants' motion to compel, and ordered Plaintiff to file responses to Defendants' requests for production of documents, without objection, along with copies of any responsive documents. (ECF No. 37.)
On June 18, 2021, Defendants Smith and O'Brien filed a motion to dismiss the action as a discovery sanction, or alternatively, evidentiary sanctions, against Plaintiff because he failed to comply with the Court's order compelling his responses. (ECF No. 63.)
Plaintiff filed an opposition on July 7, 2021, and Defendants Smith and O'Brien filed a reply on July 14, 2021.
In his opposition, Plaintiff submits that he provided Defendants Gibbons and Gomez 900 pages of “medical discovery documentation, ” and requested that the documentation be provided to Defendants Smith and O'Brien. (ECF No. 67 at 2.) Plaintiff also contends “that he is in the process of waiting for additional medical and mental health documents from the records department” at Corcoran State Prison. (Id.) Defendants Smith and O'Brien argue that Plaintiff “has not produced documents that support his Eighth Amendment claims for excessive force and deliberate indifference; he has not produced documents that support his alleged damages; and importantly, he has not produced the signed witness statements that he identified at his deposition, and that he stated are located in his cell.” (ECF No. 69 at 2:15-19.)
Because Defendants Smith and O'Brien have not received or reviewed the 900 pages of documentation Plaintiff provided to Defendants Gibbons and Gomez, the Court finds it prudent to direct Defendant Gibbons and Gomez to provide a copy of the documentation to Defendants Smith and O'Brien prior to review of the pending motion to dismiss. If the information provided by Plaintiff is not responsive to the outstanding discovery responses of which Plaintiff was compelled to respond, Defendants Smith and O'Brien may supplement their motion to dismiss with such information.
Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Within twenty (20) days from the date of service of this order, Defendants Gibbons and Gomez shall provide Defendants Smith and O'Brien a copy of the documentation provided by Plaintiff;
2. Within twenty (20) days from receipt of the information, Defendants Smith and O'Brien may supplement their pending motion to dismiss if the documentation is not responsive to the outstanding discovery; and
3. If no supplement is filed within the allotted time frame, the Court will assume that the discovery response provided by Plaintiff is sufficient and the motion to dismiss will be denied as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.