Free Response to Motion - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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Terry Goddard Attorney General Michele L. Forney, Bar No. 019775 Assistant Attorney General 1275 W. Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2997 Telephone: (602) 542-4951 Fax: (602) 542-7670 E-mail: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants

7 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 District Court Order Clarification/Motion to Expand Limits on Discovery [Dkt. 123]. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Case 2:03-cv-02159-ROS-JRI Document 126 Filed 03/13/2008 Page 1 of 3

Timothy Lee Ward, No. CV 03-2159 PHX ROS (JRI) Plaintiff, v. Sgt. Carr, et al., Defendants. Defendants Terry Carr and Terry Stewart respond to Plaintiff's Motion For RESPONSE TO MOTION FOR DISTRICT COURT ORDER CLARIFICATION/MOTION TO EXPAND LIMITS ON DISCOVERY

Plaintiff seeks clarification of the number of requests for production of documents that he can address to each party. The Court's Scheduling Order dated December 18, 2007 [Dkt. 105] provides the following: 2.3(b) Requests for Production of Documents: No more than 15 from each party to any other party. The parties met to discuss discovery deadlines and parameters in conjunction with preparing the Joint Discovery Plan filed on January 23, 2008 [Dkt. 113]. The parties agreed that the presumptive limits on discovery set forth in the Scheduling Order were sufficient. (Dkt. 113 at ¶ J.) Plaintiff and undersigned counsel did not discuss the

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meaning of the presumptive limits on discovery during their discussion in preparation of the Joint Discovery Plan. Undersigned counsel was unaware of any misinterpretation until the filing of Plaintiff's subject motion. In his first "Request for Documents and Things to Defendants Carr and Stewart," Plaintiff requested eighteen (18) separate categories of documents from both Defendants Carr and Stewart. (Exhibit 1.) Plaintiff did not identify which party he was addressing with each request; however, Defendants responded to each request. Plaintiff then submitted his second, third, and fourth requests for documents, which were also addressed to both Defendants jointly. Undersigned counsel wrote to Plaintiff on February 14, 2008 to address the number of requests for production and informed Plaintiff that since his first request already exceeded the number request allowed by the Scheduling Order. (Exhibit 2.) As quoted above, the Scheduling Order limited to 15 the number of requests that could be made by any party to any other party. Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiff could have served 15 requests on Defendant Carr and 15 requests on Defendant Stewart. However, Plaintiff chose to serve 18 requests on both Defendants and did not specify from which party he was requesting documents. As such, Defendants submit that no clarification of the Scheduling Order is necessary. As to Plaintiff's request to increase the number of requests to 35, Defendants object on the grounds that Plaintiff has not demonstrated good cause for modifying the Scheduling Order. He states only that the additional requests are "vital" to his case, but fails to demonstrate their relevance. 2
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Case 2:03-cv-02159-ROS-JRI

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Furthermore, Plaintiff does not specify whether this proposed increase in requests would mean that Plaintiff is permitted 17 more requests addressed to both Defendants together (35 minus the previously served and answered 18 requests) or some other permutation. If the Court is inclined to grant Plaintiff's motion for additional discovery, Defendants request an extension of the deadline for filing dispositive motions, which is currently set for April 15, 2008. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 13th day of March, 2008. Terry Goddard Attorney General

s/Michele L. Forney Michele L. Forney Assistant Attorney General Attorneys for Defendants Original e-filed this 13th day of March, 2008, with: Clerk of the Court United States District Court District of Arizona 401 West Washington Street, SPC 1 Phoenix, AZ 85003-2118 Copy mailed the same date to: Timothy Lee Ward, #148256 ASPC - Florence - South Unit P.O. Box 8400 Florence, AZ 85232 s/Colleen Jordan Secretary to: Michele L. Forney IDS04-0306/RSK:G04-20640 #165555 3
Document 126 Filed 03/13/2008 Page 3 of 3

Case 2:03-cv-02159-ROS-JRI