Anthony M. Herrera v. Jeff Lynch, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants defendants’ motion to compel the completion of plaintiff’s deposition in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court reopens discovery through November 24, 2025 for the limited purpose of completing the deposition, denies plaintiff’s request to remove defense counsel, and resets the pretrial motion deadline to January 9, 2026. The order cautions that refusal to participate may result in sanctions, including terminating sanctions.

Holdings

1. Defendants were entitled to compel plaintiff's further deposition because discovery includes a deposition concerning the factual allegations, legal claims, and defenses at issue, and the original deposition was not completed.
2. Good cause existed under Rule 16(b)(4) to reopen discovery for 45 days for the limited purpose of allowing defendants to complete plaintiff's deposition.
3. Defendants may complete plaintiff's further deposition in one day for up to seven hours.
4. Plaintiff's request to remove defense counsel was denied, and the court found no grounds for sanctions.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendants were entitled to compel plaintiff to complete his deposition.
2. Whether good cause existed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to reopen discovery for the limited purpose of completing plaintiff's deposition.
3. Whether defense counsel should be removed or sanctioned based on counsel's conduct during the deposition.
4. Whether defendants should receive additional deposition time under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(d)(1).

Disposition

other