Christopher Scott Merrill v. Mark King, Mark Cooks, Stacy Lindahl, and John Doe

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan reviewed the parties’ objections to a magistrate judge’s discovery order in a prisoner civil-rights action concerning alleged deliberate indifference to medical and dental needs. The court affirmed the requirement that defendants consult relevant experts when responding to requests for admission and affirmed the resolution concerning production of medical records. The court otherwise held that defendants must conduct reasonable inquiries regarding information and documents within their control and supplement their discovery responses as appropriate.

Holdings

1. A party responding to a request for admission must make a reasonable inquiry, including conferring with relevant experts when the expert is a readily obtainable source of information within the party's control.
2. A party responding to interrogatories must make a reasonable effort to obtain information within the party's control or otherwise obtainable; the party may not rely solely on an unexplained assertion of ignorance.
3. A party must inquire about and produce responsive documents within its possession, custody, or control; physical possession or having the documents 'on hand' is not required.
4. The magistrate judge properly treated Merrill's request for his remaining medical records as resolved by Defendants' agreement to produce them upon receipt of the necessary subpoenas.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a party responding to requests for admission must include consultation with the party's relevant experts as part of the reasonable inquiry required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36.
2. Whether an individual responding to interrogatories may simply state that he does not know or does not recall, without making a reasonable inquiry into information within his control or otherwise obtainable.
3. Whether a responding party must make a reasonable inquiry and produce documents within its possession, custody, or control even when the documents are not physically on hand.
4. Whether the magistrate judge properly treated production of Merrill's remaining medical records as resolved by Defendants' agreement to produce them upon receipt of subpoenas.

Disposition

other