Stewart v. Tallent ( 2020 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS TEXARKANA DIVISION JASON SHANNON STEWART and PLAINTIFFS ROBERT JASON DILLARD v. Civil No. 4:19-CV-04127 (consolidated with 4:19-4127) JANA TALLENT, et. al. DEFENDANTS ORDER This is a civil rights action filed by the Plaintiffs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs proceed pro se and in forma pauperis. Currently before the Court is Plaintiff Dillard’s Motion to Compel. (ECF No. 32). Plaintiff filed his Motion on May 28, 2020. (ECF No. 32). He requests a variety of discovery items, including, but not limited to, witness statements, video footage of the incident in this case, photographs of signage in the jail. Defendants filed their Response to the Motion on June 1, 2020. (ECF No. 33). In their Response, Defendants specifically addressed the request for witness statements. Their Response to Plaintiff’s other requests, however, states only “[m]any of the documents/video requested by Plaintiff in his discovery requests do not exist. . .” (Id. at 1). The Court finds this response insufficient to meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which require specific and factually supported explanations to support any discovery objection. See, e.g. Vallejo v. Amgen, 903 F.3d 733, 743 (8th Cir. 2018) (a party claiming that discovery requests are unduly burdensome may not rely on conclusory statements; they must provide “specific and factual” grounds for the objection); Lynn v. Monarch Recovery Mgt., Inc., 285 F.R.D. 350, 356 (D. Md. 2012) (“objections to interrogatories must be specific, non- boilerplate, and supported by particularized facts where necessary to demonstrate the basis for the objection”). Accordingly, Defendants are DIRECTED to provide specific and factual grounds to support their objection to each of Plaintiff’s discovery requests noted in his Motion to Compel. This Response is due no later than June 29, 2020. IT IS SO ORDERED this 15th day of June 2020. /s/ Barry A. Bryant HON. BARRY A. BRYANT UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE