Plaintiffs Local Civil Rule 33.2 Interrogatories And Request For Production Of Documents

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS SOUTHERN/EASTERN DISTRICTS OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (In the space above enter the full name(s) of the plaintiff(s)/petitioner(s).) ____ Civ. ________ (___) (___) - against ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (In the space above enter the full name(s) of the defendant(s)/respondent(s).) PLAINTIFF'S LOCAL CIVIL RULE 33.2 INTERROGATORIES AND REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e), 33, 34 and 45, and Local Civil Rule 33.2, the defendants shall answer, under oath, the following interrogatories, and produce copies of the following documents, within 120 days of the service of the complaint on any named defendant, at the plaintiff's current address,1 as indicated below. These requests apply in Use of Force Cases, Inmate Against Inmate Assault Cases and Disciplinary Due Process Cases, as defined below, in which the events alleged in the complaint occurred while the plaintiff was in the custody of the Department of Correction of the City of New York, the New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision, or any other jail, prison or correctional facility operated by or for a city, county, municipal or other local governmental entity (collectively, the "Department"). DEFINITIONS 1. "Department" refers to the Department of Correction of the City of New York, New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision, and/or any other city, county, municipal or other local governmental entity that operates a jail, prison or correctional facility. "Facility" refers to the correctional facility where the Incident is alleged to have occurred. "Use of Force Case" refers to an action in which the complaint alleges that an employee of the Department, or Facility used physical force against the plaintiff in violation of the plaintiff's rights. 2. 3. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, if within the 120-day period the defendant(s) moves for dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) or 12(c), or moves for summary judgment on grounds which would be dispositive of the action in toto, defendants shall respond 30 days from denial of such motion in whole or in part. Rev. 07/2012 1 1 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 4. "Inmate against Inmate Assault Case" refers to an action in which the complaint alleges that an employee of the Department or Facility was responsible for plaintiff's injury resulting from physical contact with another inmate. "Disciplinary Due Process Case" refers to an action in which (i) the complaint alleges that an employee of the Department or Facility violated or permitted the violation of a constitutional right(s) in a disciplinary proceeding against plaintiff, and (ii) the punishment imposed upon plaintiff as a result of that proceeding was placement in a special housing unit for more than 30 days. "Incident" refers to the event or events described in the complaint. If the complaint alleges a due process violation in the course of prison disciplinary proceedings, "Incident" also refers to the event or events that gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings. "Identify," when applied to persons, shall mean: (i) full name and current or last known address for service; and (ii) for Department or Facility employees, badge number or numbers, if any; (iii) for former or present inmates, any and all inmate identification numbers, including "book and case," "DIN" and "NYSID" numbers. "Identify," when used in connection with a civil or criminal proceeding shall mean: the case name, court, docket number and date of commencement. INSTRUCTIONS 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. All defendants represented by the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, the Office of the Attorney General or counsel for or appointed by the Department responsible for the Facility, are instructed to produce documents (or copies thereof) and provide information in the defendants' custody, possession or control and documents and information in the custody, possession or control of the Department or Facility. If the Department or Facility is not a party, documents and information shall be produced as if a Rule 45 subpoena had been served on the Department or Facility. All responses are subject to the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e). Documents so produced shall be Bates-stamped or otherwise numbered sequentially. Whenever defendants or the non-party Department or Facility withhold any document or portion thereof that is responsive to any of the document requests for reasons of privilege or institutional security, counsel for defendants shall (i) obtain a copy of the document (including audio tape, videotape, electronic recording or photograph) from the appropriate agency or defendant and retain such document in defense counsel's office until the conclusion of the litigation; (ii) serve and file a (privilege) log in conformity with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) or Local Civil Rule 26.2, setting forth the reason for withholding the document; and (iii) make the withheld document available upon request to the Court. If the document is withheld for reasons of institutional discipline or security, rather than privilege, the document 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 2. Rev. 07/2012 shall also be made available to pro bono counsel, or to an interested attorney considering the Court's request for pro bono counsel, who shall maintain it in strict confidence. If security interests can be addressed by redacting a portion of the document, the redacted document shall be produced to plaintiff. Counsel for defendants may also take appropriate measures to ensure that Department letterhead, forms and stationery are not misused by plaintiff. 3. If any document responsive to this request exists in the form of a tape recording, video recording or other electronic recording it shall be preserved until the conclusion of the litigation. If a tape recording has not been transcribed, a copy of such tape or electronic recording shall be produced, subject to any state law or regulation barring access on grounds of security. If the tape, video or electronic recording is not produced to plaintiff, defense counsel shall retain the tape and make it available upon request to the Court, pro bono counsel or