Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_06-cv-01403/USCOURTS-caed-1_06-cv-01403-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LIONELL ERNEST THOLMER,

Plaintiff,

v.

JAMES A. YATES, et. al.,

Defendants.

 /

CV F 06 1403 AWI LJO P 

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL

PRISON TO PROVIDE PLAINTIFF WITH

TRUST ACCOUNT STATEMENT (Doc. 12.) 

 Lionell Ernest Tholmer (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil

rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed the instant action on October 12,

2006. The Court issued an Order requiring Plaintiff to submit a completed application to proceed

in forma pauperis or pay the filing fee on November 14, 2006. Plaintiff, however, has not yet

complied with the Court Order. 

On December 11, 2006, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel the Defendants to provide

Plaintiff with a certified copy of his trust account statement under Rule 27. 

Pursuant to Rule 37(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party propounding

discovery may seek an order compelling disclosure when an opposing party has failed to respond

or has provided evasive or incomplete responses. Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(2)(3). Rule 37, however, is

reserved to discovery proceedings. In this case, the Court has not yet opened discovery and even

were that the case, the discovery of a trust account statement is irrelevant to the claims raised in

the case. Thus, Plaintiff’s Motion must be denied on those grounds. 

Plaintiff is informed that he must follow all the prison procedures required in order to

Case 1:06-cv-01403-LJO-GSA Document 13 Filed 12/15/06 Page 1 of 2
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obtain the appropriate documentation that must accompany his application to proceed in forma

pauperis. Should Plaintiff experience difficulty in obtaining the necessary documentation, he

may submit a copy of the Court’s Order requiring that he attach such documentation to his

request. If the Court has not received the items requested by Plaintiff, Plaintiff must contact the

prison trust account office concerning any delay in the submission of the documents. It does not

appear from Plaintiff’s Motion that he has done this but instead has looked to the Court for

assistance via a Motion to Compel. The Court may not intervene on Plaintiff’s behalf and Order

the prison to provide Plaintiff with the necessary documentation. The responsibility to obtain

such documentation and have it submitted to the Court is on the Plaintiff as he is the person

seeking in forma pauperis status. 

Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS: 

1. The Motion to Compel is DENIED. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 14, 2006 /s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill 

b9ed48 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:06-cv-01403-LJO-GSA Document 13 Filed 12/15/06 Page 2 of 2