Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-5_05-cv-03717/USCOURTS-cand-5_05-cv-03717-5/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 42:2000e Job Discrimination (Employment)

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1 Plaintiff did not respond to the motion whatsoever. She filed neither an opposition to

the motion to compel nor a statement of nonopposition pursuant to Civ. L.R. 7-3.

2 The holding of this court is limited to the facts and particular circumstances underlying

the present motion.

ORDER, page 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN JOSE DIVISION

ELIZABETH DEL CARMEN PEZOA,

Plaintiff,

v.

COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, HUNG

MAHN NGUYEN aka SUNG NGUYEN,

Defendants. ___________________________________

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Case No.: C 05-3717 JF (PVT)

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT HUNG

MAHN NGUYEN’S MOTION TO COMPEL

AND VACATING HEARING DATE 

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Hung Mahn Nguyen aka Sung Nguyen ("Nguyen") moves to compel plaintiff

Elizabeth Del Carmen Pezoa ("Pezoa") to provide responses to requests for production. Plaintiff

Pezoa has not opposed the motion.1

 The court finds that this motion is suitable for adjudication on

the papers and vacates the hearing date. See, Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). Having reviewed the papers and

considered the arguments of counsel and for the reasons set forth below, the court grants defendant

Nguyen's motion to compel.2 

Case 5:05-cv-03717-JF Document 50 Filed 08/23/07 Page 1 of 4
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ORDER, page 2

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was formerly employed as a social worker with the county of Santa Clara. Her

supervisor was defendant Nguyen. Plaintiff alleges that defendant Nguyen segregated social

workers under his supervision based on their ethnicity and that social workers of Vietnamese

descent (and not Latino descent) were afforded certain privileges that included reduced caseloads

and more flexible working hours. As a social worker of Chilean descent, plaintiff alleges she was

denied such privileges during the course of her employment. Additionally, plaintiff alleges

negligent hiring by the county because defendant Nguyen had been previously convicted of sex

crimes.

On September 14, 2005, plaintiff filed a complaint alleging various state and federal

employment discrimination and harassment claims. 

On February 20, 2007, defendant Nguyen served a request for production. From March-July

2007, defendant Nguyen granted numerous requests by plaintiff for extensions of time to respond to

the request for production. On May 8, 2007, plaintiff produced documents unaccompanied by

specific responses and a verification. On July 5, 2007, plaintiff informed defendant Nguyen that an

original response to the request for production had been misplaced and later would be served. 

Defendant Nguyen granted an additional extension until July 18, 2007 to serve a response and

verification. Plaintiff has served a verification but has failed to serve a response. To date, plaintiff

has failed to serve defendant Nguyen any response to the request for production.

 DISCUSSION

Defendant Nguyen moves to compel plaintiff to produce documents responsive in the

following categories: (1) any documents related to plaintiff’s exhaustion of administrative

remedies;(2) any documents related to plaintiff’s communications pertaining to defendant Nguyen;

(3) any documents related to plaintiff’s alleged employment claims; (4) any documents related to

defendant Nguyen’s alleged violations of state labor laws; (5) any documents related to an

investigation of the alleged employment claims by the Department of Justice; and (6) any documents

related to plaintiff’s claims for damages. The request for production was served initially on

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ORDER, page 3

February 20, 2007. Following several requests for additional time to respond, plaintiff produced

documents on May 8, 2007. However, the documents produced were unaccompanied by any written

response or verification. Despite numerous entreaties from defendant Nguyen from May 8, 2007

until July 18, 2007 to serve a written response to the request for production, plaintiff did not serve

any written response. Defendant Nguyen complains that without a written response to the request

for production, it remains unclear whether plaintiff has any objections, whether all responsive

documents have been produced or whether any documents have been withheld on the basis of

privilege or attorney work-product. 

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,

The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within 30 days

after service of the request. A shorter or longer time may be directed by the court or, in the

absence of such an order, agreed to in writing by the parties, subject to Rule 29. The

response shall state, with respect to each item or category, that inspection and related

activities will be permitted as requested, unless the request is objected to, including an

objection to the form or forms for producing electronically stored information, stating the

reasons for the objection.

Fed. R. Civ P. 34(b).

Without ruling on the relevance of the specific categories of documents contained in the

request for production (as the actual request for production which was served on plaintiff was not

filed with the court), defendant Nguyen is entitled to a written response to the request for

production. In light of the untimely written response, all objections are waived. See, e.g., Richmark

Corp. v. Timber Falling Consultants, 959 F.2d 1468, 1473 (9th Cir. 1992)(“Failure to object to

discovery requests within the time required constitutes a waiver of any objection.”). Accordingly,

plaintiff shall serve defendant Nguyen with a written response to the request for production.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, defendant Nguyen's motion to compel is granted. Plaintiff Pezoa 

shall provide a written response to request for production no later than September 18, 2007.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 23, 2007

 

PATRICIA V. TRUMBULL

United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER, page 4

Counsel automatically notified of this filing via the court’s Electronic Case Filing system.

copies mailed on to:

 _________________________

 CORINNE LEW

 Courtroom Deputy 

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