Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 1 of 8 1 Honorable Richard A. Jones 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 9 10 11 JESSICA BENTON, SHELBY BRYANT, ANNE MARIE CAVANAUGH, ALYSSA GARRISON, and CLARE THOMAS, Plaintiffs, 12 v. 13 14 No. 2:20-CV-01174 RAJ JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN CITY OF SEATTLE, Defendant. 15 16 17 Pursuant to Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Western District of 18 Washington and the Court’s Order (Dkt. No. 15). Plaintiffs Jessica Benton, Shelby Bryant, Anne 19 Marie Cavanaugh, Alyssa Garrison, Clare Thomas and Defendant City of Seattle (collectively the 20 “Parties”) submit the following Joint Status Report and Discovery Plan: 21 22 23 1. Statement of the Nature and Complexity of the Case. Plaintiffs’ claims arise out of Defendant’s response to ongoing protests against police brutality and Defendant’s crowd control policies, including Defendant’s use of “less-lethal” weapons. Plaintiff JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 1 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 2 of 8 1 alleges, inter alia, claims of violation of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United 2 States Constitution. Defendant denies Plaintiffs’ allegations intends to assert affirmative defenses, 3 including, but not limited to, lack of standing, that Defendant cannot be held liable on a respondeat 4 superior basis, and Plaintiffs are not entitled to injunctive and declaratory relief. Plaintiffs filed a 5 6 motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, which the Court denied. Neither party deems this case particularly complex. 2. 7 8 9 The Parties respectfully propose a deadline of November 30, 2020 for joining additional parties. 3. 10 No. 11 4. 12 13 Proposed Deadline for Joining Additional Parties. Assignment to Magistrate Judge. Proposed Discovery Plan: A. Initial Disclosures. The parties exchanged initial disclosures as of the date of this filing. B. 14 Subject, Timing, and Potential Phasing of Discovery. The Parties expect the topics for discovery to include all asserted claims and defenses. Discovery will 15 be completed at least 120 days prior to the proposed trial date, in accordance 16 with the Court’s order. Dkt. 15. The City of Seattle intends to move to stay this 17 matter and consolidate the matter in all respects with Black Lives Matter v. City of Seattle, Case No. 20-887-RAJ. Plaintiffs oppose the City’s anticipated 18 motion. The Plaintiffs intend to amend their Complaint following actions 19 20 21 22 taken by Seattle Police Department on August 27, 2020. C. Electronically Stored Information. The Parties do not currently seek additional management on discovery issues. The Parties do not anticipate electronic discovery to be onerous at this point in time. 23 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 2 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 3 of 8 1 D. 2 Privilege Issues. The Parties agree that there are no unique or special privilege issues in this matter. E. 3 Proposed Limitations on Discovery. The Parties do not propose any limitations on discovery. 4 F. 5 Discovery Related Orders. The City of Seattle intends to move to stay this matter and consolidate the matter in all respects with Black Lives Matter v. 6 City of Seattle, Case No. 20-887-RAJ. Plaintiffs oppose the City’s anticipated 7 motion. As to other discovery orders, the Parties anticipate seeking entry of a 8 protective order to protect sensitive matters, such as personal identity 9 information and tactical/training information, the public disclosure of which 10 would compromise effective law enforcement, or as otherwise permitted under 11 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 12 13 14 5. Local Civil Rule 26(f)(1) A. Prompt Case Resolution. The Parties have not communicated about the potential for early resolution. B. Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Parties intend to pursue mediation 15 pursuant to Local Civil Rule 39.1 at least 60 days prior to the proposed trial 16 date. 17 C. a related case with overlapping facts, claims, and prayers for relief. United 18 States v. City of Seattle, 12-1282-JLR has some matters that overlap with this 19 20 21 Related Cases. Black Lives Matter v. City of Seattle, Case No. 20-887-RAJ is case. D. Discovery Management. The Plaintiffs do not believe that this case will require unusual or extensive discovery, or assistance or orders from the Court 22 regarding the scheduling or management of discovery. Defendant anticipates 23 time-consuming discovery, as this case potentially involves thousands of hours JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 3 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 4 of 8 1 of video requiring review, potential redaction, and production. Defendant 2 intends to move to stay this matter and consolidate the matter in all respects 3 with Black Lives Matter v. City of Seattle, Case No. 20-887-RAJ. Plaintiffs 4 oppose the City’s anticipated motion. Further, the Parties anticipate cooperating with respect to discovery issues as outlined herein and will 5 cooperate to simplify pretrial matters related to the case to the extent possible. 6 The Parties anticipate agreeing to email service of discovery documents, where 7 8 9 possible. E. Anticipated Discovery Sought. Plaintiffs anticipate seeking discovery regarding: (1) the decisions pertaining to the use of force against protestors; (2) 10 Defendant’s policies related to the use of force against protestors; (3) the 11 identities of Incident Commanders responsible for coordinating police 12 13 14 operations during ongoing demonstrations or marches; (4) police incident logs and reports related to ongoing demonstrations or marches; (5) communications to, from, and within the Seattle Police Operations Center regarding crowd control efforts and ongoing demonstrations or marches; (6) communications 15 with other agencies regarding intelligence of ongoing demonstrations or 16 marches; (7) briefing materials or other documents provided to police officers 17 regarding crowd control efforts; (8) communications with other agencies, 18 19 20 21 22 departments, or organizations regarding crowd control efforts within Defendant’s jurisdiction; (9) daily inventory of all “less lethal” crowd control tools and policies, trainings, and related communications; (10); information regarding order for each deployment and use of “less lethal” crowd control tool and identity of officer involved; (11) identity of other agencies, departments, or organizations who aided with crowd control; (12) officer body worn video 23 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 4 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 5 of 8 1 (“BWV”) footage; (13) health records and incident records pertaining to 2 officers injured in response to ongoing protests, marches, and demonstrations. 3 Defendant anticipates seeking discovery regarding (1) the factual bases for 4 Plaintiffs’ claims; (2) Plaintiffs’ claimed injuries; (3) the individual Plaintiffs’ activities during the events at issue; (4) Plaintiffs’ communications relating to 5 the events at issue and their claimed injuries; (5) Plaintiffs’ planning for the 6 events at issue; (6) Photographs and videos in Plaintiffs’ possession relating to 7 the events at issue and Plaintiffs’ claimed injuries; and (7) documents, records, 8 and other tangible items in Plaintiffs’ possession related to the events at issue 9 and Plaintiffs’ claimed injuries. F. 10 Phasing. Phasing is not currently required in this case, but may be proposed at a later point in the case, depending on case development, needs, and 11 circumstances. 12 G. 13 Preservation of Discoverable Information. The Parties do not currently anticipate any issues regarding the perseveration of evidence, which may also 14 involve obtaining materials from third parties. 15 H. Privilege Issues. The Parties agree that there are no unique or special privilege 16 issues in this matter. Parties agree to handle inadvertent production of 17 privileged information pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d) and (e) or otherwise in accordance with procedures agreed to by the parties. 18 I. 19 Agreement regarding Discovery of ESI to the extent that discovery of such 20 information arises in this case, with modifications agreed to by both Parties. 21 22 Model Protocol for Discovery of ESI. The Parties agree to adopt the Model J. 6. Alternatives to Model Protocol. See above. Discovery Cut-off. 23 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 5 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 6 of 8 1 The Parties propose 120 days before trial as a deadline for completion of discovery, in 2 accordance with the Court’s Order. Dkt. 15. The Parties will be permitted to conduct expert 3 discovery up to 45 days after the disclosure of expert reports and/or rebuttal expert reports mandated 4 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a). 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 7. Bifurcation. Bifurcation is not anticipated at this time. However, as noted above, Defendant intends to move to stay and consolidate. 8. Trial Date. The Parties’ earliest availability for trial is September 2021. In light of evolving conditions related to the COVID-19 outbreak in the District, including General Order No. 08-20, the Parties recognize that the trial date may be delayed. 9. Jury. Plaintiffs filed a jury demand. 10. Length of Trial. The parties estimate approximately 10 court days. 11. Trial Counsel. Attorneys for Plaintiffs 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 J. Talitha Hazelton SMITH LAW LLC 4301 NE 4th Street P.O. Box 2767 Renton, WA 98059 (206) 715-4248 Email: talitha@thesmihtlaw.com Attorneys for Defendant Ghazal Sharifi Carolyn Boies Assistant City Attorneys Seattle City Attorney’s Office 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 6 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 7 of 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 684-8200 Email: ghazal.sharifi@seattle.gov Carolyn.boies@seattle.gov 12. Trial Date Conflicts. Plaintiffs are available for trial in September of 2021 and do not anticipate any unavailability in the subsequent months. Counsel for defendant is available for trial in September 2021 and onward. 13. Corporate Disclosure Statement. Not applicable. 14. Service. Defendant completed a waiver of service that was filed on August 20, 2020 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 7 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:20-cv-01174-RAJ Document 29 Filed 09/02/20 Page 8 of 8 1 DATED: September 1, 2020 2 By: s/ J. Talitha Hazellton J. Talitha Hazelton, #52460 Smith Law LLC 4301 NE 4th Street P.O. Box 2767 Renton, WA 98059 Telephone: 206.715.4248 Facsimile: Email: talitha@thesmithlaw.com 3 4 5 6 7 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Jessica Benton, Shelby Bryant, Anne Marie Cavanaugh, Alyssa Garrison and Clare Thomas 8 9 By: s/ Ghazal Sharifi By: s/ Carolyn Boies Ghazal Sharifi, #47750 Carolyn Boies, #40395 10 11 Seattle City Attorney’s Office 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 684-8200 Email: Ghazal.Sharifi@seattle.gov Carolyn.Boies@seattle.gov 12 13 14 15 Attorneys for Defendant City of Seattle 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 JOINT STATUS REPORT AND DISCOVERY PLAN - 8 (2:20-cv-01174 RAJ) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 5th Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104-7095 (206) 684-8200