Legal Question in Constitutional Law in District of Columbia
42 U.S.C. 1983 - Eighth Amendment Violation
If a plaintiff sues CCA and one of its officers under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for failure to provide medical care, and both CCA and the officer are represented by 1 counsel, can the plaintiff serve 25 interrogatories on CCA and then 25 interrogatories on the officer? Or, must the plaintiff only serve 25 interrogatories total on both defendants. The complaint caption reads, ''CCA, Officer X, defendants.''
I was appointed by the Court to represent a prisoner. I have never filed/dealt with a 1983 claim. I practice in a different area of law. In the prisoner litigation case, I served 25 interrogatories on each (both CCA and the officer got 25 totaling 50)and was told by opposing counsel that it was improper because under 42 usc 1983 the officer is being sued in his official capacity. I could use some guidance on this issue before I try to file a motion to compel or something (in case opposing counsel is correct). I'd appreciate if someone could tell me what has been done in 1983 cases they worked on and if they could point me to the applicable case law that supports 25 total interrogatories or 25 interrogatories to each defendant, totaling 50.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: 42 U.S.C. 1983 - Eighth Amendment Violation
I don't have specific authority to give you, but in a successful 1983 action I took against police officers, the district attorney, the City of Oklahoma City and the sheriff, we treated each as a separate defendant. Whether they were acting in their official capacities was a question to be decided in the case (and, to some extent, violating civil rights is, a fortiori, ultra vires and never in their official capacity, yet they remain "state actors" -- I think there is case law to that effect). Some defendants shared the same counsel, but we deposed and served interrogatories on each individually.
As a matter of common sense, I would think that any of the individual defendants that would have independent knowledge of the facts must be treated separately. For example, each defendant who acted for the City of Oklahoma City was fair game, but the City itself would not have been served with separate interrogatories since it could only respond with respect to its own agents' actions, and they were already defendants.
Good luck.
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