Henry W. Kerr v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, John Van Geldern, Real Parties in Interest
Opinion
Opinion
Hamley, J.
Petitioners seek from this court a writ of mandamus or prohibition under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 , vacating an order of respondent district court which granted a motion of the real parties in interest requiring petitioners to produce various documents by way of discovery under Rules 34 and 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. We deny the petition.
The real parties in interest, who seek the documents, are seven California state prisoners who have joined as plaintiffs in a civil rights action against petitioners in the respondent district court. Plaintiffs in that suit assert district court jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1343 , 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, and 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202. Plaintiffs brought the action on behalf of themselves and of a class, divided into several subclasses, consisting of all others similarly situated.
Petitioners in this mandamus proceeding are the defendants in the civil rights action described above. They constitute the members of the California Adult Authority, two state administrative officers, their agents, employees and successors in interest, as described in the caption of the complaint.