Ghaemmaghami v. Dignity Health

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WO
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Vafa Ghaemmaghami,
Plaintiff,
v.
Dignity Health,
Defendant.
No. CV-24-00052-PHX-KML
ORDER
The parties ask the court to resolve another discovery dispute in this case between
plaintiff Vafa Ghaemmaghami and defendant Dignity Health (“Dignity”) regarding
Dignity’s provision of paid time off for physicians. The parties contest whether Dignity
must provide discovery responses for physicians whose contracts do not specifically
designate “Dignity Health” as the employer. (Doc. 91 at 2.)
In December 2025, this court ordered Dignity to provide discovery responses for
“all Dignity physicians” rather than limiting responses to physicians employed by Dignity
Health Medical Group of Arizona. (Doc. 82 at 2.) Dignity now effectively argues its
responses should be limited to physicians whose contracts name “Dignity Health” as the
employer. (Doc. 91 at 2, 4.) Ghaemmaghami argues this response is too limited because
Dignity Health may qualify as a physician’s employer even if it is not designated as the
employer on a contract. (Doc. 91 at 2-3 (citing A.R.S. § 23-371, which defines “employer”
as an “entity acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee”).) For instance, Ghaemmaghami suggests physicians’ contractually-designated
Case 2:24-cv-00052-KML Document 92 Filed 01/21/26 Page 1 of 3

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employer may be a separate (but presumably Dignity-related) entity, with Dignity still
processing the physicians’ payroll, operating and governing the relevant facilities,
providing benefit plans, and applying Dignity leave policies. (Doc. 91 at 3.)
Ghaemmaghami has only named “Dignity Health” in the complaint; he cannot now
request that Dignity produce information solely in the possession, custody, or control of a
separate entity. In re Citric Acid Litig., 191 F.3d 1090, 1107 (9th Cir. 1999) (“Control is
defined as the legal right to obtain documents upon demand.”) (simplified). But there may
be physicians who are contractually “employed” by entities which are sufficiently related
to Dignity that Dignity maintains actual possession, custody, or control over responsive
documents. See United States v. Int’l Union of Petroleum & Indus. Workers, AFL-CIO,
870 F.2d 1450, 1452 (9th Cir. 1989) (“A corporation must produce documents possessed
by a subsidiary that the parent corporation owns or wholly controls.”). And it is possible
that Dignity qualifies as an employer over these physicians under A.R.S. § 23-371, making
that information relevant to Ghaemmaghami’s claims. Accordingly, regardless of a
physician’s contractually-designated employer, Dignity must produce information in its
possession, custody, and control where all of the following are true: Dignity leave policies
apply to the physicians; Dignity processes the physicians’ payroll; and Dignity governs or
operates facilities in which the physicians work.
The parties are in the best position to identify the appropriate deadline based on their
knowledge of the volume of responsive documents and likely time necessary to review the
production before other deadlines arise. The parties must confer and file a joint proposed
deadline for the production to be complete. If the parties cannot agree, they may submit
separate deadlines in a supplemental joint discovery dispute pleading.
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IT IS ORDERED no later than January 26, 2026, the parties shall file a joint
statement identifying a proposed deadline for the production of all responsive documents
as set forth above. If the parties cannot agree on a deadline, the joint statement must identify
each party’s proposed deadline.
Dated this 21st day of January, 2026.
Case 2:24-cv-00052-KML Document 92 Filed 01/21/26 Page 3 of 3