Opinion

Blackburn v. Oklahoma City VA Health Center

Court
District Court, W.D. Oklahoma
Filed
Jun 9, 2025
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 36.3%

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

TYEASHIA M. BLACKBURN, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) Case No. CIV-22-983-G

)

UNITED STATES, )

)

Defendant. )

ORDER

Now before the Court are two Motions filed by pro se Plaintiff Tyeashia M.

Blackburn.

First, Plaintiff has filed a Motion (Doc. No. 40) requesting that the Court exercise

its discretion under Federal Rule of Evidence 706 to secure or appoint an expert witness to

provide medical evidence and testimony on her behalf in this matter. Appointment of such

an expert under Rule 706 is rare and is contemplated as a measure “to aid the court.”

Hannah v. United States, 523 F.3d 597, 600 (5th Cir. 2008); Rachel v. Troutt, 829 F.3d

398-99 (10th Cir. 2016); Gov’t’s Resp. (Doc. No. 52) at 2. Courts have rejected the

proposition that the Rule permits “the appointment of, and compensation for, an expert to

aid one of the parties.” Brown v. Gray, No. 06-3003, 2011 WL 6091738, at *7 (D. Kan.

Dec. 7, 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). This Motion (Doc. No. 40) is therefore

DENIED.

Plaintiff next seeks reconsideration of the Court’s Order of May 15, 2025 (Doc. No.

53), in which the Court granted Defendant United States an extension of time to respond

to the pending motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff having shown no “clear error” or

“manifest injustice” in the relief granted by the Court, Plaintiff's Motion for

Reconsideration (Doc. No. 56) is DENIED. Servants of the Paraclete v. Does, 204 F.3d

1005, 1012 (10th Cir. 2000).

IT IS SO ORDERED this 9th day of June, 2025.

CHARLES B. GOODWIN

United States District Judge

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.