Abd-Rahmaan v. Wahikoa

CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedOctober 27, 2022
Docket1:22-cv-00443
StatusUnknown

This text of Abd-Rahmaan v. Wahikoa (Abd-Rahmaan v. Wahikoa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abd-Rahmaan v. Wahikoa, (D. Haw. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII

KHATIB M. ABD-RAHMAAN, Civil No. 22-00443 LEK-RT

Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT WITH v. LEAVE GRANTED TO AMEND

CELIA WAHIKOA, et al.,

Defendants.

ORDER DISMISSING PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE GRANTED TO AMEND

Before the Court is a Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint (“Complaint”) filed by pro se Plaintiff Khatib M. Abd-Rahmaan (“Abd-Rahmaan”) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.1 ECF No. 1 at 9. Abd-Rahmaan alleges that Defendants violated his constitutional rights on a Kauai bus and at the Kauai Community Correctional Center (“KCC”), a state prison facility.2 According to Abd-Rahmaan, Defendants

1 Abd-Rahmaan is not currently in custody. See VINE, https://vinelink.vineapps.com/search/HI/Person (select “Name”; enter “Khatib” in “First Name” field and “Abd-Rahmaan” in “Last Name field”; and select “Search”) (last viewed on Oct. 26, 2022).

2 Abd-Rahmaan names as Defendants Kauai Bus executive Celia Wahikoa, Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, and former KCCC Warden Neal Wagatsuma. ECF No. 1 at 1–2. Abd-Rahmaan mistakenly provides Mayor Kawakami’s first name as “Daniel” instead of “Derek.” Id. at 1. infringed on his free exercise rights, denied him medical care, and subjected him to hazardous conditions.

After conducting the screening required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), the Court DISMISSES the Complaint with leave granted to amend. If Abd-Rahmaan wants this action to proceed, he must file an amended pleading that cures the

deficiencies in his claims on or before November 28, 2022. I. STATUTORY SCREENING Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), the Court is required to screen complaints filed by parties proceeding in forma pauperis. See Lopez v. Smith, 203

F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). Under this screening provision, the Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if it: (1) is frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; or (3) seeks

monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) incorporates the same standard as a dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure. Rosati v. Igbinoso, 791 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir. 2015). Under this standard, a complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662,

678 (2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). A claim is “plausible” when the facts alleged support a reasonable inference that the plaintiff is entitled to relief from a specific defendant for specific misconduct. See id.

During screening, the Court liberally construes pro se litigants’ pleadings and resolves all doubts in their favor. See Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (citations omitted). The Court must grant leave to amend if it appears

the plaintiff can correct the defects in the complaint. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1130. When it is clear that a claim cannot be saved by amendment, dismissal with prejudice is appropriate. See Sylvia Landfield Tr. v. City of Los Angeles, 729 F.3d 1189, 1196 (9th Cir. 2013).

II. ABD-RAHMAAN’S CLAIMS3 On the morning of July 10, 2022, Abd-Rahmaan boarded a public bus in Lihue, Kauai. ECF No. 1 at 9. While Abd-Rahmaan was seated on the bus,

another passenger stomped on his foot and hit him in the back of the head with a suitcase. Id. When Abd-Rahmaan attempted to exit the bus, the passenger blocked his way. Id. As Abd-Rahmaan exited the bus, police arrested him for assault. Id. After his arrest, the police took Abd-Rahmaan to the Wilcox Medical

Center. Id. at 5. Once there, Abd-Rahmaan told hospital staff that he is blind in his left eye, he takes daily prescription medication, he uses glaucoma eye drops, he

3 At screening, Abd-Rahmaan’s well-pleaded factual allegations are accepted as true. See, e.g., Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2014). is Muslim and eats a pork-free diet, and he needed X-rays and pain medication for the foot that had been stomped on. Id.

Abd-Rahmaan was then taken to the KCCC. Id. at 6. Abd-Rahmaan told unidentified prison officials that he is Muslim, he requires a clean environment and pork-free diet, he prays five times a day, and he needs Islamic literature. Id.

According to Abd-Rahmaan, he was “forced to eat pork.” Id. While at the KCCC, Abd-Rahmaan was assigned to a housing unit where other inmates obtained drugs from prison officials. Id. at 7. In addition, Abd-Rahmaan alleges that there was “asbestos and poor

ventilation . . . everywhere” at the KCCC. Id. Abd-Rahmaan signed the Complaint on October 11, 2022, and the Court received and docketed it on the same day. Id. at 1. The Court granted

Abd-Rahman’s Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs on October 20, 2022. ECF No. 6. In the Complaint, Abd-Rahmaan seeks, among other things, injunctive relief and $40 million in damages. ECF No. 1 at 8. III. DISCUSSION A. Misjoinder

Abd-Rahmaan names as Defendants Kauai Bus executive Celia Wahikoa, Kauai County Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, and former KCCC Warden Neal Wagatsuma. ECF No. 1 at 1–2. Abd-Rahmaan’s claims are based on events that

allegedly occurred over the course of at least ninety days in 2022, both on a public bus and at the KCCC. Id. at 5–10. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 18(a), governing joinder of claims, a plaintiff may bring multiple claims, related or not, in a lawsuit against a single

defendant. To name different defendants in the same lawsuit, however, a plaintiff must satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20, governing joinder of parties. Rule 20(a)(2) allows joinder of defendants only if the following

two requirements are met: (1) any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences; and (2) any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2)(A)–

(B); Stribling v. Tobias, 690 F. App’x 972, 973 (9th Cir. 2017). Unrelated claims involving different defendants belong in different suits. See What v. Honolulu Police Dep’t, Civil No. 13-00373 HG-RLP, 2014 WL 176610, at *4–5 (D. Haw.

Jan. 13, 2014). Here, it is unclear why Abd-Rahmaan’s claims against Wahikoa, Mayor Kawakami, and Wagatsuma are joined in the same action. Presumably, the alleged

events on the public bus have nothing to do with the conditions that Abd-Rahmaan experienced at the KCCC.

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