Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn v. Hopper, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedDecember 5, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-00222
StatusUnknown

This text of Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn v. Hopper, et al. (Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn v. Hopper, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn v. Hopper, et al., (S.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALFRED EUGENE SHALLOWHORN, Case No.: 3:25-cv-0222-RBM-MMP CDCR #P-13049, 12 ORDER: Plaintiff, 13 vs. (1) DENYING MOTION FOR 14 EXTENSION OF TIME TO AMEND

15 AS MOOT; and HOPPER, et al., 16 Defendants. (2) DISMISSING FIRST AMENDED 17 COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) & 1915A(b) 18 19 20 On January 29, 2025, Plaintiff Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn, a state prisoner 21 proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.) On 22 May 27, 2025, the Court granted leave to proceed IFP and dismissed the complaint for 23 failure to state a claim. (Doc. 4.) Plaintiff was later granted an extension of time to amend 24 on or before September 30, 2025. (Doc. 7.) 25 On September 2, 2025, Plaintiff filed a motion for an extension of time to amend 26 and filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on September 22, 2025. (Docs. 8–9.) 27 Because the FAC was timely filed, Plaintiff’s Motion for an extension of time to amend is 28 DENIED as moot. 1 I. Screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b) 2 A. Standard of Review 3 Because Plaintiff is a prisoner proceeding IFP, his FAC requires a pre-Answer 4 screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) & 1915A(b). Under these statutes, the Court 5 must sua sponte dismiss a prisoner’s IFP complaint, or any portion of it, which is frivolous, 6 malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks damages from defendants who are immune. See 7 Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc); Rhodes v. Robinson, 8 621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010). 9 “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon 10 which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of 11 Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 12 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012); see also Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 13 2012) (section 1915A screening “incorporates the familiar standard applied in the context 14 of failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)”). Rule 12(b)(6) 15 requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim 16 to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting 17 Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “To establish § 1983 liability, a 18 plaintiff must show both (1) deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of 19 the United States, and (2) that the deprivation was committed by a person acting under 20 color of state law.” Tsao v. Desert Palace, Inc., 698 F.3d 1128, 1138 (9th Cir. 2012). 21 B. Plaintiff’s Allegations 22 Plaintiff alleges he has a mental health chrono allowing him to possess a television 23 for mental health support and stress relief. (Doc. 9 at 2.) Defendant Captain Hopper, who 24 had originally approved the television, ordered it removed from Plaintiff’s cell “without 25 authorization or legal cause allegedly in retaliation for Plaintiff’s refusal to transfer to 26 another yard/institution.” (Id. at 2, 5, 7.) Plaintiff filed a 602-inmate grievance requesting 27 Hopper be arrested for misdemeanor theft of the television, states that Hopper “tried to 28 cover up removal” of the television by falsely stating the medical chrono had expired, and 1 alleges that Hopper sent emails to “mental health” asking them to stop helping Plaintiff 2 and leave it up to Hopper and the administration “to deal with plaintiff.” (Id. at 5–7.) 3 Plaintiff was refused copies of those emails, “which is part of the conspiracy to illegally 4 transfer plaintiff in retaliation” for filing prior grievances, and claims Hopper’s actions 5 interfered with and denied him “mental health and medical needs.” (Id. at 6–9.) 6 Plaintiff went on a hunger strike in protest of the taking of his television, for the 7 “illegal transfer action,” and for “two retaliatory write-ups and correction of Plaintiff’s 8 good time points.” (Id. at 9–10.) He walked up and down in front of the program office 9 for several hours each morning for two days requesting the return of his television while 10 staff laughed and joked and refused to assist him in speaking with Defendant Warden 11 Guzman or other staff. (Id. at 10–11.) Defendant Sergeant Estrada told Plaintiff that 12 Hopper said not to return the television and to give Plaintiff food items to end his hunger 13 strike and refused to inform Hopper or Guzman that Plaintiff would end his hunger strike 14 with the return of his television. (Id. at 11.) Plaintiff refused the food and was told to leave 15 the program office and return to his cell pending a yard release. (Id. at 12.) When Plaintiff 16 stated that they were denying him his right to protest, Estrada told him the watch 17 commander said they could use force to return him to his cell. (Id. at 12–13.) Estrada told 18 Plaintiff “‘we’ didn’t give you nothing the first hunger strike so why would ‘we’ now,” 19 and “released yard but not Plaintiff[’s] building.” Id. at 13. The watch commander said if 20 Plaintiff would return to his cell, Estrada would come there to speak with him, and he 21 returned to his cell. Id. 22 Estrada and the watch commander went to Plaintiff’s cell where the watch 23 commander denied that he told Estrada that correctional staff could use force to remove 24 Plaintiff from the program office. (Id. at 14.) The watch commander said he was checking 25 on the television situation but wanted to wait for Hopper to return. (Id.) While they were 26 speaking, other inmates were yelling for them to release the yard. (Id.) Plaintiff told 27 Estrada and the watch commander that he no longer wished to speak with them and that he 28 thought they were inciting the other inmates to violence toward him by blaming him for 1 the delay in releasing the yard in his building. (Id.) They continued to try to talk for 20– 2 30 minutes, delaying the yard release, and then spoke to an inmate porter for about 15 3 minutes while pointing at Plaintiff. (Id. at 15.) The inmate porter told Plaintiff that he and 4 the other inmates were upset Plaintiff was causing a delay in the yard release. (Id.) Plaintiff 5 claims Estrada delayed the yard release and blamed it on his hunger strike to create a 6 dangerous environment as a pretext to transfer him. (Id. at 15–16.) He states he “was 7 treated differently but not physical assaulted,” and that his hunger strike was unnecessarily 8 prolonged causing him to change to a non-solid food hunger strike. (Id. at 16–17.) 9 Plaintiff claims Defendant Correctional Officer Carrillo joined the conspiracy by 10 writing Plaintiff up for refusing the transfer and delaying an officer’s duties. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
Alfred Eugene Shallowhorn v. Hopper, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alfred-eugene-shallowhorn-v-hopper-et-al-casd-2025.