Bennett v. Newsom

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedApril 9, 2024
Docket3:23-cv-05905
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Bennett v. Newsom, (N.D. Cal. 2024).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 DAVID BENNETT, Case No. 23-cv-05905-JSC

8 Plaintiff, ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE TO AMEND; DIRECTING PLAINTIFF 9 v. TO PROVIDE NAMES AND LOCATIONS OF DEFENDANTS; 10 DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL AND 11 GALVIN NEWSOM, et al., REQUEST FOR APPOINMENT OF GUARDIAN AD LITEM Defendants. 12 Re: Dkt. No. 26 13

INTRODUCTION 14 Plaintiff, currently an inmate at the Yolo County Jail proceeding without representation by 15 an attorney, filed this civil action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 16 California. The Eastern District granted him leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissed the 17 complaint with leave to amend. (ECF No. 17.) Plaintiff filed an amended complaint (ECF No. 18 20), which is now the operative complaint.1 The Eastern District transferred the case to this Court 19 under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). (ECF No. 21.) 20 For the reasons explained below, the amended complaint is DISMISSED, but with leave to 21 further amend certain claims. If Plaintiff chooses to file a second amended complaint, he is 22 directed to include the name of any “John Doe” Defendant and the location of all Defendants to 23 enable the United States Marshal to serve them. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel 24 (ECF No. 26) and request for appointment of a guardian ad litem (ECF No. 23) are denied. 25

26 27 1 BACKGROUND 2 Plaintiff alleges the following. He was released from Atascadero State Hospital on parole 3 in 2018. (ECF No. 20 at 2.) He “signed a condition of parole” while at Corcoran State Prison 4 “agreeing to the terms of participating in mental health treatment” and the “terms (MDO)2 parole.” 5 (Id.) When he reported to his parole officer, he “signed his conditions to participate in treatment 6 at Evans Lane Behavioral Health.” (Id.) Defendant Dr. Johnson “sexually harassed” Plaintiff at 7 Evans Lane in 2019. (Id.) Plaintiff reported the harassment to Dr. Johnson’s supervisor, and 8 Evans Lane and Plaintiff’s parole officer, Defendant John Detar, moved Plaintiff to “Life Choices 9 Sober Living Home.” (Id.) Plaintiff alleges:

10 Community Solutions Organization [gave] him a contract stating that they will pay Plaintiff[’]s rent as long as Plaintiff comes to 11 Community Solutions for his mental health treatment meetings. So Plaintiff did for a number of weeks until one day. Defendant 12 Tiffany Franko became a whistleblower stating that Community Solutions has not been paying rent for seven years [] and was tired 13 of partial payments. So Plaintiff was immediately evicted forcing him to be homeless [] without reasonable accommodation for an 14 alternative [sic] program. 15 (Id.) Besides Dr. Johnson and Detar, Plaintiff lists three other individuals as Defendants: Tiffany 16 Franko from Life Choices Sober Living Home (“Life Choices”), California Governor Gavin 17 Newsom, and “John Doe of Community Solutions.” (Id. at 1-2.) He does not sue any of the 18 entities employing these Defendants. (See id.) 19 STANDARD OF REVIEW 20 Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek 21 redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 22 1915A(a). The Court must identify actionable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion of 23 the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief 24 may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.” Id. 25 § 1915A(b). Pleadings filed by self-represented litigants must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. 26 Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). 27 1 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the 2 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the 3 statement need only give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the grounds upon 4 which it rests.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations omitted). Although to state 5 a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s obligation to 6 provide the grounds of his entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a 7 formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . . Factual allegations must 8 be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 9 550 U.S. 544, 555 (citations omitted). A complaint must proffer “enough facts to state a claim for 10 relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. 11 LEGAL CLAIMS 12 I. Plaintiff’s Claims 13 Plaintiff claims:

14 Community Solutions breached Plaintiff[’]s contract for forcing Tiffany Franko to evict Plaintiff who suffers from a mental illness, 15 and was in that program due to that mental illness that is a condition of his parole contract. All parties denied Plaintiff[’]s request to 16 continue mental health treatment as a reasonable accommodation therefore violating ADA [] of 1990 and Section[s] 504 and 794 of 17 the Rehabilitation Act [of] 1973. Such denial denies federal relief benefits and federally funded activities under 18 U.S.C. 245-246. 18 Based on his participation and treatment. Had Plaintiff not suffer[ed] from a disability the discrimination would have not took 19 [sic] place. Therefore this violation was with deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs’ serious need for treatment as a (MDO) parolee. Due to 20 the fact that there clearly was a contract. That was a duty owed to Plaintiff to pay his rent. And breach of this contract violates the 14th 21 Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for cruel and unusual punishment to serious mental health needs. That is the contractoral 22 [sic] agreement. Had Dr. Johnson not sexually harass[ed] Plaintiff at Evans Lane[,] he would not be at Community Solutions where the 23 deceptive act took place discriminating with breach of contract. 24 (ECF No. 22 at 2.) 25 The Court construes these allegations to claim Defendants: (1) violated Plaintiff’s rights 26 under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C.§§ 12101 et seq., and Section 504 27 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C § 794; (2) violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 245-46; (3) were deliberately 1 breached a “contract” with him. 2 1. ADA and Rehabilitation Act Claims 3 Plaintiff alleges he suffers from mental illness and he sues two public officials –– Detar 4 and Newsom –– and three other individuals, Johnson at Evans Lane, Franko at Life Choices, and 5 “John Doe” from Community Solutions, respectively.

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Bluebook (online)
Bennett v. Newsom, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-newsom-cand-2024.