Daniel C. Ramsey v. N. Thompson

District Court, S.D. California·Decided October 30, 2025·No. 3:23-cv-01920·Unknown

Opinion

Case No.: 23-cv-1920-JAH-DDL

Plaintiff, (1) REPORT AND v. RECOMMENDATION FOR ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR N. THOMPSON, PARTIAL DISMISSAL AND (2) ORDER DENYING IN Defendants. PART AND GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR THE COURT TO TAKE

[Dkt. Nos. 48, 62] This Report and Recommendation is submitted to United States District Judge John A. Houston pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Civil Local Rules 72.1(c) and 72.3(f) of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. For the following reasons, the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint be I. On October 16, 2023, Plaintiff Daniel C. Ramsey, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed a complaint under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against N. Thompson and H. Moseley.1 Dkt. No. 1. On December 16, 2024, Plaintiff filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Dkt. No. 18. On December 27, 2024, N. Thompson answered the complaint. Dkt. No. 22. On February 12, 2025, Judge Houston held a hearing on Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, denied the motion, and granted Plaintiff leave to amend his complaint. Dkt. No. 33. On February 24, 2025, Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) alleging that John Doe #1, Warden (RJD) violated his right to Due Process and failed to protect him and that Defendant N. Thompson was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs, and failed to protect him from harm, in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. Dkt. No. 36 at 2-7. On February 28, 2025, Defendant N. Thompson2 moved for partial dismissal of the FAC. Dkt. No. 37.

1 Defendant H. Moseley was terminated from the case on January 22, 2024. See Docket; see also Dkt. No. 5.

2 Warden Doe has not been identified and thus has never been served nor appeared in the action. On March 25, 2025, the Court issued an Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint and Report and Recommendation for Order Denying Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss as Moot. Dkt. No. 41. On April 20, 2025, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant N. Thompson. Dkt. No. 47 at 1. Plaintiff alleges claims under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments for deliberate indifference, failure to protect, and procedural due process violations. Id. at 2. On May 5, 2025, Defendant N. Thompson filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiff’s SAC for failure to state a claim regarding the Fourteenth Amendment and procedural due process. Dkt. No. 48-1 (“MTD”). On May 21, 2025, Plaintiff filed an opposition to Defendant’s MTD. Dkt. No. 50-1 (“Oppo.”). Defendant replied on June 19, 2025. Dkt. No. 56 (“Reply”). II. This action arises out of Plaintiff’s transfer to High Desert State Prison (“HDSP”). SAC at 4. Plaintiff alleges he is a wheelchair-bound, disabled inmate who suffers from paraplegia and other unspecified medical conditions, and as a result has a “high-risk” medical designation. Id. at 5, 8-9. In early 2023, Plaintiff, who was housed at Richard J. Donovan (“RJD”), was informed by his counselor that he was up for an annual review for good behavior and that due to his medical status, the options for housing were the California Health Care Facility and the California Medical Facility. Id. at 4-5. Plaintiff preferred the California Health Care Facility, and that information was forwarded to the Inmate Classification Committee (“ICC”). Id. at 5. On March 3, 2023, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Thompson filed an Auditor Action removing Plaintiff‘s medical conditions, overriding Plaintiff’s high risk medical designation without any stated reason, and recommending Plaintiff’s transfer to HDSP, a non-high risk medical facility. Id. at 6-7. Plaintiff alleges this was done without approval by the California Correctional Health Care Service (“CCHCS”) or his primary care provider. Id. at 6. After learning of the proposed transfer to HDSP, Plaintiff filed a 602 grievance requesting the transfer be placed on hold as he did not belong in a facility unable to house individuals with high-risk medical needs and an inability to defend themselves. Id. at 7-8. In his grievance, Plaintiff also noted that he was scheduled for another surgery and a follow-up appointment with his neurosurgeon. Id. at 8. Plaintiff’s grievance was denied and on March 21, 2023, Plaintiff was transferred to HDSP. Id. at 7-8. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Thompson’s decision to override his high-risk designation and authorize the transfer to HDSP violated his Eighth Amendment rights as it was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs, failed to protect him, and recklessly ignored the excessive risk the transfer posed to Plaintiff’s health. Id. at 13. Plaintiff further alleges that his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights were violated because he was not asked about the decision to remove his high-risk medical designation and Defendant Thompson failed to receive approval from CCHCS, ICC, or Plaintiff before making her decisions related to the Audit. Id. at 14. In addition, Plaintiff was not informed of his transfer until the day it took place and had no opportunity to research, investigate, or be heard on the issue. Id. Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief preventing him from being housed in a facility that is not considered a high-risk facility, $880,00 in damages, $2,000,000 in punitive damages, and fees. Id. at 17. Defendant argues Plaintiff’s procedural due process claim “fails as a matter of law.” MTD at 2. In support, Defendant argues that because Plaintiff fails to allege the deprivation of a constitutionally protected interest, his due process claim must fail. Id. at 4. Specifically, Plaintiff’s allegation that he was deprived of being housed in an a “medical facility institution” “does not implicate a constitutionally protected interest” as prisoners do not have a constitutional right to be housed in the institution of their choice. Id. at 5-6. Additionally, Defendant argues that Plaintiff failed to allege that his transfer to HDSP created an atypical and significant hardship. Id. at 6. With respect to Defendant’s alleged violations of prison procedures and regulations, Defendant argues that those violations alone do not give rise to a federal constitutional claim under section 1983. Id. Plaintiff’s allegations about the dangerous environment and flooded cell fail to establish a substantive due process claim as Plaintiff has not shown that “he suffered restraints outside the normal incidents of prison life.” Id. at 7. The allegations also fail to support a substantive due process claim as any such claims would implicate Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights instead and Plaintiff has failed to allege a conditions-of-confinement claim. Id. Finally, Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s allegations surrounding his delayed surgery and medical treatment fail to establish a due process violation because prisoners are not guaranteed their choice of treatment or physician and a difference of opinion with medical staff is not actionable. Id. at 8. Defendant argues that even if Plaintiff’s allegations are true and state a plausible claim, she is entitled to qualified immunity from suit with respect to Plaintiff’s procedural due process claim as “it was not clearly established in March 2023 that endorsing Ramsey’s transfer from RJD to another institution implicated a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause such that Counselor Thompson should have been on notice that Ramsey was owed any procedural protections in the process of her

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