Dragasits v. Archuleta

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedAugust 29, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-01257
StatusUnknown

This text of Dragasits v. Archuleta (Dragasits v. Archuleta) 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
Dragasits v. Archuleta, (S.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 NOT FOR PUBLICATION 2

3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 Stephen DRAGASITS, Case No.: 24-cv-1257-AGS-SBC

6 Plaintiff, ORDER: 7 vs. (1) DISMISSING ALL DEFENDANTS 8 Correctional Officer ARCHULETA, et al., EXCEPT ARCHULETA, MASSIA, 9 Defendants. GARCIA, AND QUIJADA; AND

10 (2) DIRECTING U.S. MARSHAL TO 11 EFFECT SERVICE OF AMENDED COMPLAINT 12 13 14 Plaintiff Stephen Dragasits is an unrepresented state prisoner proceeding in forma 15 pauperis and suing defendants for civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF 1.) 16 His initial complaint plausibly alleged an excessive-force claim against defendants 17 Archuleta and Massia but failed to state a claim against the remaining defendants. (See 18 ECF 4, at 4–5.) Dragasits was given the option to amend. (Id. at 5–6.) In the interim, the 19 case was consolidated with another of his civil actions arising from disciplinary 20 proceedings based on the events alleged in this action. (ECF 10.) Dragasits has now filed 21 a consolidated amended complaint. (ECF 14.) 22 SCREENING 23 The Court must screen and dismiss a complaint, or any portion of it, that is frivolous, 24 malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks damages from immune defendants. See Lopez v. 25 Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (discussing 28 U.S.C. 26 § 1915(e)(2) screening); Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010) 27 (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b) screening). “The standard for determining whether a 28 plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under 1 § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for 2 failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012); see also 3 Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (same for § 1915A screening). 4 Rule 12(b)(6) requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, 5 to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 6 (2009) (cleaned up). 7 A. Consolidated Amended Complaint’s Allegations 8 On November 24, 2018, Dragasits cut to the front of the chow line wearing an 9 Americans with Disabilities Act vest and using a walker when he was told by defendant 10 correctional officer Archuleta to take a 300-yard detour to the back of the line. (ECF 14, 11 at 10, 15.) Dragasits instead sat down on his walker, removed his shoe, showed Archuleta 12 the infected stitches in his foot, and explained he was suffering pain and that his vest and 13 walker gave him front-of-line privileges. (Id. at 10–11, 15–16.) Archuleta repeated that he 14 had to walk around and then took Dragasits’s identification card. (Id. at 11, 16.) Dragasits 15 alleges that correctional officers are trained to allow ADA inmates using walkers to have 16 front-of-line privileges at chow. (Id. at 8.) 17 Dragasits began to explain the situation to another correctional officer, defendant 18 Quijada, while standing next to his walker and putting his shoes and socks back on, when 19 Archuleta tripped Dragasits from behind, making him hit his back and head on rough 20 asphalt. (Id. at 11, 17.) Quijada was facing Dragasits, saw what was happening behind him, 21 and extended his arms as if to try to catch Dragasits, while defendant correctional officers 22 Saliewsky and John Does 1–5 were standing with their backs to the wall. (Id. at 11, 17–18, 23 26.) Archuleta then climbed on Dragasits’s back preventing him from breathing and called 24 in a code. (Id. at 11, 18.) Thereafter, defendant correctional officer Massia punched and 25 kicked Dragasits in his left rib cage causing a compound rib fracture. (Id. at 11, 19.) When 26 Dragasits cried for help, defendant correctional officer Garcia punched and kicked him in 27 his side, kicked him in the head, and ground his face into the asphalt. (Id.) Defendant 28 correctional officer Scharr approached and said “ok, get off him.” (Id. at 12, 18.) 1 After this altercation, Archuleta purportedly issued a rules violation report with a 2 false narrative, and Quijada later denied seeing anything in an attempt to cover up the 3 attack. (Id. at 11–12, 17–18.) Defendants’ supervisor Ortiz and warden Stewart are alleged 4 to be liable as supervisors. (Id. at 21, 28–29.) 5 At the rules-violation hearing, Dragasits was found guilty of disobeying an order by 6 defendant hearing officer Ferrel, who allegedly refused to read Dragasits’s two-page 7 written description of the events or include it in the record. (Id. at 14, 22–23.) Defendant 8 investigating officer Avila denied Dragasits’s requests for Archuleta’s presence at the 9 hearing, to announce at chow that Dragasits was looking for witnesses, and to introduce 10 his medical records. (Id. at 23, 34.) Defendant chief disciplinary officer Juarez failed to 11 overturn the guilty finding. (Id. at 36.) Defendant retired warden Covello ordered a 12 rehearing due to Archuleta’s absence at the hearing, but did not investigate “all of the other 13 complaints,” and defendants Scharr, D-yard captain Benyard, and supervisors Godinez and 14 Luna approved the reissued rules violation report. (Id. at 24–25, 27–28, 32, 34.) Dragasits 15 was transferred to Kern Valley State Prison where defendant senior hearing officer Nuckles 16 told him that Archuleta could not attend the rehearing because she was on mental health 17 leave but failed to note that in the rehearing record or include his medical records. (Id. 18 at 14, 33, 35.) Defendant chief disciplinary officer Swaim approved the guilty finding on 19 the reissued violation. (Id. at 35.) 20 Dragasits alleges that defendant appeals coordinators and examiners Calvert, Frijas 21 Gonzalez, and Allen, along with hiring authorities John Does 6–8, refused to properly 22 process his 602 inmate appeals necessary to exhaust his administrative remedies. (Id. 23 at 30–31, 35.) He also claims that defendants California Department of Corrections and 24 Rehabilitation and CDCR secretary Macomber are liable for hiring and failing to train or 25 discipline the defendants. (Id. at 2, 37–39.) He claims violations of his First Amendment 26 right to free speech and access to the courts, his Fourteenth Amendment right to due 27 process, his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, his 28 rights under the ADA, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. 1 B. Eighth Amendment Claims 2 The Eighth Amendment forbids prison officials from engaging in the “unnecessary 3 and wanton infliction of pain.” Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986); Farmer v. 4 Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994) (noting that the Eighth Amendment “places restraints 5 on prison officials, who may not, for example, use excessive physical force against 6 prisoners”). “[W]henever prison officials stand accused of using excessive physical force 7 in violation of the [Eighth Amendment], the core judicial inquiry is that set out in Whitley: 8 whether force was applied in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, or 9 maliciously and sadistically to cause harm.” Hudson v.

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Dragasits v. Archuleta, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dragasits-v-archuleta-casd-2025.