Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 1 of 17 Page ID #:60
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JAMIE PETER SWART, Case No. 5:22-cv-01544-DSF (AFM)
12 Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING FIRST 13 v. AMENDED COMPLAINT WITH 14 LEAVE TO AMEND LYLE FOREHAND, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 On September 1, 2022, plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action 19 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff is presently being held at the 20 John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, California (“Detention Center”). Plaintiff 21 also filed a Request to Proceed Without Prepayment of Filing Fees, which 22 subsequently was granted. (ECF Nos. 2, 4, 6.) In the caption of the Complaint, 23 plaintiff named as defendants “Dr. Lyle Forehand” and “Riverside Sheriff’s Office.” 24 (ECF No. 1 at 1.) In the body of the pleading, plaintiff named as defendants “Lyle 25 Forehand, Staff Psychiatrist for Riverside County,” and an “RSO employee” in the 26 position of “intake release.” Both of these defendants were named in their official as 27 well as individual capacities. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiff listed three incident dates of 28 September 9, 2021, March 11, 2022, and April 15, 2022. (Id.) Plaintiff appeared to Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 2 of 17 Page ID #:61
1 raise only one claim, and he alleged that he had “been released on 4 separate 2 ocassions [sic] without [his] mental health meds.” (Id. at 6.) Plaintiff sought 3 monetary damages and “to be given the medication prescribed to [him] in property 4 [sic] on release.” (Id. at 5.) 5 In accordance with the mandate of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 6 (“PLRA”), the Court screened the Complaint prior to ordering service to determine 7 whether the action is frivolous or malicious; fails to state a claim on which relief may 8 be granted; or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such 9 relief. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A, 1915(e)(2); 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(c)(1). Following 10 careful review of the Complaint, the Court found that plaintiff’s pleading failed to 11 comply with Rule 8 because it did not include a short and plain statement of each 12 claim sufficient to give any defendant fair notice of what plaintiff’s claims are and 13 the grounds upon which they rest. (ECF No. 7; “Court’s First Order.”) Further, the 14 factual allegations appeared insufficient to state a federal civil rights claim on which 15 relief may be granted against any defendant. Accordingly, the Complaint was 16 dismissed with leave to amend to correct the deficiencies as discussed in the Court’s 17 First Order. See, e.g., Rosati v. Igbinoso, 791 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir. 2015) (“A 18 district court should not dismiss a pro se complaint without leave to amend unless it 19 is absolutely clear that the deficiencies of the complaint could not be cured by 20 amendment.”) (internal quotation marks omitted). Plaintiff was ordered, if he wished 21 to pursue this action, to file a First Amended Complaint remedying the deficiencies 22 discussed in the Court’s First Order. (ECF No. 7.) 23 On October 17, 2022, plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 10; 24 “FAC”), the caption of which named the only defendant as “Dr. Lyle Forehand 25 riverside Sheriff [sic] Office.” (Id. at 1 (capitalization in original).) In the body of 26 the pleading, plaintiff also lists one defendant, Dr. Lyle Forehand, now identified as 27 “Staff psychiatrist for riverside county.” (Id. at 3 (capitalization in original).) 28 Plaintiff’s FAC lists March 11, 2022, as the only incident date. (Id.) Within the body
2 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 3 of 17 Page ID #:62
1 of the FAC, plaintiff raises one claim for cruel and unusual punishment arising from 2 the failure of Dr. Forehand to “order post-release medication.” (Id. at 5.) Plaintiff 3 seeks an “injunction to provide supply of medication in release property [sic].” 4 Plaintiff does not appear to seek damages. (Id. at 6.) Plaintiff signed and dated the 5 FAC on October 14, 2022. (Id.) Attached to the pleading (but not referenced therein) 6 are three pages that begin with a page with a caption indicating that it is the “First 7 Amended Complaint” in this case. In the caption, plaintiff appears to name as 8 defendants “Dr. Lyle Forehand, et al.” (Id. at 7.) Plaintiff signed and dated the 9 second page of the attachments on October 9, 2022, and he appears to also seek 10 monetary damages on this signature page. (Id. at 8.) Further, it is not clear whether 11 plaintiff is purporting to raise a separate claim in his attachments because he 12 references two dates in those page – March 11, 2022, and April 15, 2022. (Id. at 7.) 13 The attachments do not clearly allege any specific claim against any defendant. 14 Pursuant to the PLRA the Court has screened FAC (including the attachments) 15 before ordering service to determine whether the action is frivolous or malicious; 16 fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or seeks monetary relief against 17 a defendant who is immune from such relief. The Court’s screening of the pleading 18 is governed by the following standards. A complaint may be dismissed as a matter 19 of law for failure to state a claim for two reasons: (1) lack of a cognizable legal 20 theory; or (2) insufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory. See, e.g., 21 Kwan v. SanMedica Int’l, 854 F.3d 1088, 1093 (9th Cir. 2017); see also Rosati, 791 22 F.3d at 1039 (when determining whether a complaint should be dismissed for failure 23 to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the court applies the same standard as 24 applied in a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)). In determining 25 whether the pleading states a claim on which relief may be granted, its allegations of 26 fact must be taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff. See, 27 e.g., Soltysik v. Padilla, 910 F.3d 438, 444 (9th Cir. 2018). However, the “tenet that 28 a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is
3 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 4 of 17 Page ID #:63
1 inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). 2 Rather, a court first “discount[s] conclusory statements, which are not entitled to the 3 presumption of truth, before determining whether a claim is plausible.” Salameh v. 4 Tarsadia Hotel, 726 F.3d 1124, 1129 (9th Cir. 2013); see also Chavez v. United 5 States, 683 F.3d 1102, 1108 (9th Cir. 2012). Nor is the Court “bound to accept as 6 true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation or an unadorned, the- 7 defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Keates v. Koile, 883 F.3d 1228, 1243 8 (9th Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 9 Because plaintiff is appearing pro se, the Court must construe the allegations 10 of the pleading liberally and must afford plaintiff the benefit of any doubt. See Hebbe 11 v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010); see also Alvarez v. Hill, 518 F.3d 1152, 12 1158 (9th Cir. 2008) (because plaintiff was proceeding pro se, “the district court was 13 required to ‘afford [him] the benefit of any doubt’ in ascertaining what claims he 14 ‘raised in his complaint’”) (alteration in original). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court 15 has held that “a plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to 16 relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the 17 elements of a cause of action will not do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to 18 raise a right to relief above the speculative level . . . on the assumption that all the 19 allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Bell Atlantic Corp. 20 v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal citations omitted, alteration in 21 original); see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (To avoid dismissal for failure to state a 22 claim, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state 23 a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ . . . A claim has facial plausibility when 24 the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable 25 inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” (internal citation 26 omitted)). 27 /// 28 ///
4 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 5 of 17 Page ID #:64
1 In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a) (“Rule 8”) states: 2 A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain: (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s 3 jurisdiction . . .; (2) a short and plain statement of the claim 4 showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in 5 the alternative or different types of relief. 6 (Emphasis added). Rule 8(d)(1) provides: “Each allegation must be simple, concise, 7 and direct. No technical form is required.” Although the Court must construe a 8 pro se plaintiff’s pleadings liberally, a plaintiff nonetheless must allege a minimum 9 factual and legal basis for each claim that is sufficient to give each defendant fair 10 notice of what plaintiff’s claims are and the grounds upon which they rest. See, e.g., 11 Brazil v. U.S. Dep’t of the Navy, 66 F.3d 193, 199 (9th Cir. 1995); McKeever v. Block, 12 932 F.2d 795, 798 (9th Cir. 1991) (a complaint must give defendants fair notice of 13 the claims against them). If a plaintiff fails to clearly and concisely set forth factual 14 allegations sufficient to provide defendants with notice of which defendant is being 15 sued on which theory and what relief is being sought against them, the pleading fails 16 to comply with Rule 8. See, e.g., McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177-79 (9th Cir. 17 1996); Nevijel v. North Coast Life Ins. Co., 651 F.2d 671, 674 (9th Cir. 1981). A 18 claim has “substantive plausibility” if a plaintiff alleges “simply, concisely, and 19 directly [the] events” that entitle him to damages. Johnson v. City of Shelby, 574 20 U.S. 10, 12 (2014). Failure to comply with Rule 8 constitutes an independent basis 21 for dismissal of a pleading that applies even if the claims are not found to be “wholly 22 without merit.” See McHenry, 84 F.3d at 1179. 23 Following careful review of the FAC, the Court finds that plaintiff’s pleading 24 once again does not comply with Rule 8 because it fails to include a short and plain 25 statement of each claim that is sufficient to give any defendant fair notice of what 26 plaintiff’s claims are and the grounds upon which they rest. Further, the factual 27 allegations appear insufficient to state a federal civil rights claim on which relief may 28
5 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 6 of 17 Page ID #:65
1 be granted against any defendant. Accordingly, the FAC is dismissed with leave to 2 amend to correct the deficiencies as discussed in this Order, the Court’s Second 3 Order. See, e.g., Rosati, 791 F.3d at 1039. 4 If plaintiff desires to pursue this action, he is ORDERED to file a Second 5 Amended Complaint no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the Court’s 6 Second Order, remedying the deficiencies discussed herein. Plaintiff is 7 admonished that, if he fails to timely file a Second Amended Complaint or fails to 8 remedy the deficiencies of his pleading, the Court will recommend that this action be 9 dismissed without further leave to amend.1 10 A. RULE 8 11 Plaintiff’s pleading violates Rule 8 in that it fails to allege a minimum factual 12 and legal basis for any claim that is sufficient to give defendants fair notice of what 13 claims are raised against each defendant and which factual allegations in the pleading 14 give rise to any claim. 15 Initially, irrespective of his pro se status, plaintiff must comply with the 16 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of the United States District 17 Court for the Central District of California (“L.R.”). See, e.g., Briones v. Riviera 18 Hotel & Casino, 116 F.3d 379, 382 (9th Cir. 1997) (“pro se litigants are not excused 19 from following court rules”); L.R. 1-3; L.R. 83-2.2.3 (“Any person appearing pro se 20 is required to comply with these Local Rules and with” the Federal Rules.). Plaintiff 21 should file only one title page for an amended pleading. Further, pursuant to Fed. R.
22 1 Plaintiff is advised that this Court’s determination herein that the allegations in the First Amended 23 Complaint are insufficient to state a particular claim should not be seen as dispositive of that claim. 24 Accordingly, although this Court believes that you have failed to plead sufficient factual matter in your pleading, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face, you are not 25 required to omit any claim or defendant in order to pursue this action. However, if you decide to pursue a claim in a Second Amended Complaint that this Court has found to be insufficient, then 26 this Court, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636, ultimately may submit to the assigned district judge a recommendation that such claim be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a 27 claim, subject to your right at that time to file Objections with the district judge as provided in the 28 Local Rules Governing Duties of Magistrate Judges.
6 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 7 of 17 Page ID #:66
1 Civ. P. 10(a), the caption of the pleading must include all defendants listed elsewhere 2 in the pleading. See also Local Rule 11-3.8(d). Plaintiff’s FAC additionally violates, 3 inter alia, L.R. 11-3.3 and L.R. 11-5.2, which require that all pages of a pleading be 4 numbered consecutively. 5 In this action, plaintiff may be raising only one claim, although it is unclear 6 whether the allegations that appear to be set forth in the attachment to the FAC are 7 intended to be part of that claim, or if plaintiff is purporting to raise a separate, but 8 unspecified claim, in his attached “First Amended Complaint.” (See ECF No. 10 at 9 7-8.) Further, in the body of the pleading, plaintiff lists only one incident date, 10 March 11, 2022. (Id. at 3.) In the attachment, however, plaintiff lists two incident 11 dates, March 11, 2022, and April 15, 2022. (Id. at 7.) Further, in the body of his 12 pleading, plaintiff only seeks injunctive relief (id. at 6), but in the attached pages 13 plaintiff appears to also seek monetary damages from unspecified defendants. 14 Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff’s pleading violates Rule 8 because it fails 15 to set forth “a short and plain statement” of each claim showing that plaintiff is 16 entitled to relief from any defendant, and it fails to specify the relief sought. 17 In the pages attached to his FAC, plaintiff alleges that he was “released without 18 medication.” (Id. at 7.) Plaintiff alleges both that Dr. Forehand “failed to order” 19 post-release medication, and that the “Riverside Countys [sic] policy on Federal 20 Releases is the cause behind not receiving medication.” (Id. at 7-8.) It appears that 21 plaintiff is alleging either that a “County Sheriff’s Office policy” or a “Federal” 22 policy prevented doctors at the Detention Center from “prescibing [sic] medication 23 due to the sudden release from custody.” (Id. at 5.) Accordingly, it is entirely unclear 24 to the Court if plaintiff is purporting to allege that the sole defendant named in this 25 action acted in accordance with a policy set either by the Riverside County Sheriff’s 26 Office or by an unspecified “federal” official or agency when plaintiff was released 27 from custody without an unspecified prescribed medication. Additionally, in the 28 attachments to the FAC, plaintiff alleges that Dr. Forehand “failed to order the 30-
7 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 8 of 17 Page ID #:67
1 day supply of post-release psych [sic] medication,” which appears to indicate that 2 Dr. Forehand failed to follow some policy or required procedure. (Id. at 7.) Plaintiff 3 also alleges that he had had “multiple interactions” with a “prescibing Dr [sic]” (id.) 4 while in custody, but plaintiff sets forth no facts regarding any such interaction, the 5 dates on which these interactions allegedly took place, or showing that Dr. Forehand 6 was the doctor providing treatment to plaintiff. 7 To state a federal civil rights claim against a specific defendant, a pleading 8 must set forth facts alleging that such defendant, acting under color of state law, 9 deprived plaintiff of a right guaranteed under the United States Constitution or a 10 federal statute. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). “A person deprives 11 another ‘of a constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an 12 affirmative act, participates in another’s affirmative acts, or omits to perform an act 13 which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which [the plaintiff 14 complains].’” Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 633 (9th Cir. 1988) (quoting Johnson 15 v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978)) (emphasis and alteration in original). 16 Here, plaintiff’s only specific factual allegations against Dr. Forehand are that he 17 “failed to order post-release medication due to federal release Riverside County 18 Sheriff’s Office policy on releasing inmates” (ECF No. 10 at 5), and that 19 Dr. Forehand “failed to order the 30 day supply of post-release psych medication” 20 (id. at 7). Although plaintiff alleges that Dr. Forehand was a “prescribing Dr. [sic] 21 who [plaintiff] had multiple interactions with,” plaintiff supports these conclusory 22 allegations with no specific facts. (Id.) Plaintiff also alleges that a government has 23 an “affirmative duty to provide reasonable medical care” and that he “made 24 reasonable requests for treatment” (id.), but plaintiff does not allege that 25 Dr. Forehand failed to provide reasonable medical care at any time or failed to 26 respond to a specific request that plaintiff made for medical treatment. The Court 27 discounts plaintiff’s “conclusory statements” that are unsupported by specific factual 28 allegations while “determining whether a claim is plausible.” Salameh, 726 F.3d at
8 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 9 of 17 Page ID #:68
1 1129. Similarly, the Court does not accept as true plaintiff’s unadorned, the- 2 defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation[s].” Keates, 883 F.3d at 1243. 3 Plaintiff’s FAC does not set forth specific factual allegations sufficient to raise 4 a plausible inference that the actions taken, or the failure to take action, by 5 Dr. Forehand caused plaintiff to be released without necessary medication. In 6 addition, the FAC does not include simple and concise factual allegations showing 7 that any specific official at the Detention Center failed to provide constitutionally 8 adequate medical care to plaintiff at any particular time. Plaintiff’s FAC altogether 9 fails to allege that any specific official at the Detention Center took a specific 10 affirmative act, participated in another’s affirmative act, or failed to perform an act 11 that he or she was legally required to do that caused plaintiff to suffer a particular 12 constitutional deprivation at a specific time. Finally, it is unclear to the Court what 13 official at the Detention Center plaintiff is purporting to allege any claim against. 14 The Court finds that plaintiff’s pleading once again violates Rule 8 because it fails to 15 give Dr. Forehand fair notice of the factual or legal basis for any claim that plaintiff 16 is purporting to raise against the defendant. 17 Moreover, it is not clear to the Court what plaintiff’s status was at the time of 18 any alleged incident. Plaintiff’s FAC alleges that the violations occurred while 19 plaintiff was being held at the Detention Center (ECF No. 10 at 2) and that he was 20 “released” “from a parole violation” (id. at 8), but in one of the attachments to his 21 FAC, plaintiff states that he “put [himself] in the county’s care for mental health” (id. 22 at 9). Further, in the factual allegations formerly set forth in plaintiff’s now- 23 dismissed Complaint, plaintiff alleged that he “was a state prisoner on parole 24 violation [sic] on all dates.” (ECF No. 1 at 6.) Accordingly, it appears that plaintiff 25 may have been a prisoner for purposes of the PLRA at the relevant tine(s). See, e.g., 26 Page v. Torrey, 201 F.3d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir. 2000); Flores v. Cnty. of Fresno, 2020 27 U.S. Dist. Lexis 133750, at *9, n.3, 2020 WL 4339825 (E.D. Cal. July 28, 2020) 28 (noting that individuals incarcerated in a county jail for a parole violation must raise
9 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 10 of 17 Page ID #:69
1 claims alleging inadequate medical care under the Eighth Amendment); Jensen v. 2 Cnty. of Los Angeles, 2017 U.S. Dist. Lexis 232123, at *18, 2017 WL 10574058, at 3 *7 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 6, 2017) (“Claims by those who have been incarcerated for parole 4 violations arise under the Eighth Amendment.”). If plaintiff was a prisoner at the 5 time that the alleged incident or incidents occurred, it does not appear that plaintiff’s 6 facts give rise to any claim under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth 7 Amendment. 8 Plaintiff names Dr. Forehand as the sole defendant. In his pleading, plaintiff 9 alleges that this defendant was a “staff psychiatrist” for Riverside County. (ECF No. 10 10 at 3, 8.) To the extent that plaintiff is intending to hold Dr. Forehand liable as a 11 supervisor for Riverside County, supervisory personnel are not liable under § 1983 12 on a theory of respondeat superior. See, e.g., Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676 (“Government 13 officials may not be held liable for the unconstitutional conduct of their subordinates 14 under a theory of respondeat superior”); Redman v. Cnty. of San Diego, 942 F.2d 15 1435, 1446 (9th Cir. 1991) (en banc); see also Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1207- 16 08 (9th Cir. 2011). Plaintiff’s FAC does not allege any facts showing that 17 Dr. Forehand set “in motion a series of acts by others,” or “knowingly refus[ed] to 18 terminate a series of acts by others, which [the supervisor] knew or reasonably should 19 have known would cause others to inflict a constitutional injury.” Starr, 652 F.3d at 20 1207-08. 21 Further, it appears to the Court that plaintiff may be alleging that unspecified 22 employees failed to follow Detention Center regulations or policies when plaintiff 23 was released without necessary medication. To the extent that plaintiff is purporting 24 to raise a federal civil rights claim against any defendant for violating state law or 25 Detention Center policies, allegations that a defendant failed to comply with internal 26 agency regulations or state law cannot give rise to a federal civil rights claim. See, 27 e.g., Galen v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 477 F.3d 652, 662 (9th Cir. 2007) (“Section 1983 28 requires [a plaintiff] to demonstrate a violation of federal law, not state law.”); see
10 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 11 of 17 Page ID #:70
1 also Cousins v. Lockyer, 568 F.3d 1063, 1070-71 (9th Cir. 2009). 2 Following review of the FAC, it is unclear to the Court what or how many 3 federal civil rights claims plaintiff intends to allege in this action. As currently pled, 4 the factual allegations in plaintiff’s pleading fail to allege that a named defendant 5 took an affirmative act, participated in another’s affirmative act, or failed to take an 6 action that he or she was legally required to do that caused plaintiff to suffer a specific 7 constitutional deprivation when plaintiff was released from the Detention Center at a 8 particular time. To state a claim against an individual defendant, plaintiff must allege 9 sufficient factual allegations against that defendant to nudge each claim plaintiff 10 wishes to raise “across the line from conceivable to plausible.” See Twombly, 550 11 U.S. at 570; see also McHenry, 84 F.3d at 1177 (Rule 8 requires at a minimum that 12 a pleading allow each defendant to discern what he or she is being sued for). 13 Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff once again has failed to meet his 14 pleading burden of alleging that a named defendant deprived him of a right 15 guaranteed under the United States Constitution or a federal statute. The Court is 16 mindful that, because plaintiff is appearing pro se, the Court must construe the 17 allegations of the pleading liberally and must afford plaintiff the benefit of any doubt. 18 That said, the Supreme Court has made clear that the Court has “no obligation to act 19 as counsel or paralegal to pro se litigants.” Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225, 231 (2004). 20 In addition, the Supreme Court has held that, while a plaintiff need not plead the 21 exact legal basis for a claim, plaintiff must allege “simply, concisely, and directly 22 events” that are sufficient to inform each defendant of the factual grounds for each 23 claim. Johnson, 574 U.S. at 12. In the FAC, plaintiff fails to do so. As currently 24 pled, it is not clear what action at what time by what official at the Detention Center 25 caused plaintiff to suffer an identified constitutional deprivation. Plaintiff’s FAC 26 fails to set forth any factual allegations supporting a plausible claim against a named 27 defendant. See, e.g., Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79. Therefore, plaintiff’s pleading 28 violates Rule 8 because it fails to set forth a minimal factual and legal basis for any
11 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 12 of 17 Page ID #:71
1 claim sufficient to give any defendant fair notice of what plaintiff’s claims are and 2 the grounds upon which they rest. 3 If plaintiff wishes to state a federal civil rights claim against a particular 4 official or employee of the Detention Center, plaintiff should set forth in a Second 5 Amended Complaint a separate, short, and plain statement of the actions that each 6 such defendant is alleged to have taken, or failed to have taken, at a particular time 7 that caused a specific violation of a right guaranteed under the federal Constitution. 8 See, e.g., Johnson, 574 U.S. at 12. 9 B. EIGHTH AMENDMENT CLAIMS 10 To the extent that plaintiff wishes to allege a claim or claims for 11 constitutionally inadequate medical care under the Eighth Amendment, a prisoner 12 must show that a specific defendant was deliberately indifferent to his serious 13 medical needs. See Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 32 (1993); Estelle v. Gamble, 14 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). “This includes both an objective standard -- that the 15 deprivation was serious enough to constitute cruel and unusual punishment -- and a 16 subjective standard -- deliberate indifference.” Colwell v. Bannister, 763 F.3d 1060, 17 1066 (9th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). 18 First, to meet the objective element of a deliberate indifference claim, a 19 prisoner “must demonstrate the existence of a serious medical need.” Colwell, 763 20 F.3d at 1066. “A medical need is serious if failure to treat it will result in significant 21 injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.” Peralta v. Dillard, 744 F.3d 22 1076, 1081 (9th Cir. 2014) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted). In his FAC, 23 plaintiff only alleges that he suffers from “mental health problems,” and that he 24 “need[s] [his] medication” (ECF No. 10 at 5, 7), but he does not allege any supporting 25 facts raising a plausible inference that he was suffering from a serious medical need 26 at the relevant time or times. Accordingly, plaintiff’s FAC fails to allege sufficient 27 facts to allow the Court to draw a reasonable inference that plaintiff was suffering 28 from a serious medical need at any relevant time.
12 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 13 of 17 Page ID #:72
1 Second, to meet the subjective element of a deliberate indifference claim, “a 2 prisoner must demonstrate that the prison official acted with deliberate indifference.” 3 See Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1057 (9th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks 4 omitted). Deliberate indifference may be manifest by the intentional denial, delay, 5 or interference with a prisoner’s medical care. See Estelle, 429 U.S. at 104-05. The 6 prison official, however, “must not only ‘be aware of facts from which the inference 7 could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists,’ but that person ‘must 8 also draw the inference.’” Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1057 (quoting Farmer v. Brennan, 9 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994)); see also Colwell, 763 F.3d at 1066 (a “prison official is 10 deliberately indifferent . . . only if the official knows of and disregards an excessive 11 risk to inmate health and safety” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Thus, an 12 inadvertent failure to provide adequate medical care, negligence, a mere delay in 13 medical care (without more), or a difference of opinion over proper medical 14 treatment, are all insufficient to constitute an Eighth Amendment violation. See 15 Estelle, 429 U.S. at 105-07; Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1059-60; Sanchez v. Vild, 891 F.2d 16 240, 242 (9th Cir. 1989); Shapley v. Nevada Bd. of State Prison Comm’rs, 766 F.2d 17 404, 407 (9th Cir. 1985). Medical malpractice does not become a constitutional 18 violation merely because the victim is a prisoner.” Estelle, 429 U.S. at 106. 19 Here, it appears that plaintiff is purporting alleging a claim or claims pursuant 20 to the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause for 21 constitutionally inadequate medical care. (ECF No. 10 at 5, 7.) Plaintiff’s FAC, 22 however, fails to set forth any factual allegations showing that any named defendant 23 was aware that he suffered from a particular serious mental health need when he was 24 released without necessary medication. Further, plaintiff’s few factual allegations 25 are insufficient to raise a plausible inference that any named defendant was aware of 26 sufficient facts from which an inference could be drawn that plaintiff was exposed to 27 a substantial risk of serious harm arising from the lack of unspecified medication at 28 the time of his release, that any named defendant drew such an inference, or that any
13 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 14 of 17 Page ID #:73
1 named defendant acted deliberately to disregard plaintiff’s need for medical 2 treatment for a serious mental health issue at any relevant time. 3 A pleading that merely alleges “naked assertion[s] devoid of further factual 4 enhancement” is insufficient to state a claim against any defendant or to comply with 5 Rule 8. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (alteration in original, internal quotation marks 6 omitted). 7 C. CLAIMS PURSUANT TO MONELL 8 Plaintiff names Dr. Forehand, who appears to be employed by the County of 9 Riverside, in his official as well as individual capacity. (See ECF No. 10 at 3.) As 10 the Court has previously admonished plaintiff, the Supreme Court has held that an 11 “official-capacity suit is, in all respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against 12 the entity.” Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166 (1985). Such a suit “is not a 13 suit against the official personally, for the real party in interest is the entity.” Id. at 14 166 (emphasis omitted). Accordingly, any claim that plaintiff is purporting to raise 15 against any employee of the County of Riverside in his or her official capacity is the 16 same as a claim against the County of Riverside. 17 In Monell v. New York City Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694 (1978), the 18 Supreme Court held that “a local government may not be sued under § 1983 for an 19 injury inflicted solely by its employees or agents. Instead, it is when execution of a 20 government’s policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose 21 edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury that the 22 government as an entity is responsible under § 1983.” Monell, 436 U.S. at 694; see 23 also Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 60 (2011) (“under § 1983, local governments 24 are responsible only for their own illegal acts” (emphasis in original, internal 25 quotation marks omitted)). To state a claim arising from the execution of a local 26 entity’s policy or custom, a plaintiff must set forth factual allegations to show that 27 the execution of a specific policy, regulation, custom or the like was the “actionable 28 cause” of any alleged constitutional violation. See, e.g., Tsao v. Desert Palace, Inc.,
14 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 15 of 17 Page ID #:74
1 698 F.3d 1128, 1146 (9th Cir. 2012) (“a plaintiff must also show that the policy at 2 issue was the ‘actionable cause’ of the constitutional violation, which requires 3 showing both but-for and proximate causation”). Additionally, a Monell claim may 4 not be premised on an isolated or sporadic incident. See, e.g., Gant v. Cnty. of 5 Los Angeles, 772 F.3d 608, 618 (9th Cir. 2014) (a plaintiff does not establish liability 6 under Monell without showing that “a single incident of unconstitutional actively” 7 was more than an “isolated or sporadic” incident); Trevino v. Gates, 99 F.3d 911, 918 8 (9th Cir. 1996) (“Liability for improper custom may not be predicated on isolated or 9 sporadic incidents; it must be founded upon practices of sufficient duration, 10 frequency and consistency that the conduct has become a traditional method of 11 carrying out policy.”). 12 To the extent plaintiff is purporting to raise any claims against the County of 13 Riverside, plaintiff’s factual allegations appear to arise from one or possibly two 14 incidents when he appears to have been released from detention without necessary 15 “post-release medication.” (ECF No. 10 at 5, 7.) It is unclear whether plaintiff is 16 alleging that these isolated incidents were caused by the execution of a specific 17 policy, regulation, or custom of the County of Riverside. Regardless, two similar 18 incidents of plaintiff’s release (by unspecified employees who are not named) 19 without a required medication are entirely insufficient to raise a reasonable inference 20 that specific unconstitutional actions by employees of the County of Riverside were 21 of sufficiently long duration or occurred frequently enough to be considered a 22 “traditional method of carrying out policy” by the County of Riverside. See, e.g., 23 Trevino, 99 F.3d at 918. 24 Accordingly, it appears that plaintiff is alleging the type of random or isolated 25 incidents that simply cannot give rise to liability against the County of Riverside 26 pursuant to Monell. Therefore, plaintiff’s factual allegations in the FAC are 27 insufficient to raise a plausible inference that the County of Riverside is liable for 28 any alleged constitutional violation. See, e.g., Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
15 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page 16 of 17 Page ID #:75
1 2 ************ 3 If plaintiff still desires to pursue this action, then he is ORDERED to file 4 a Second Amended Complaint no later than thirty (30) days after the date of 5 this Order, remedying the pleading deficiencies discussed above. The Second 6 Amended Complaint should bear the docket number assigned in this case; have only 7 one title page with one caption, be labeled “Second Amended Complaint”; and be 8 complete in and of itself without reference to the original Complaint, the First 9 Amended Complaint, or any other pleading or document. 10 Plaintiff is admonished that, irrespective of his pro se status, if plaintiff wishes 11 to proceed with this action, then he must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil 12 Procedure and the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Central 13 District of California. See, e.g., L.R. 1-3; L.R. 83-2.2.3. 14 The clerk is directed to send plaintiff a blank Central District civil rights 15 complaint form, which plaintiff is encouraged to utilize. Plaintiff is admonished that 16 he must sign and date the civil rights complaint form, and he must use the space 17 provided in the form to set forth all of the claims that he wishes to assert in a Second 18 Amended Complaint. Further, if plaintiff feels that any document is integral to any 19 of his claims, then he should attach such document as an exhibit at the end of the 20 Second Amended Complaint and clearly allege the relevance of each attached 21 document to the applicable claim raised in the Second Amended Complaint. 22 In addition, if plaintiff no longer wishes to pursue this action, then he may 23 request a voluntary dismissal of the action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 24 Procedure 41(a). The clerk also is directed to attach a Notice of Dismissal form for 25 plaintiff’s convenience. 26 Plaintiff is further admonished that, if he fails to timely file a Second 27 Amended Complaint, or if he fails to remedy the deficiencies of this pleading as 28 discussed herein, then the Court will recommend that the action be dismissed
16 Case 5:22-cv-01544-DSF-AFM Document 13 Filed 11/28/22 Page1/7of17 Page ID#:76
1 | on the grounds set forth above and for failure to diligently prosecute. 2 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 || DATED: 11/28/2022 (Wy Ye é ° 5 —— ° ~ ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON 7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 17