Jonathan Christopher Coffer v. Oliveros, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 25, 2026
Docket5:25-cv-04140
StatusUnknown

This text of Jonathan Christopher Coffer v. Oliveros, et al. (Jonathan Christopher Coffer v. Oliveros, et al.) 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
Jonathan Christopher Coffer v. Oliveros, et al., (N.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER COFFER, Case No. 25-cv-04140-EKL

8 Plaintiff, ORDER SCREENING COMPLAINT, 9 v. PARTIALLY DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO 10 OLIVEROS, et al., AMEND 11 Defendants.

12 13 Plaintiff Jonathan Christopher Coffer, a pro se state prisoner, filed this civil rights action 14 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging conditions at various state prisons. ECF No. 1. The 15 complaint is before the Court for screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Based on the 16 following reasons, the Court PARTIALLY DISMISSES the complaint with leave to amend as 17 specified below. 18 I. LEGAL STANDARDS 19 A. Standard of Review 20 Federal courts engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek redress 21 from a governmental entity, or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. 22 § 1915A(a). In its review, the Court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any claims 23 that are frivolous or malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek 24 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. § 1915A(b)(1)-(2). Pro se 25 pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th 26 Cir. 1990). 27 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the 1 factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to 2 relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a 3 cause of action will not do . . . . Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above 4 the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (citations omitted). 5 A complaint must proffer “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. 6 at 570. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be 7 supported by factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should 8 assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to 9 relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009). 10 B. Section 1983 11 To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that: (1) a right secured by 12 the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) the alleged deprivation was 13 committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). 14 Liability may be imposed on an individual defendant under Section 1983 if the plaintiff can show 15 that the defendant’s actions actually and proximately caused the deprivation of a federally 16 protected right. Lemire v. Cal. Dep’t of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 726 F.3d 1062, 1074 (9th 17 Cir. 2013); Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988). A person deprives another of a 18 constitutional right within the meaning of Section 1983 if he does an affirmative act, participates 19 in another’s affirmative act, or fails to perform an act that he is legally required to do, causing the 20 deprivation of which the plaintiff complains. Leer, 844 F.2d at 633. 21 II. COFFER’S ALLEGATIONS 22 Coffer’s complaint alleges numerous claims related to medical treatment, grievance 23 investigations, and classification decisions made while incarcerated at Salinas Valley State Prison 24 (“SVSP”) in Monterey County and California Men’s Colony (“CMC”) in San Luis Obispo 25 County. See ECF No. 1. Coffer seeks monetary damages. Id. at 31. Given the number of claims, 26 the Court categorizes them according to the location where they occurred – beginning with claims 27 that occurred at SVSP, then CMC, and finally those where the location is not clear from the 1 claims, but notes that while Coffer’s complaint begins with Claim 1 and ends with Claim 36, the 2 complaint skips in its numbering and excludes the following numbers: 4, 6, 8, 14-16, 18, 23-25, 3 and 27. 4 A. SVSP Claims 5 The majority of Coffer’s listed claims arose out of a May 12, 2023 incident at SVSP during 6 which Coffer fell down the stairs as he was being escorted by Defendant Correctional Officer 7 Oliveros. See ECF No. 1 at 2-10; id. at 30. The Court summarizes each of his SVSP claims 8 below.

9 Claims Alleged Facts 10 On May 12, 2023, Oliveros was escorting Coffer to a 11 crisis bed while Coffer was stressed out and hearing Claims 1 & 2: voices. ECF No. 1 at 3. Oliveros placed wrist chains on 12 Eighth Amendment Coffer, who had his arm in a sling. Oliveros did not stand deliberate indifference, next to him or hold Coffer’s arm as they walked, and 13 negligence Coffer fell down the stairs. Id. Oliveros “was negligent 14 by not properly escorting [Coffer] with cuffs on and as an ADA inmate.” Id. at 2. 15 Defendant Michael Brown did not review camera footage Claim 3: 16 First Amendment, ability of Coffer’s medical emergency – presumably his fall down the stairs – in addressing Coffer’s grievance to file grievances 17 regarding the incident. Id. at 4. 18 Claims 5 & 7: Defendant Nurse Meenu gave Coffer an arm sling but did Eighth Amendment, not give him a bottom tier “chrono”1 so he would not have 19 Americans with to walk up and down the stairs while his arm was in a Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 20 sling. Id. at 5-7. Bane Act 21 CDCR housed him in the top tier of the prison despite his use of an arm sling, which was not safe. CDCR did not 22 have signs in the area to “notify [staff] that ADA inmates 23 Claims 9, 10, 11, & 12: are not to be on the top tier while disabled.” Id. at 7. Eighth Amendment, ADA CDCR did not have signs “next to . . . stairways to inform 24 ADA inmates that they should not be housed on upper tiers.” Id. at 8. CDCR should be required to post signs 25 and symbols to notify ADA inmates. 26

27 1 Within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), a “chrono” 1 ADA Coordinator E. Borla, Dr. Lam, Grievance Representative C. Zapata, Appeals Representative C. 2 Martella, Healthcare Analyst V. Alcaraz, and J. Ortega violated Coffer’s constitutional rights when they denied 3 his request for single-cell status and concluded that he had Claims 13 & 17: “no documentation of a medical issue requiring single[-] 4 Eighth Amendment, cell status.” Id. at 12, see id. at 11-13. The cells were 5 ADA, emotional distress small and difficult to maneuver in a wheelchair, which Coffer was reportedly using as a result of his fall down the 6 stairs. Id. Additionally, the Classification Committee – B. Lomeli, R. Ahumada, J. Ortega, and Dr. M. Russel – 7 ignored that Coffer was in a wheelchair when it revoked his single-cell status in June 2023. Id. at 13.

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Bluebook (online)
Jonathan Christopher Coffer v. Oliveros, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jonathan-christopher-coffer-v-oliveros-et-al-cand-2026.