Kinser v. County of San Diego

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedMarch 25, 2021
Docket3:19-cv-02416
StatusUnknown

This text of Kinser v. County of San Diego (Kinser v. County of San Diego) 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
Kinser v. County of San Diego, (S.D. Cal. 2021).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MICHELE KINSER, Case No.: 3:19-cv-02416 GPC (MSB) Inmate Booking No. 197926107, 12 ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT Plaintiff, 13 VANESSA MARTINEZ’S MOTION vs. TO DISMISS WITHOUT 14 PREJUDICE

15 DEPUTY V. MARTINEZ, DEPUTY OF [ECF No. 10] 16 THE SAN DIEGO SHERIFF, 17 Defendant. 18 19 20 21 22 Before the Court is Defendant Vanessa Martinez’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff 23 Michele Kinser’s First Amended Complaint. ECF No. 10. The Motion has been fully 24 briefed. ECF Nos. 21, 22. The Court finds this matter suitable for disposition without 25 oral argument pursuant to Civ. L.R. 7.1(d)(1) and accordingly VACATES the hearing 26 27 1 28 3:19-cv-02416 GPC (MSB) 1 currently set for April 2, 2021. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS 2 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. 3 I. Procedural History 4 On December 16, 2019, Michele Kinser (“Plaintiff”), an inmate currently housed 5 at Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility (“LCDRF”) located in Santee, California, 6 and proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See 7 Compl., ECF No. 1. Plaintiff did not prepay the civil filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. 8 § 1914(a) when she filed her Complaint; instead, she filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma 9 Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See ECF No. 2. 10 On February 20, 2020, the Court granted Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP and 11 simultaneously dismissed Defendants County of San Diego, William Gore, Sergeant 12 Ward, and Captain Madsen for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. 13 See ECF No. 3 at 10. However, the Court found that Plaintiff had adequately stated a 14 First Amendment retaliation claim against Defendant Martinez. See id. at 9. 15 On May 28, 2020, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) against 16 Defendants Madsen, Martinez, and Ward. See ECF No. 6. Plaintiff’s FAC no longer 17 named County of San Diego or Gore as Defendants and thus the Court deemed claims 18 against them as waived. ECF No. 7 at 3. The Court then dismissed Plaintiff’s claims 19 against Defendants Madsen and Ward, and Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment and conspiracy 20 claims, for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Id. at 11. The 21 Court once again found that Plaintiff’s retaliation allegations against Defendant Martinez 22 (“Defendant”), which it interpreted as arising under the First Amendment, were sufficient 23 to meet the “low threshold” set for sua sponte screening. See Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 24 F.3d 1113, 1123 (9th Cir. 2012). 25 On September 9, 2020, Defendant brought the instant Motion to Dismiss. ECF No. 26 10. After several delays due to Plaintiff’s changes of address, Plaintiff filed a response in 27 2 28 3:19-cv-02416 GPC (MSB) 1 opposition on March 2, 2021. ECF No. 21. On March 10, 2021, Defendant filed a reply. 2 ECF No. 22. 3 II. Factual Background 4 As of the filing of her complaint, Plaintiff had been housed at the LCDRF since 5 she was arrested on April 25, 2019. FAC at 9. Plaintiff was sentenced to local custody 6 on July 22, 2019. Id. Plaintiff was initially housed in a “lower security dorm.” Id. 7 Plaintiff claims she has had “no disciplinary write-ups or actions against her during the 8 entire time of her incarceration.” Id. Plaintiff claims that she did “have one infraction of 9 a non-existent rule” and was “locked down for one night.” Id. 10 On November 18, 2019, Plaintiff signed a proof of service for a court filing 11 submitted by her cellmate. See id. The filings were returned to Plaintiff’s cellmate “with 12 a letter saying she must re-submit the forms in ink.” Id. at 10. Plaintiff’s cellmate 13 “approached Defendant V. Martinez” and asked Defendant if “she could use a pen to fill 14 out court papers.” Id. Defendant “said no and that she would have to wait for a 15 counselor.” Id. Defendant also told Plaintiff’s cellmate that Plaintiff “was not allowed to 16 sign the [proof of service] because [Plaintiff] was an inmate.” Id. 17 On November 29, 2019, Plaintiff’s cellmate “asked another Deputy” if she could 18 “use a pen in her presence to fill out the forms.” Id. Plaintiff’s cellmate was permitted to 19 fill out the forms and “she also allowed Plaintiff to execute the [proof of service].” Id. 20 That evening, Defendant “came to the unit to do a security check.” Id. Plaintiff alleges 21 that Defendant refused to allow her cellmate to “use a pen to sign court documents.” Id. 22 at 12. 23 Later that day, Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s cellmate asked to speak with Defendant’s 24 superior, Lieutenant Chapelle, who had come to the unit to do a security check. Id. at 10, 25 12. Plaintiff and her cellmate “explained the situation with Defendant Martinez refusing 26 to allow [Plaintiff’s cellmate] to use a pen to sign court documents; how [Plaintiff’s 27 3 28 3:19-cv-02416 GPC (MSB) 1 cellmate] went to another deputy, and how concerned she was that Martinez would not 2 allow her legal mail to go out via institutional mail procedures in retaliation for 3 [Plaintiff’s cellmate] going around her to another deputy.” Id. at 12. Lieutenant 4 Chappelle “said he would take care of it and went to talk to Martinez.” Id. After 5 Chapelle left, Plaintiff claims Defendant told her cellmate that she “wanted to know why 6 [they] stopped her [Lieutenant] over something ‘so stupid.’” Id. Plaintiff alleges 7 Defendant told her cellmate to “be careful of Plaintiff” because she “doesn’t know what 8 she’s doing.” Id. Plaintiff further alleges that she later learned Defendant had been 9 “eavesdropping on the entire conversation” between Plaintiff, her cellmate, and Chapelle 10 “through the facility’s intercom system.” Id. 11 Later that evening, during the “weekly unit inspection,” Plaintiff claims Defendant 12 spent “20 – 30 minutes completely ransacking the [Plaintiff’s] cell.” Id. Defendant 13 purportedly “called out only Plaintiff from the multi-purpose room” and told her to “face 14 the wall and spread her feet” so Defendant could “physically search Plaintiff.” Id. at 12- 15 13. Plaintiff attempted to tell Defendant that she “had an extra blanket due to a 16 physician’s note” but Defendant told her to “stop talking” and put Plaintiff back in her 17 cell. Id. at 13. Plaintiff alleges that “Martinez had not searched anyone else’s cell in the 18 manner in which she [searched] Plaintiff’s.” Id. 19 Later that evening, Plaintiff alleges Defendant “came into Plaintiff’s cell carrying a 20 plastic bag, dropped it on Plaintiff’s bed and told her to ‘pack your shit up or I will do it 21 for you and write you up for disobeying a direct order.’” Id. Plaintiff asked why she was 22 being moved but Defendant “would not respond.” Id. 23 As Plaintiff was “leaving the dorm she overheard Martinez telling someone on the 24 phone, ‘well they can undo it if they want to but for now, I’m moving her.’” Id. Plaintiff 25 was then moved to a “higher security” dorm where she was “no longer allowed contact 26 visits.” Id. This dorm is also “used to house problem inmates, as well as psych unit 27 4 28 3:19-cv-02416 GPC (MSB) 1 over-flow.” Id. at 13-14. Plaintiff claims other inmates in this dorm “scream constantly, 2 bang their heads against the wall, or kick the cell doors all night.” Id. at 14. 3 Plaintiff submitted a grievance to Sergeant Ward on November 30, 2019. See id. 4 In the grievance, Plaintiff claimed Defendant “had set forth no proven facts or evidence 5 in her report to justify moving Plaintiff.” Id.

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Bluebook (online)
Kinser v. County of San Diego, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kinser-v-county-of-san-diego-casd-2021.