Kleinfelt v. Gilbert

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided September 8, 2020·No. 2:20-cv-00793·Unknown

Opinion

WO SC Daniel Alan Kleinfelt, No. CV 20-00793-PHX-JAT (JFM) Plaintiff, v. ORDER Correctional Officer III Gilbert, et al., Defendants.

Plaintiff Daniel Alan Kleinfelt, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a deficient Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 2), a motion to appoint counsel (Doc. 8), and a motion for leave to amend his Complaint (Doc. 11). Plaintiff subsequently filed a First Amended Complaint (Doc. 12). The Court denied the deficient Application to Proceed and Plaintiff’s motions and gave him leave to pay the filing and administrative fees or file a new complete Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 13). Plaintiff has filed a new Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 14) and a motion to reconsider the denial of appointment of counsel (Doc. 16). The Court will grant the Application, deny the motion, order Defendants Morrison and Vicario to answer Count II of the First Amended Complaint, and dismiss the remaining claims and Defendants without prejudice. I. Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Filing Fee The Court will grant Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Plaintiff must pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). The Court will assess an initial partial filing fee of $17.94. The remainder of the fee will be collected monthly in payments of 20% of the previous month’s income credited to Plaintiff’s trust account each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The Court will enter a separate Order requiring the appropriate government agency to collect and forward the fees according to the statutory formula. II. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)-(2). A pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does not demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, the- defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 679. Thus, although a plaintiff’s specific factual allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there are other “more likely explanations” for a defendant’s conduct. Id. at 681. But as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has instructed, courts must “continue to construe pro se filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010). A “complaint [filed by a pro se prisoner] ‘must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam)). III. First Amended Complaint In his six-count First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges claims for excessive force, threat to safety, and violations of due process and equal protection. Plaintiff sues 35 current or former employees of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC), including Director David Shinn and the following Lewis Complex employees: Warden Thompson; Lewis Complex Deputy Wardens (DWs) D. Fajardo and D. Golder; Assistant DWs S. Repp and Holland; Captain Hileman; Lieutenants Wright, Chetty, and Oschieta; Sergeants J. Davis, McFadden, Aguilar, Taylor, and Schultz; Correctional Officer (CO) IV Diane Trepanier; CO IIIs Gilbert, Willis, T. Wade, and Shumerbck; CO IIs J. Morrison, Vicario, M. Morgan, Gonzalez, Ganzalez, Files, Rheinschmidt, Patino, Villegros, Shldance, Floriz, Martenez, and Badge 3185 (hereafter “Doe 3185”). Plaintiff also sues an unknown ADC Divisional Director (hereafter “Doe Divisional Director”). Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief in the form of restoration of early release credits, among other injunctive relief; and compensatory and punitive relief. Plaintiff designates Count I as a claim for denial of due process in connection with disciplinary proceedings. Plaintiff alleges the following facts: On March 30, 2020, Defendant Captain Hileman denied Plaintiff’s written request for witnesses to appear at Plaintiff’s disciplinary hearing. Hileman also denied Plaintiff’s request for staff assistance. Plaintiff asserts that he was thereby denied access to the courts. Plaintiff was held in segregation “the whole time during Disciplinary.” (Doc. 12 at 16.) Plaintiff contends that prison staff falsified the disciplinary report, and his disciplinary appeal was subsequently denied. On April 28, 2020, Captain Hileman presided over another disciplinary hearing for three disciplinary violations. Plaintiff claims that the disciplinary reports were fabricated and retaliatory. Plaintiff asked Hileman if he had to convince Hileman that he was not guilty. Hileman responded yes. Plaintiff contends that Hileman was biased against him. Hileman refused to interview a witness. Defendants CO III Wade and CO II Gilbert were not authorized to sit in on the hearing but did so anyway. Plaintiff’s request for staff witnesses was denied and he was denied staff assistance to which he was entitled as a prisoner placed in segregation before a disciplinary hearing under prison rules. Without staff assistance, Plaintiff was unable to demonstrate his innocence. Plaintiff claims that by being denied a “proper disciplinary proceeding,” his due process rights were violated. Plaintiff designates Count II as a claim for excessive force. In Count II, Plaintiff alleges the following facts: On March 29, 2020 in the Bachman Detention Unit, Plaintiff asked Defendants Morrison and Vicario to sign off on an emergency grievance. Both refused, and thereby, according to Plaintiff, denied him access to the grievance process. Plaintiff told both Defendants that he was having chest pains and asked them to activate an ICS. They disregarded his request and walked away. When they subsequen

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Kleinfelt v. Gilbert, (D. Ariz. 2020).

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