Lasater v. Tewalt

CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedJanuary 27, 2025
Docket1:23-cv-00230
StatusUnknown

This text of Lasater v. Tewalt (Lasater v. Tewalt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lasater v. Tewalt, (D. Idaho 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

KYLE LASATER, Case No. 1:23-cv-00230-AKB Plaintiff, SUCCESSIVE REVIEW ORDER vs.

JOSH TEWALT, CHAD PAGE, and WARDEN JAY CHRISTENSEN,

Defendants.

Pending before the Court is an Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiff Kyle Lasater (Plaintiff). (Dkt. 8). Having reviewed the Amended Complaint, attachments, and other relevant records from the original action from which this case was severed, the Court issues the following Order. STANDARD OF LAW FOR SCREENING PRISONER COMPLAINTS The Court must screen prisoner and pro se complaints under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, liberally construing the pleadings to determine whether any claims should be dismissed. A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief” under a cognizable legal theory. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege a violation of rights protected by the Constitution or created by federal statute proximately caused by conduct of a person acting under color of state law. Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991).

SUCCESSIVE REVIEW ORDER - 1 Under Rule 8 and § 1915, the Court may dismiss some or all of the claims in a complaint for any of the following reasons: • “insufficient facts under a cognizable legal theory,” Robertson v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 749 F.2d 530, 534 (9th Cir. 1984), meaning that the factual assertions, taken as true, are insufficient for the reviewing court plausibly “to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged,” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009); • “lack of a cognizable legal theory,” Robertson, 749 F.2d at 534, including failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), or application of a procedural bar sua sponte (on the Court’s own motion), see, e.g., Hebrard v. Nofziger, 90 F.4th 1000, 1006 (9th Cir. 2024) (affirming dismissal based on Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994)); • frivolousness or maliciousness, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); or • seeking monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. A pleading that offers “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Iqbal, 556 US. at 678 (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). BACKGROUND To screen the Amended Complaint in this case requires a review of its context. On July 25, 2022 (mailbox rule date), Plaintiff sought to join a potential class action case challenging conditions of confinement initiated by inmate Jody Carr and signed by other inmates, in addition to Carr, Case 1:21-cv-00409-BLW-DKG (Case 409). In Case 409, United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill determined that Carr had “a documented history of attempting to encourage others to file lawsuits and/or filing lawsuits on their behalf that contain speculative and exaggerated

SUCCESSIVE REVIEW ORDER - 2 claims.” (See Carr v. Nye, Case 1:22-cv-00332-JCC, Dkt. 13 at 2 explaining Case 409, Dkt. 48 at 2-11). In Case 409, Plaintiff filed a motion to join and a complaint, both drafted by Carr. (Case 409, Dkts. 46, 46-1). Upon initial screening in Case 409, Judge Winmill determined that he could not distinguish each inmate’s claims from Carr’s claims. Significantly, all of the many inmate concern forms and

grievances attached to the original joint Complaint were Carr’s; none were from other inmates. (See Dkt. 3-2 at 21-26; 3-3 at 2-26; Dkt. 3-4 at 2-25; Dkt. 3-5 at 2-7).1 Therefore, Judge Winmill ordered each inmate to file his own amended complaint “stating allegations specifying the ‘who, what, where, when, why, and how’ of each of their claims, whereupon the Court would determine the best procedural vehicle for the claims to proceed.” (Case 409, Dkt. 20 at 2). Despite Judge Winmill’s efforts to have each plaintiff describe his own claims, Carr drafted nearly all of the separate amended complaints, many containing identical allegations. Judge Winmill deemed it “important for the Court to obtain more information about the conditions of confinement in IMSI close-custody unit J-1, other than from Carr’s pen.” (Case 409, Dkt. 20 at

11-12). Judge Winmill ordered a Martinez report to be accompanied by prison records from Defendants and a Spears hearing for other inmates to explain which portions of their pleadings were based on personal knowledge. (See Case 409, Dkts. 48, 80). Carr was provided an opportunity to amend his own claims in his severed case. (Case 1:22-cv-00200-DCN, Dkts. 1, 5).

1 One class representative’s exhaustion “is enough to satisfy [the PLRA’s exhaustion] requirement for the class,” Gates v. Cook, 376 F.3d 323, 330 (5th Cir. 2004), but the screening analysis as to whether a class action should be authorized must be based on the allegations of all inmates who have signed a pleading.

SUCCESSIVE REVIEW ORDER - 3 The instant case was severed from Case 409 because Plaintiff’s claims arose from a different prison facility. Plaintiff was ordered to file an amended complaint by June 5, 2023 (Dkt. 2), but he was released on parole and did not file an amended complaint. On November 27, 2023, an Order Requiring Plaintiff to Act was issued. (Dkt. 4). On December 11, 2023, having been re-incarcerated, Plaintiff sought an extension of time to file his amended complaint, which

was granted. (Dkts. 5, 6). Some or all sections of Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint again were drafted by Carr. Plaintiff attested to the truthfulness of the allegations by signing the Amended Complaint under penalty of perjury. (Dkt. 8). Plaintiff describes himself as a close-custody inmate diagnosed with mental health problems, who was on “strong mental health medications” at the time of the alleged incidents. (Id. at 2). Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint contains some contradictory allegations, which may have arisen from differences between the interests of the drafter of the Complaint and the signatory of the Complaint. For example, Plaintiff’s asserted theory is that double-celling of close-custody and mentally ill inmates caused a serious risk of violence and sexual assault to him between 2020 and

2022. He asserts that all such inmates should be single-celled for their safety and the safety of others. However, Plaintiff’s attachments to the Amended Complaint show that he was not a victim, but the perpetrator, of many incidents of violence both at ISCC (which he claims is unreasonably dangerous) and in other facilities. Another unique factor related to Plaintiff’s reports of violence is that, in two of four instances, Plaintiff’s close-custody cellmates were his biological brothers— Shane Lassater (Shane) and Camron Belcher (Belcher).

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Lasater v. Tewalt, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lasater-v-tewalt-idd-2025.