Lucero v. Arce

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedApril 17, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-07510
StatusUnknown

This text of Lucero v. Arce (Lucero v. Arce) 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
Lucero v. Arce, (N.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 CHARLES PATRICK LUCERO, Case No. 24-cv-07510-JSC

8 Plaintiff, ORDER OF PARTIAL DISMISSAL 9 v. WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

10 CARLOS ARCE, et al., Defendants. 11

12 INTRODUCTION 13 Plaintiff, a California prisoner proceeding without an attorney, filed this civil rights action 14 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 15 (“CDCR”), the CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber, and the following officials at Salinas Valley 16 State Prison (“SVSP”): Acting Wardens Carlos Arce and Charles Schuyler, Associate Deputy 17 Wardens Ortega and Fonseca, Sergeant Avalos, Dr. Mendez, Dr. Russell, Ying Sun, and Josh 18 Jugum. (ECF No. 1 at 2-3 ⁋⁋ 7-10.) He also adds unnamed defendants “Does 1-50,” who are 19 “correctional officers or other correctional staff.” (Id. at 2.) Leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted in a separate order. For the reasons discussed below, two claims against Dr. Mendez are, 20 when liberally construed, capable of judicial determination. The remaining claims are 21 DISMISSED with leave to amend, except for the claims against the CDCR, which are 22 DISMISSED without leave to amend. 23 BACKGROUND 24 Plaintiff alleges on July 24, 2024, he “was trying to ask for help in regards to his safety 25 concerns” when unnamed “Doe” defendants searched him, “grabbed his genitals,” and punched 26 and choked him. (Id. at 5 ¶¶ 20-21.) Plaintiff is disabled, uses a walker, is in the prison’s 27 “enhanced outpatient program,” and at the time of the alleged assault, was in waist restraints. (Id. 1 at 5 ¶ 21.) After the incident, Plaintiff suffered a “mild heart attack” and was taken to a hospital. 2 (Id.) 3 Plaintiff informed Defendant Dr. Mendez, a psychologist, that he was suicidal. (Id. at 5-6 4 ¶ 22.) As he had previously attempted suicide, prison regulations required his placement in a 5 “crisis bed.” (Id.) However, Dr. Mendez has “a well known history of not complying with these 6 regulations,” and he refused to authorize a crisis bed for Plaintiff. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges 7 Defendants Ying Sun and Josh Jugum were responsible for prison regulations, and they “failed to 8 correct” the regulations regarding suicide prevention. (Id. at 3 ⁋ 11.) Plaintiff alleges “defendants” instead moved him to administrative segregation pending an 9 investigation and “without any legitimate disciplinary reasons.” (Id. at 5-6 ¶¶ 22, 26; ECF No. 7 10 at 1.) 1 In administrative segregation, Defendants Avalos “tortured” him, and he did not have 11 lights or power for his “CPAP” machine, which led to significant weight loss. (ECF No. 7 at 1.) 12 Plaintiff claims Defendants violated his Eighth Amendment rights by using excessive 13 force, his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process by sending him to administrative 14 segregation, and his Eighth Amendment rights by being deliberately indifferent to his serious 15 medical needs. (ECF 1 at 7-9; No. 7 at 1.) He also claims Defendants intentionally inflicted 16 emotional distress under state law. (ECF No. 1 at 9-10.) 17 STANDARD OF REVIEW 18 Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek 19 redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 20 1915A(a). The Court must identify claims that are capable of being judicially heard and decided 21 or dismiss the complaint, or any portion of the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, 22 or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a 23 defendant who is immune from such relief.” Id. § 1915A(b). Pleadings filed by parties 24 unrepresented by an attorney must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 25 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). 26 27 1 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the 2 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the 3 statement need only give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the grounds upon 4 which it rests.” Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007) (citations omitted). Although to 5 state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s obligation to 6 provide the grounds of his entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a 7 formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . . Factual allegations must 8 be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 550 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must proffer “enough facts to state a 9 claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 555. 10 To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a 11 right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged 12 violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 13 42, 48 (1988). 14 LEGAL CLAIMS 15 A. Excessive Force 16 Plaintiff claims Defendants violated his Eighth Amendment rights by using excessive 17 force. (ECF No. 1 at 7; ECF No. 7 at 1.) “[T]he unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain” upon 18 a prisoner by prison officials “constitutes cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the Eighth 19 Amendment." Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986) (internal quotation and citation 20 omitted). 21 Plaintiff alleges the “Doe” defendants punched, choked, and sexually assaulted him while 22 he was in waist chains. Such allegations support a reasonable inference that these officials 23 subjected Plaintiff to the “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.” Id. However, the use of 24 “John Doe” to identify a defendant is not favored in the Ninth Circuit. Gillespie v. Civiletti, 629 25 F.2d 637, 642 (9th Cir. 1980). A plaintiff must be given an opportunity through discovery to 26 identify the unknown defendants, unless it is clear that discovery would not uncover their 27 1 Plaintiff is given leave to conduct discovery and to file an amended complaint in which he names 2 the defendants who allegedly used excessive force against him. 3 Plaintiff also alleges Defendant Sergeant Avalos “tortured” him while he was in 4 administrative segregation. Plaintiff does not allege any specific actions by Avalos, nor whether 5 this “torture” was physical or psychological. The bare allegation of “torture” without any 6 description of what Avalos did is too vague to support a reasonable inference of a plausible Eighth 7 Amendment violation by Avalos. Therefore, this claim must be dismissed as incapable of judicial 8 determination, albeit with leave to amend to correct this deficiency. 9 B. Administrative Segregation 10 Plaintiff claims Defendants violated his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment by placing 11 him in administrative segregation “without probable cause” and based upon “false reports” and 12 “fabricate[d] evidence” of his misconduct. (ECF No. 1 at 7 ¶ 32.)2 There are several problems 13 with this claim.

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Lucero v. Arce, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lucero-v-arce-cand-2025.