McCoy v. King, et .

CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedFebruary 6, 2025
Docket1:24-cv-00455
StatusUnknown

This text of McCoy v. King, et . (McCoy v. King, et .) 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
McCoy v. King, et ., (D. Idaho 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

GARRETT MICHAEL McCOY, Case No. 1:24-cv-00455-DCN Plaintiff, INITIAL REVIEW ORDER BY v. SCREENING JUDGE

MISTY KING; JAROD AREHART; CHANTEL ROSE; MAKEYLA MARTINEZ; SHELLY BARNEY; JULIA BRYANT; BRANDON JARRDSY; KELSEY SPATEN; and their subordinates,

Defendants.

The Clerk of Court conditionally filed Plaintiff Garrett Michael McCoy’s Complaint because of Plaintiff’s status as an inmate and in forma pauperis request. A “conditional filing” means that a plaintiff must obtain authorization from the Court to proceed. Upon screening, the Court must dismiss claims that are frivolous or malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b). Having reviewed the record, the Court concludes that the Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, the Court enters the following Order directing Plaintiff to file an amended complaint if Plaintiff intends to proceed. 1. Standards of Law for Screening Complaints A complaint 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). A complaint fails to state a claim for relief under Rule 8 if the factual assertions in the complaint, 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). To state an actionable claim, a plaintiff must provide “enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest” that the defendant committed the unlawful act, meaning that sufficient facts are pled “to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of illegal [activity].” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556 (2007). “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 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). The Court liberally construes the pleadings to determine whether a case should be dismissed for a failure to plead sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal theory or for the absence of a cognizable legal theory. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional

claim, however inartfully pleaded, has an arguable factual and legal basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th Cir. 1989) (discussing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000). 2. Factual Allegations

Plaintiff is an inmate currently confined in the Ada County Jail. Plaintiff sues various employees of the “Probation and Parole Districts” of Ada County and Canyon County. The entire factual basis of Plaintiff’s claims is as follows: Violated state federal laws, plus U.S. Idaho Constitution Protections, standard operating procedure Grievance Policy Retaliation Co-conspirating, perjury Hippa laws, Prea Protections, protection orders. Failed to serve & protect and Facilate success on a rehabilitated product of state property. Compl., Dkt. 3, at 2 (verbatim). 3. Discussion Plaintiff has stated no claim upon which Plaintiff can proceed with the vague allegations in the Complaint. The Court will, however, grant Plaintiff 28 days to amend the Complaint. Any amended complaint should take into consideration the following. In simplified terms, for each defendant, Plaintiff must include in the amended complaint the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of each allegedly wrongful act that each defendant committed. A pleading is more understandable if it is organized by claim for relief and defendant, rather than asserting a broad set of facts at the beginning of a pleading that are unrelated to a list of defendants elsewhere in the pleading. For each particular constitutional violation against each defendant, Plaintiff must

state the following: (1) the name of the person or entity that caused the alleged deprivation of constitutional rights; (2) facts showing the defendant is a state actor (such as state employment or a state contract) or a private entity performing a state function; (3) the dates on which the conduct of the defendant allegedly took place; (4) the specific conduct or action Plaintiff alleges is unconstitutional; (5) the particular constitutional provision

Plaintiff alleges has been violated; (6) facts alleging that the elements of the violation are met; (7) the injury or damages Plaintiff personally suffered; and (8) the particular type of relief sought from the defendant. Plaintiff should do the same for each defendant, in turn. For any state law claims, Plaintiff also must set forth facts explaining the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of each allegedly wrongful act that each defendant committed, showing that plausible facts exist to support the particular state law claim.

The Court now provides the following standards of law, which might or might not apply to Plaintiff’s claims. A. Section 1983 Claims Plaintiff brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the civil rights statute. Compl. at 1. To state a plausible civil rights claim, 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). A defendant causes a constitutional deprivation within the meaning of § 1983 “if he does an affirmative act, participates in another’s affirmative acts, or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d

740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). That is, governmental officials generally are not liable for damages in their individual capacities under § 1983 unless they personally participated in the alleged constitutional violations. Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989); see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677 (“[E]ach Government official, his or her title notwithstanding, is only liable

for his or her own misconduct.”). Section 1983 does not allow for recovery against an employer or principal simply because an employee or agent committed misconduct. Taylor, 880 F.2d at 1045. However, “[a] defendant may be held liable as a supervisor under § 1983 ‘if there exists . . . a sufficient causal connection between the supervisor’s wrongful conduct and the constitutional violation.’” Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1207 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Hansen v. Black, 885 F.2d 642, 646 (9th Cir. 1989)). A plaintiff can establish this causal

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