Ochoa v. Hill

District Court, S.D. California·Decided August 26, 2024·No. 3:23-cv-02058·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARCUS ANTONIO OCHOA, Case No. 23-cv-2058-MMA (MMP) CDCR #F-81217 12 ORDER DISMISSING FIRST 13 AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR Plaintiff, FAILING TO STATE A CLAIM 14 vs. PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. 15 §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) AND 1915A(b)

16 DR. JOHN HODGES; DR. LUZVIMINDA [Doc. No. 6] 17 SAIDRO; JANE DOE, Registered Nurse; MITCHEL, ADA Seargeant, 18 Defendants. 19 20 21 22 I. INTRODUCTION 23 Marcus Antonio Ochoa (“Plaintiff” or “Ochoa”), a state inmate proceeding pro se, 24 is proceeding with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court 25 dismissed his original complaint for failure to state a claim but granted Plaintiff leave to 26 amend. Doc. No. 3. And after an extension of time, Ochoa filed a First Amended 27 Complaint (“FAC”). Doc. No. 6. For the reasons discussed below, the Court dismisses 28 the FAC for failure to state a claim. 1 II. SCREENING PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(E) AND § 1915A(B) 2 A. Legal Standards 3 Because Plaintiff is a prisoner proceeding IFP, the FAC requires a pre-Answer 4 screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) & 1915A(b). The Court must sua sponte 5 dismiss a prisoner’s IFP FAC, or any portion of it, which is frivolous, malicious, fails to 6 state a claim, or seeks damages from defendants who are immune. Lopez v. Smith, 203 7 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)); 8 Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010) (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 9 1915A(b)). 10 “The standard for determining whether Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon 11 which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of 12 Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 13 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012). Rule 12(b)(6) requires that a complaint to “contain 14 sufficient factual matter . . . to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” 15 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). While 16 detailed factual allegations are not required, “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a 17 cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice” to state a 18 claim. Id. The “mere possibility of misconduct” or “unadorned, the defendant- 19 unlawfully-harmed me accusation[s]” fall short of meeting this plausibility standard. Id.; 20 see also Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). 21 B. Plaintiff’s Allegations 22 In his FAC, Ochoa alleges that on May 20, 2022, he was working and as an “ADA 23 employee” at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”). Doc. No. at 6. Plaintiff 24 usually uses a cane but, at the time, he was relying on the push broom he was using to 25 sweep, as support while he was working. Id. at 3. As he was sweeping, an 26 announcement came over the public address system, directing Ochoa to report to the 27 infirmary. Id. When he arrived, Ochoa had to leave his broom outside the infirmary 28 because tools are not permitted inside. Id. 1 Nurse Jane Doe asked Ochoa to come into her office and began “inquiring about 2 [Ochoa’s] cane.” Id. Plaintiff told her it was “with the rest of [his] tools,” and explained 3 that when his job required him to use items such as brooms, rakes, and hoes, he used the 4 tool for support as opposed to his cane. At all other times, he used his cane. Id. Nurse 5 Doe asked how Plaintiff was feeling and he had his “usual aches and pains” but 6 generally, he was “all right.” Id. Doe took Plaintiff’s “vitals” and then told him he was 7 free to go. Id. 8 On May 25, 2022, Plaintiff was informed that his “permanent lower tier chrono 9 CDCR 1845/7410, Disability Placement Program Verification/Comprehensive 10 Accommodation Chrono” had been updated and changed “from DPM to DNM due to 11 [Nurse Doe’s] examination.”1 Id. An unnamed CDCR officer told Ochoa that he had to 12 “relinquish [his] lower tier housing area (cell) so that they could house another ADA 13 inmate” there. Id. at 10. The officer explained that Ocho’s “chrono” had been updated to 14 DNM so that he could be moved to an upper tier and Ochoa would need to get a medical 15 order to “set things right and maintain his lower tier status.” Id. 16 About “four or five days later,” Sergeant Mitchell, an “ADA Liaison,” approached 17 Ochoa and asked him why he had not moved yet. Ochoa responded that he thought 18 “medical” had solved the problem. Id. But Mitchell stated nothing had changed and 19 therefore Ochoa mad to move. Plaintiff again explained he had a tendency to trip and fall 20 on “uneven terrain” and that “walking up and down a flight of stairs would expose [him] 21 22 23 1 At another point in his FAC, Ochoa states he was reclassified from “DPO to DNM.” FAC 24 at 5. While Plaintiff does not define the acronyms, they appear to refer to disability 25 designations outlined in a class action concerning disability accommodations for prisoners and parolees in the CDCR See Armstrong v. Brown, N. D. Cal. No. 94-cv-2307-CW 26 (setting forth the is “Armstrong Remedial Plan” which requires the CDCR “to ensure that 27 prisoners and parolees with disabilities are accessibly housed, that they are able to obtain and keep necessary assistive devices, and that they receive effective communication 28 1 to serious harm and injury if [he] were to fall.” Id. at 10, 12. Mitchell replied that the 2 decision “wasn’t up to him” and there was nothing he could do. Id. at 12. 3 On June 1, 2022, Ochoa asked to see his primary care physician, Dr. Saidro. Id. at 4 5. When Saidro asked Plaintiff what it was about, he told her RJD staff wanted to move 5 him to an “upper tier housing area due to my permanent lower tier chrono being changed 6 from DPO to DNM.” Id. Plaintiff asked how his disability chrono had been changed 7 when he had not been evaluated by a physician. Saidro explained that the change had 8 been made by her supervisor, Dr. Hodges, after Ochoa had “been observed walking 9 without [his] cane.” Id. Hodges is on the Reasonable Accommodation Panel (“RAP”) at 10 RJD. Id. Ochoa reminded Saidro that he did not have “an ambulatory issue on levelled 11 terrain” and that he used his “work tools (i.e., brooms, shovels, rakes, and hoes) instead 12 of [his] cane for support when [he] is on the job.” Id. 13 Ochoa alleges Saidro “admitted that [Ochoa] did need lower tier housing 14 accommodations and that she would not have may the change to his permanent CDCR 15 1845/7410 choro it if had been up to her.” Id. at 7. But she explained that she could not 16 “go against her supervisor[’s] order.” Id. Ochoa told her it was not fair and there was a 17 “great possibility that [he] [could] trip, fall and injure himself” if assigned to upper tier 18 housing. Saidro reiterated that it was “out of her purview.” Id. 19 On June 9, 2022, Ochoa spoke to Mitchell again, along with an inmate ADA 20 representative. Id. at 12. Mitchell again explained that it was “out of his hands.” Id.

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