(PC) Aytman v. Pfieffer

District Court, E.D. California·Decided August 28, 2023·No. 1:23-cv-00382·Unknown

Opinion

TORIAN AYTMAN, Case No. 1:23-cv-00382-BAM (PC) Plaintiff, ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN DISTRICT JUDGE TO v. ACTION PFIEFFER, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS ACTION, WITH PREJUDICE, FOR Defendants. FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM, FAILURE TO OBEY COURT ORDER, AND FAILURE (ECF No. 10) FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE I. Background Plaintiff Torian Aytman (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On July 10, 2023, the Court issued a screening order granting Plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint or a notice of voluntary dismissal within thirty (30) days. (ECF No. 10.) The Court expressly warned Plaintiff that the failure to comply with the Court’s order would result in a recommendation for dismissal of this action, with prejudice. (Id. at 11.) The deadline has expired, and Plaintiff has failed to file an amended complaint or otherwise communicate with the Court. II. Failure to State a Claim A. Screening Requirement The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A(b). 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). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969. B. Plaintiff’s Allegations Plaintiff is currently housed at Kern Valley State Prison (“KVSP”), where the events in the complaint are alleged to have occurred. Plaintiff names Christian Pfieffer,1 Warden, KVSP as the sole defendant. /// 1 Plaintiff incorrectly spells Warden Pfeiffer. See https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/kvsp/. The Court will refer to the correct spelling for Defendant Warden Pfeiffer. See also In re Yahoo Mail Litig., 7 F. Supp. 3d 1016, 1024 (N.D. Cal. 2014) (court may take judicial notice of information on “publicly accessible websites” not subject to reasonable dispute). In claim 1, Plaintiff alleges violation of the Eighth Amendment. Since the beginning of 2021, Plaintiff has been given the opportunity to go to the exercise yard less than 100 times. Plaintiff complained to the building staff (Tower officer Angula and floor staff officer T. Owens) their supervisors and had it addressed with the supervisors’ supervisors. Once the cameras and body cameras were installed in the prison, Plaintiff wrote the issue up because he had proof. Sgt. Anderson told Plaintiff during a 602 hearing that “per the warden” they cannot run yard when the facility is under Operational Procedure #106 and #406. This is for all inmates not affected by disciplinary yard restriction “because of this our inmate yard representatives” addressed the issue directly to Warden Pfeiffer, Assistant Warden Swain and a captain. The issue was just brushed off with some excuses. As for the names of those responsible for carrying out the policies under Warden Pfeiffer, there are numerous people because correctional officer switch position often but the Daily Activity Report will show who was present in what position as well as what program was run. Plaintiff alleges that he only named Warden Pfeiffer as the sole defendant “since he is responsible for the policies his subordinates carry out that deprive us of our rights.” Once he was made aware of the issues via 602s and IAC Mac Rep, and IFC meeting, it showed deliberate indifference to “not issue an order to change this issue for the better.” Also since the beginning of 2021, in over a 2 year period, tower officer Angulo2 refused to run and effective shower program so that each inmate has a shower every 72 hours. Plaintiff has complained and won a shower grievance, yet the issue persists. Officer Angulo says that all inmates are afforded the opportunity to shower during the assigned dayroom time, but dayroom is not always run because of operational procedures #106 and #406. There has been several times Plaintiff has not been able to shower in a 72 hour time span because the dayroom was not run. The times they were denied showers was shown on the facility’s Daily Activity Report log. Plaintiff alleges they were forced to wait until 6 pm to see if they would get a shower and then were denied a shower within 72 hours. Plaintiff named Defendant Pfeiffer as the sole defendant 2 It is unclear if officer Angulo is intended to be named as a defendant. If so, he should be named in the caption of the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 10. because the policy he approved and is responsible for administering is not being adhered to. Once the warden was informed of the issue via 602s, IAC mac Rep and IFC meetings, liability falls on the Warden because as the head of the institution, nothing was attempted or done to fix the problems. As remedies Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages. C. Discussion Plaintiff’s complaint fails to comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 18 and 20 and fails to state a cognizable claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 1. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8, 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). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citation omitted). Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as tru

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