(PC) Bland v. Cox

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedAugust 26, 2021
Docket2:20-cv-00715
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
(PC) Bland v. Cox, (E.D. Cal. 2021).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOSHUA DAVIS BLAND, No. 2:20-CV-0715-DMC-P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 DEREK COX, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. 18 § 1983. Before the Court is Plaintiff’s first amended complaint. ECF No. 12. Several defects remain 19 in the amended complaint. The Court grants Plaintiff further leave to amend. 20 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 21 The Court must screen complaints from prisoners seeking relief against a 22 governmental entity, officer, or employee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The court must identify any 23 cognizable claims and dismiss any portion of the complaint that is frivolous or malicious, fails to 24 state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is 25 immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). 26 A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the claim that a plaintiff is 27 entitled to relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The complaint must provide “enough facts to state a claim 28 to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). 1 Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause 2 of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 3 662, 678 (2009). To survive screening, a plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which 4 requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant 5 is liable for the misconduct alleged. Id. at 678–79; Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 6 (9th Cir. 2009). Plaintiffs must demonstrate that each defendant personally participated in the 7 deprivation of the plaintiff’s rights. Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). If the 8 allegations “do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct,” the 9 complaint does not state a claim. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679. The complaint need not identify “a precise 10 legal theory.” Kobold v. Good Samaritan Reg’l Med. Ctr., 832 F.3d 1024, 1038 (9th Cir. 2016). 11 The Court must construe a pro se litigant’s complaint liberally. See Haines v. 12 Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972) (per curiam); Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 13 2012). However, “‘a liberal interpretation of a civil rights complaint may not supply essential 14 elements of the claim that were not initially pled.’” Bruns v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., 122 F.3d 15 1251, 1257 (9th Cir. 1997) (quoting Ivey v. Bd. of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982)). 16 The Court may dismiss a pro se litigant’s complaint “if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff 17 can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Hayes v. Idaho 18 Corr. Ctr., 849 F.3d 1204, 1208 (9th Cir. 2017). 19 II. PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS 20 Plaintiff names seventeen employees or officials of the California Department of 21 Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as defendants: (1) Derek Cox, (2) C. Reynolds, (3) L. 22 Rochay, (4) M. Courtney, (5) F. Rodriguez, (6) H. Von Rader, (7) C. Goforth, (8) Munoz, (9) 23 Anaya, (10) P. Rose, (11) Parker, (12) D. Neland, (13) J. Quam, (14) Jones, (15) W. Hume, (16) 24 M. Voong, (17). R. Diaz. Id. Cox, Reynolds, Rochay, Courtney, Rodriguez, Von Rader, Goforth, 25 Munoz, and Anaya are correctional officers at High Desert State Prison (HDSP). ECF No. 12 at 1– 26 2. Rose, Parker, and Neland are each employed in some capacity at HDSP. Id. Jones and Hume are 27 correctional officers at California Medical Facility (CMF). Is. Diaz is the former secretary of 28 CDCR. Id. Voong and Quam are appeals coordinators. Id. Quam specifically works at HDSP. Id. 1 Plaintiff’s complaint is mostly vague, and his discrete claims lack significant detail. 2 Id. at 3–12. He brings a varied assortment of claims under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, 3 Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Id. at 3–12. See id. Plaintiff’s claims jump forward and 4 backward throughout 2019 and 2020, and the Court has here placed these allegations in what the 5 Court has interpreted as the logical order of those allegations. 6 Plaintiff alleges that, around February 2019, Cox ransacked Plaintiff’s cell while he 7 was in the emergency room following a seizure. Id. at 3. Cox allegedly stole hearing aids, stamps, 8 and law books. Id. A few weeks later, Goforth and Munoz falsely accused Plaintiff of “gassing” 9 Goforth. Id. at 4. They fabricated a rules violation report accusing Plaintiff of battery on a peace 10 officer. Id. Plaintiff contends that he has been denied property and injured by “slander, reprisal, 11 criminal charges, [and] fraud.” Id. Plaintiff contends that Cox, Goforth, and Munoz violated the 12 Eighth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Id. 13 Another few weeks later, around May 2019, Cox purportedly read aloud one of 14 Plaintiff’s grievances in front of other inmates. Id. at 6. Inmates threatened Plaintiff afterwards 15 whenever he left his cell. Id. Cox allegedly read the grievance aloud out of retaliation for Plaintiff’s 16 filing of a grievance against him. Id. Plaintiff believes Cox thus violated the Eighth, Ninth, and 17 Fourteenth Amendments. Id. 18 Plaintiff suffered another seizure in June 2019. Id. at 7. When he woke up, 19 Rodriguez, Cox, Von Rader, and Anaya were assaulting him. Id. Reynolds, Rose, Parker, and 20 Neland stood by and watched the assault. Id. They did not intervene. Id. Plaintiff received injuries 21 to his eyes, lips, and teeth. Id. He suffers from agoraphobia and post-traumatic stress disorder. Id. 22 Plaintiff sues under the Fourth, Fifth, Eight, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Id. 23 Plaintiff filed a grievance after he was assaulted. Id. at 8. He apparently received a 24 notice saying a grievance appeal would be processed by mid-August 2019. Id. When it was not 25 processed on time, Plaintiff filed a new grievance. Id. Quam allegedly rejected that grievance. Id. 26 Plaintiff made other submissions, but no response came. Id. Although Plaintiff alleges First, Fifth, 27 Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations, he really appears to state he was denied due process. 28 Id. He also contends that appeals coordinators made administrative remedies “disappear.” Id. 1 Sometime following the first grievance filing, in July, Rocha allegedly falsely stated 2 that Plaintiff had been assigned staff assistance for some sort of disciplinary proceeding. Id. at 5. 3 Defendant Courtney allegedly fabricated a staff assistant’s report. Id. Plaintiff was not able to 4 collect evidence, call witnesses, or prepare for the disciplinary hearing. Id. As a result, Plaintiff lost 5 150 days of credit. Id. Plaintiff cites the Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments but again really 6 appears to mean to raise a due process claim. See id. 7 Plaintiff had other disciplinary hearings in August 2019. Id. at 9. Defendant Hume 8 supposedly denied Plaintiff the right to be present at hearings for allegedly biting Cox’s finger and 9 gassing Goforth. Id. Plaintiff was unable to call witnesses or present a defense. Id.

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(PC) Bland v. Cox, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-bland-v-cox-caed-2021.