(PC) Bustillos v. Hernandez

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJanuary 5, 2024
Docket1:23-cv-01365
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Bustillos v. Hernandez ((PC) Bustillos v. Hernandez) 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) Bustillos v. Hernandez, (E.D. Cal. 2024).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROBERT JOHN BUSTILLOS, No. 1:23-cv-01365-SAB (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN A DISTRICT JUDGE 13 v. TO THIS ACTION 14 HERNANDEZ, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDING DISMISSAL OF THE 15 Defendants. ACTION 16 (ECF No. 11) 17 18 Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this action filed pursuant to 42 19 U.S.C. § 1983. 20 Plaintiff’s complaint in this action was filed on September 18, 2023. (ECF No. 1.) 21 On October 30, 2023, the Court screened the complaint, found that Plaintiff failed to state a 22 cognizable claim for relief, and granted Plaintiff thirty days to file an amended complaint. (ECF 23 No. 8.) 24 Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint or otherwise respond to the October 30, 2023 25 order. Therefore, on December 11, 2023, the Court issued an order for Plaintiff to show cause 26 why the action should not be dismissed. (ECF No. 11.) Plaintiff has failed to respond to the 27 order to show cause and the time to do so has now passed. Accordingly, dismissal of the action is 28 warranted. 1 I. 2 SCREENING REQUIREMENT 3 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 4 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 5 Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 6 “frivolous or malicious,” that “fail[] to state a claim on which relief may be granted,” or that 7 “seek[] monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 8 1915(e)(2)(B); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). 9 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader 10 is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but 11 “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory 12 statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. 13 v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Moreover, Plaintiff must demonstrate that each defendant 14 personally participated in the deprivation of Plaintiff’s rights. Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 15 934 (9th Cir. 2002). 16 Prisoners proceeding pro se in civil rights actions are entitled to have their pleadings 17 liberally construed and to have any doubt resolved in their favor. Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 18 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be 19 facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer 20 that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss 21 v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The “sheer possibility that a defendant 22 has acted unlawfully” is not sufficient, and “facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s 23 liability” falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 F.3d 24 at 969. 25 II. 26 SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS 27 The Court accepts Plaintiff’s allegations in his complaint as true only for the purpose of the 28 screening requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 1 Plaintiff names officer Cabrillo, officer Hernandez, sergeant Castillo and sergeant 2 Sanchez, as Defendants. 3 Plaintiff alleges as follows:

4 Handcuffed behind back by a C.O. Cabrillo and C.O. Hernandez and brutally beaten with 5 batons and closed firsts and told “who’s the Bitch now!” I sustained serious injuries, ie. Broken nose and double black eyes with photos enclosed as proof. This all happened at 6 North Kern State Prison in 2020. These officers sustained no injuries. 7 (ECF No. 1, Compl. at 3.) 8 Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, release date back to 2024, and that all Defendants 9 be terminated from CDCR. 10 III. 11 DISCUSSION 12 A. Excessive Force 13 When prison officials use excessive force against prisoners, they violate the inmates’ Eighth 14 Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.” Clement v. Gomez, 298 F.3d 898, 15 903 (9th Cir. 2002). To establish a claim for the use of excessive force in violation of the Eighth 16 Amendment, a plaintiff must establish that prison officials applied force maliciously and sadistically 17 to cause harm, rather than in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline. Hudson v. 18 McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 6–7 (1992). In making this determination, the court may evaluate (1) the 19 need for application of force, (2) the relationship between that need and the amount of force used, 20 (3) the threat reasonably perceived by the responsible officials, and (4) any efforts made to temper 21 the severity of a forceful response. Id. at 7; see also id. at 9–10 (“The Eighth Amendment’s 22 prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment necessarily excludes from constitutional recognition de 23 minimis uses of physical force, provided that the use of force is not of a sort repugnant to the 24 conscience of mankind.” (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)). 25 Here, Plaintiff simply alleges that he was “brutally beaten with batons and closed fists” 26 resulting in physical injury. However, the complaint is devoid of any allegations detailing the 27 circumstances surrounding the use of force. Context is important in excessive force cases 28 because, without such allegations, the Court cannot determine whether Defendants’ use of force 1 was applied “in a good faith effort to maintain or restore discipline or maliciously and sadistically 2 for the very purpose of causing harm.” Bearchild v. Cobban, 947 F.3d 1130, 1140 (9th Cir. 2020) 3 (quoting Hudson, 503 U.S. at 6). Thus, the lack of factual allegations regarding the 4 circumstances surrounding the use of force against Plaintiff prevents a finding that Plaintiff has 5 plausibly alleged the force used on him was administered maliciously and sadistically rather than 6 in a good faith effort to maintain or restore discipline. Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 320-21 7 (1986); LeMaire v. Maas, 12 F.3d 1444, 1458 (9th Cir. 1993) (“[P]rison officials are authorized 8 and indeed required to take appropriate measures to maintain prison order and discipline and 9 protect staff and other prisoners from violent behavior [of disruptive inmates].”). In order to cure 10 this pleading defect, Plaintiff must set forth facts which, if true, plausibly allege the force used 11 against him was used maliciously and sadistically to cause him harm rather than in a good faith 12 effort to restore discipline and quell a disturbance. Accordingly, Plaintiff fails to state a 13 cognizable excessive force claim. 14 B.

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Related

Preiser v. Rodriguez
411 U.S. 475 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Whitley v. Albers
475 U.S. 312 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Hudson v. McMillian
503 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Heck v. Humphrey
512 U.S. 477 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Simmons v. Navajo County, Ariz.
609 F.3d 1011 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Fayle v. Stapley
607 F.2d 858 (Ninth Circuit, 1979)
Gregory Carey v. John E. King
856 F.2d 1439 (Ninth Circuit, 1988)
Taylor v. List
880 F.2d 1040 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
Sidney A. Clark v. John Moran, Etc.
942 F.2d 24 (First Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Edward Dane Jeffus
22 F.3d 554 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
Clement v. Gomez
298 F.3d 898 (Ninth Circuit, 2002)
Farmer v. Brennan
511 U.S. 825 (Supreme Court, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Bustillos v. Hernandez, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-bustillos-v-hernandez-caed-2024.