(PC) Diaz, II v. CDCR

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJanuary 26, 2024
Docket1:23-cv-01378
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Diaz, II v. CDCR ((PC) Diaz, II v. CDCR) 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) Diaz, II v. CDCR, (E.D. Cal. 2024).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 HENRY EDWARD DIAZ, II No. 1:23-cv-01378-SAB (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN A DISTRICT JUDGE 13 v. TO THIS ACTION 14 CDCR, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDING DISMISSAL OF THE 15 Defendants. ACTION 16 (ECF No. 13) 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 15, 2023. (ECF No. 1.) 21 On November 17, 2023, the Court screened the complaint, found that Plaintiff failed to 22 state a cognizable claim for relief, and granted Plaintiff thirty days to file an amended complaint. 23 (ECF No. 12.) 24 Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint or otherwise respond to the November 17, 25 2023 order. Therefore, on January 2, 2024, the Court issued an order for Plaintiff to show cause 26 why the action should not be dismissed. (ECF No. 13.) 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 /// 10 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 11 pleader is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 12 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 13 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 14 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Moreover, Plaintiff must demonstrate 15 that each defendant personally participated in the deprivation of Plaintiff’s rights. Jones v. 16 Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). 17 Prisoners proceeding pro se in civil rights actions are entitled to have their pleadings 18 liberally construed and to have any doubt resolved in their favor. Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 19 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be 20 facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer 21 that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss 22 v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The “sheer possibility that a defendant 23 has acted unlawfully” is not sufficient, and “facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s 24 liability” falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 F.3d 25 at 969. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 II. 2 SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS 3 The Court accepts Plaintiff’s allegations in his complaint as true only for the purpose of 4 the screening requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 5 Plaintiff names the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), 6 Edward Burden, Anthony Jimenez, Anthony Arellano, and Does 1-10, as Defendants. 7 On July 29, 2019, Defendants A. Jimenez and A. Arellano confronted Plaintiff as a result 8 of an alarm triggered by nurse R. Martinez in a non-emergency situation as reported by 9 psychologist Dr. M. Bridgeford while seeking medical attention. Defendants utilized excessive 10 force by striking and hitting Plaintiff causing him to sustain physical injuries requiring medical 11 attention. Defendants then falsely accused Plaintiff of battering a peace officer, when Plaintiff 12 sought to report the misconduct Defendant Edward Burden began calling Plaintiff a “snitch” in 13 front of other inmates in an effort to intimidate and threaten Plaintiff from reporting the abuse. 14 Defendants Burden and Jimenez then told Plaintiff if he refused to report the misconduct the 15 charges would be dismissed against Plaintiff. Plaintiff then informed Internal Affairs of the 16 misconduct and after an investigation Defendant Burden was removed from Facility C. 17 Staff then began telling inmates that Plaintiff was a snitch causing inmates to threaten and 18 harass Plaintiff. As a result of custody staff telling inmates false allegations and it being spread 19 among the population, Plaintiff began to experience depression and paranoia resulting in Plaintiff 20 assaulting another inmate to protect himself from the rumors. 21 Plaintiff was forced to go into protective custody due to the rumors spread by custody 22 staff causing safety concerns in the general population. 23 On December 15, 2020, Plaintiff sought medical attention for suicidal ideation. 24 Defendants Does 1 through 5 refused to obtain medical psychological attention and Plaintiff 25 ingested bleach and stabbed himself in the face. Defendants Does 1 through 5 then cell extracted 26 Plaintiff utilizing excessive force by striking and hitting Plaintiff causing physical injury 27 requiring medical attention. Following the cell extraction, Does 1 through 5 failed to obtain 28 medical psychiatric treatment for Plaintiff. 1 Plaintiff was subsequently transferred to the California Medical Facility. Plaintiff was 2 experiencing prolonged and chronic suicidal ideations. Plaintiff was regularly and frequently 3 subjected to excessive force by being struck and hit by Defendants Does 6 through 10 causing 4 Plaintiff to suffer physical injury requiring medical attention. 5 On June 6, 2023, Plaintiff was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the batteries 6 alleged by staff. 7 III. 8 DISCUSSION 9 A. Unrelated Claims 10 A basic lawsuit is a single claim against a single defendant. Federal Rule of Civil 11 Procedure 18(a) allows a plaintiff to add multiple claims to the lawsuit when they are against the 12 same defendant. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)(2) allows a plaintiff to join multiple 13 defendants to a lawsuit where the right to relief arises out of the same “transaction, occurrence, or 14 series of transactions” and “any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the 15 action.” However, unrelated claims that involve different defendants must be brought in separate 16 lawsuits. See George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). This rule is not only intended 17 to avoid confusion that arises out of bloated lawsuits, but also to ensure that prisoners pay the 18 required filing fees for their lawsuits and prevent prisoners from circumventing the three strikes 19 rule under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). 20 Plaintiff may state a single claim against a single defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Diaz, II v. CDCR, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-diaz-ii-v-cdcr-caed-2024.