(PC) Escareno v. Sherman

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedOctober 17, 2019
Docket1:19-cv-00881
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Escareno v. Sherman ((PC) Escareno v. Sherman) 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) Escareno v. Sherman, (E.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 7 8

9 ROBERT ANTHONY ESCARENO, ) Case No.: 1:19-cv-00881-BAM (PC) ) 10 Plaintiff, ) ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT ) TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN A DISTRICT 11 v. ) JUDGE TO THIS ACTION ) 12 STU SHERMAN, ) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 13 ) REGARDING DISMISSAL OF ACTION ) Defendant. ) (ECF No. 1.) 14 ) 15 ) FOURTEEN-DAY (14) DEADLINE ) 16 17 Plaintiff Robert Anthony Escareno (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and 18 in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 19 I. Screening Requirement and Standard 20 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 21 governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 22 1915A(a). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous or 23 malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary 24 relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A(b). 25 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 26 pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 27 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 28 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 1 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken 2 as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, 3 Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 4 To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires 5 sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable 6 for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. U.S. 7 Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted 8 unlawfully is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the 9 plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969. 10 II. Plaintiff’s Allegations 11 A. Plaintiff’s Section 1983 Action 12 Plaintiff is currently housed at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility 13 (“CSATF”) in Corcoran, California, where the events in the complaint are alleged to have 14 occurred. Plaintiff names Warden Stu Sherman as the sole defendant. 15 Plaintiff asserts a single claim for cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth 16 Amendment and alleges as follows: CSATF has a serious and longstanding problem in its 17 Facility A Dining Hall. Water continuously leaks from the ceiling during rain, causing saturated 18 ceiling tiles to disintegrate and mold to form along the walls and ceiling area. Plaintiff asserts 19 that there is no dispute about this fact and references an attached order regarding a Petition for 20 Writ of Habeas Corpus from Kings County Superior Court Judge Donna Tarter dated June 4, 21 2019. 22 Plaintiff further alleges that mold in particular has been a longstanding problem in the 23 Facility A Dining Hall. In February 2017, the California Department of Public Health conducted 24 an environmental health survey at CSATF. The report found, among other things, that the 25 Facility A Dining Hall had “[s]ignificant deterioration of ceiling tiles,” as well as evidence of 26 water intrusion. The Facility A Dining Hall had “evidence of mold-like-substances.” (ECF No. 27 1 at 3.) In July 2017, the Office of Appeals Examiners investigating staff also observed mold in 28 the “B” section of the Facility A Dining Hall. 1 Plaintiff also alleges that beginning in February 2018, Plaintiff began to experience 2 coughing, red, itchy, watery eyes, a stuff nose and sore throat. Those conditions flared-up when 3 Plaintiff entered the dining hall to consume his meals twice a day. Plaintiff was seen by Nurse 4 Practitioner (“NP”) Ernest Ziegler on April 9, 2018. Plaintiff described to NP Ziegler how every 5 time he enters the dining hall, he experiences the same symptoms. NP Ziegler prescribed 6 Plaintiff nasal spray and eye drops and told Plaintiff that he would have a follow-up appointment 7 with a doctor for “mold spore management.” (Id. at 4.) 8 On February 11, 2019, Plaintiff’s primary treating physician, Dr. Ryan Kim, testified at 9 an evidentiary hearing before Superior Court Judge Donna Tarter that “daily exposure to the 10 inside of a building with extensive leaks from water contaminated with mold & bird feces poses 11 a risk of illness.” (Id.) Dr. Kim further testified that exposure to mold would aggravate seasonal 12 allergy symptoms, which Plaintiff has had since 2015. Since Plaintiff started experiencing mold 13 spore allergy symptoms and seasonal allergy symptoms while in the dining hall, Plaintiff, 14 approximately 30 different times, had to forego his evening meals because he did not want to 15 deal with worsening symptoms during the night when he was sleeping. 16 Plaintiff asserts that as a result of Defendant Sherman forcing him to consume his meals 17 in an environment with massive water intrusion, which caused and created the moldy condition, 18 Plaintiff contracted a mold spore allergy and his seasonal allergies were aggravated by the moldy 19 conditions in the dining hall. Additionally, on 30 different occasions, Plaintiff had to go to bed 20 hungry because of the adverse reaction he would experience in the dining hall during the evening 21 meal. 22 B. Plaintiff’s State Court Action 23 According to Plaintiff’s complaint and incorporated exhibit, Plaintiff filed a petition for 24 writ of habeas corpus in Kings County Superior Court on October 2, 2017, which is identified as 25 In re Application of Robert Escareno, Petitioner, for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Case No. 26 17W0140A. (ECF No. 1 at 5.) In that petition, Plaintiff claimed “that the Facility A Dining 27 Hall at [CSATF] suffers from a damaged and leaky roof which causes water contaminated with 28 bird feces and bat guano to fall into the dining hall where he consumes his breakfast and dinner. 1 Plaintiff also claimed that as a result of the leaks, mildew and toxic mold has formed on the 2 ceiling and walls of the dining hall. Plaintiff asserted that “the hazardous and unsanitary 3 conditions in the Facility A Dining Hall [were] violative of the cruel and unusual punishment 4 clause of the Eighth Amendment.” (Id. at 6.) 5 Following an evidentiary hearing, the Kings County Superior Court determined that 6 responsive janitorial efforts were insufficient to abate the substantial risk of harm to inmate 7 health and safety posed by the intrusion of water contaminated with fecal matter, the presence of 8 moldy and saturated ceiling tiles, and the entry of mice and maggots through areas of ceiling 9 unprotected by tiles. (Id.

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(PC) Escareno v. Sherman, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-escareno-v-sherman-caed-2019.