(PC) Foust v. California Medical Facility

District Court, E.D. California·Decided August 10, 2023·No. 2:21-cv-00540·Unknown

Opinion

CARL FOUST, No. 2:21-CV-0540-DJC-DMC-P Plaintiff, v. ORDER TRENT ALLEN, et al., Defendants. Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s second amended complaint, ECF No. 68. The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). This provision also applies if the plaintiff was incarcerated at the time the action was initiated even if the litigant was subsequently released from custody. See Olivas v. Nevada ex rel. Dep’t of Corr., 856 F.3d 1281, 1282 (9th Cir. 2017). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if it: (1) is frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). Moreover, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that complaints contain a “. . . short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This means that claims must be stated simply, concisely, and directly. See McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996) (referring to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(e)(1)). These rules are satisfied if the complaint gives the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff’s claim and the grounds upon which it rests. See Kimes v. Stone, 84 F.3d 1121, 1129 (9th Cir. 1996). Because Plaintiff must allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts by specific defendants which support the claims, vague and conclusory allegations fail to satisfy this standard. Additionally, it is impossible for the Court to conduct the screening required by law when the allegations are vague and conclusory. Plaintiff is a prisoner at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP). See ECF No. 68 at 1. Plaintiff names the following as defendants: (1) Trent Allen, Warden; (2) Dr. Sui Quineoa; (3) Martinez A.; and (4) Avilla, correctional officer and DDP official. Id. at 1. Plaintiff no longer names the California Medical Facility as a defendant. Plaintiff did not include a request for relief. See id. at 6. However, Plaintiff does contend that the alleged harms have had “an increasingly adverse effect on [his] health and well-being.” Id. at 3. Plaintiff’s first claim asserts that his medical issues were ignored by SVSP officials when he arrived at the prison. Id. at 3. He claims he was unable to eat due to his medical issues, has trouble swallowing, and requires x-rays on his throat. Id. Plaintiff also asserts he needs the assistance of a speech therapist. Id. Plaintiff had been at SVSP more nineteen days at the time of authoring the complaint. Id. When Plaintiff had an alleged surgery on his eye in February 2022, he contends that the doctor put a contact in his eye, and now he cannot see out of that eye. Id. Plaintiff’s doctor informed him that it would take several weeks to heal, and he was scheduled for a third surgery in August 2022. Id. / / / / / / / / / Plaintiff next contends that he has been transferred to fifteen prisons and that he must restart the process of seeking medical treatment each time he is transferred to a new facility. Id. He claims these transfers are retaliation due to Plaintiff filing 602 appeals, other documents, and his medical issues and treatment. Id. According to Plaintiff, there are no toilets on the yard at SVSP. Id. Plaintiff alleges he is “D.D.P”1 and “D.P.W”,2 and that toilets are necessary for inmates, like Plaintiff, in wheelchairs and walkers. Id. The fourth allegation made by Plaintiff regards Defendant Martinez mistakenly giving Plaintiff’s specialized meals to another inmate. Id. Plaintiff claims that this had an adverse effect on his health and well-being. Id. Plaintiff’s next claim appears to be a quotation from a “10/22/03 memorandum titled Equally Effective Communication (Revised).” See id. at 4. Plaintiff does not place the memorandum in context and does not make any allegations about the memorandum, though he states not getting a response as how he was injured. The final claim alleged by Plaintiff is in regard to David B. Kaye, an alleged eye doctor who is not named as a defendant in Plaintiff’s claim. Id. at 5. When Plaintiff went to see Dr. Kaye, the doctor told Plaintiff to “put [his] mask on, we don’t want to get monkey pox.” Id. Plaintiff contends this was a racial slur that made him uncomfortable. Id. at 6. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

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