(PC) Fregia v. Chen

District Court, E.D. California·Decided April 30, 2021·No. 1:20-cv-01024·Unknown

Opinion

MARK A. FREGIA, No. 1:20-cv-01024-DAD-EPG (PC) Plaintiff, SCREENING ORDER v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDING THAT THIS ACTION YUCUI CHEN, et al., PROCEED ON PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS AGAINST DEFENDANTS GOSSO, Defendants. JOHNSON AND CHEN FOR DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE TO SERIOUS MEDICAL NEEDS IN VIOLATION OF THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT AND AGAINST DEFENDANT GOSSO FOR RETALIATION IN VIOLATION OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THAT ALL OTHER CLAIMS BE DISMISSED (ECF No. 16) TWENTY-ONE DAY DEADLINE Plaintiff Mark A. Fregia (“Plaintiff”) is a state inmate proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed the Complaint commencing this action on July 24, 2020. (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (“FAC”) on April 23, 2021. (ECF No. 16). The FAC, which is now before the Court for screening, brings claims against various medical providers for retaliation and deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. /// For the reasons described below, the Court recommends that case proceed on Plaintiff’s claims against (1) Defendants Lisa Gosso, Dr. Marcy Johnson, and Dr. Yuchui Chen for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and (2) Defendant Gosso for retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. The Court recommends dismissing all other claims. Plaintiff has twenty-one days from the date of service of these findings and recommendations to file any objections. The Court is required to screen complaints brought by inmates seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the inmate has raised claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). As Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court may also screen the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that the action or appeal fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). A complaint is required to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting this plausibility standard. Id. at 679. While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a plaintiff’s legal conclusions are not accepted as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Pleadings of pro se plaintiffs “must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that pro se complaints should continue to be liberally construed after Iqbal). The FAC alleges as follows: A. Claim 1: Deliberate Indifference to Serious Medical Needs and Retaliation On January 24, 2018, Plaintiff had a telemedical consultation with Defendant Chen at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Corcoran. Plaintiff was then taking 225 mg of Effexor1 to treat a Cluster B personality disorder. Defendant Chen renewed Plaintiff’s prescription at that appointment and prescribed Vistaril for a sleep disorder. Defendant Gosso, a medical assistant, was also at this appointment. Defendant Gosso was then in training. The next day, Plaintiff was called into the clinic lab. Plaintiff was told that the purpose of his appointment was to draw a blood sample. “Due to religious restrictions, Plaintiff told the Lab Tech that he could not consent to allowing his Blood to be drawn. He went on to discuss his religion with her and the reason that extraction of Blood was against the core beliefs of his faith.” During that discussion, Defendant Gosso appeared and “rudely interjected with her uninvited opinions that turned into threats of withholding Plaintiff[’]s medication of he would not consent to Labs.” Defendant Gosso already harbored animosity to Plaintiff because Plaintiff had recently made a complaint against her. Plaintiff believed that Defendant Gosso showed up to meddle in affairs that were none of her concern to get back at him for his complaint. At pill call that evening, Plaintiff was told that his medications, including Effexor, could not be dispensed. Plaintiff asked why and “was told that M.A. Gosso had e-mailed his doctor and had his medications discontinued” and that “Gosso had specifically told the doctor that the Plaintiff had ‘requested to be taken off his meds.’ ” This was a lie. Even if Plaintiff had requested to be taken off his meds, Defendant Gosso knew that protocol required a person be slowly weaned off Effexor to prevent painful withdrawal symptoms. Defendant Gosso intentionally used her position to retaliate against Plaintiff.

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