(PC) Johnston v. CDCR Health Care

District Court, E.D. California·Decided December 15, 2021·No. 1:21-cv-01322·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHARLES E. JOHNSTON, Case No. 1:21-cv-01322-NONE-BAM (PC) 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDING DISMISSAL OF 13 v. ACTION, WITH PREJUDICE, FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM 14 CDCR HEALTH CARE, et al., (ECF No. 13) 15 Defendants. FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE 16

18 Plaintiff Charles E. Johnston (“Plaintiff”) is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this 19 civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff’s complaint was screened, and Plaintiff 20 was granted leave to amend. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint, filed on November 17, 2021, is 21 currently before the court for screening. (Doc. 13.) 22 I. Screening Requirement and Standard 23 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 24 governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. 25 § 1915A(a). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous 26 or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary 27 relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A(b). 28 1 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 2 pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 3 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 4 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 5 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as 6 true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 7 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 8 To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires 9 sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable 10 for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. U.S. Secret 11 Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully 12 is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the plausibility 13 standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969. II. Plaintiff’s Allegations 14 Plaintiff is currently housed at California State Prison, at Los Angeles, California. The 15 events in the complaint are alleged to have occurred at California Correctional Institution 16 (“CCI”). Plaintiff names as defendants: (1) John Doe, CMO/CME, (2) LVN J. Feliciano, (3) S. 17 Gates, CDCR Healthcare Chief, at CDCR headquarters, (4) F. Roberts, CDCR Healthcare 18 supervising Nurse II, (5) J. Orrantia, CDCR Healthcare Chief Executive Nurse, (6) K. Witcher, 19 CDCR Healthcare HCA/RN, (7) U. Banigor, CDCR Healthcare Chief physician and surgeon, (8) 20 Nguyen, CDCR Healthcare primary care physician. 21 In claim 1, Plaintiff alleges an Eighth Amendment violation of a threat to safety. Plaintiff 22 alleges as follows: 23 “LVN J. Feliciano knew of and disregarded an excessive risk to my health and safety 24 by coming to work positive with COVID 19. Under the Constitution, prison officials need provide care only for “serious medical needs.” Some courts have held that a 25 medical need is serious if it “has been diagnosed by a physician” as mandating 26 treatment as is so obvious that even a lay person would easily recognize the necessity for a doctor’s attention. A medical condition may also be serious if it is significantly 27 affects an individuals daily activities.” (edited for spelling only)

28 1 In claim 2, Plaintiff alleges an Eighth Amendment violation for denial of medical care. 2 Plaintiff alleges as follows: 3 “Conditions violated to the Eighth Amendment with respect to the living conditions, basic human needs and medical care and reasonable safety. Defendants clearly raised 4 Eighth Amendment concerns which unjustifiably inflicted pain and injuries of me catching COVID 19 by listed above defendants.” (edited for spelling only) 5

6 In claim 3, Plaintiff alleges an Eighth Amendment violation for “retaliation.” Plaintiff 7 alleges as follows: 8 “My Eighth Amendment conditions that Defendants acted with deliberate 9 indifference involve their (neglect and carelessness) with intent to cause harm. That is my amounts of recklessness with their knowledge and discard to my human health 10 and safety. These defendants should have known of the risks or of cruel conditions of her not wearing a mask and distributing medications. Defendants’ awareness of a 11 right of harm in part by considering the pattern of treatment that inmate generally receive as a result of the challenged practice Covid-19.” (edited for spelling only) 12

13 Plaintiff alleges he caught Covid 19 on 1-15-21. Plaintiff seeks monetary damages of $500,000 14 per defendant and an injunction for all medical staff to be re-trained. 15 III. Discussion Plaintiff’s complaint fails to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 and fails to 16 state a cognizable claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Despite being provided relevant pleading and 17 legal standards, Plaintiff has been unable to cure the deficiencies. 18 A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 19 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8, a complaint must contain “a short and plain 20 statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Detailed 21 factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, 22 supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citation 23 omitted). Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to 24 relief that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 25 127 S.Ct. at 1974). While factual allegations are accepted as true, legal conclusions are not. Id.; 26 see also Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556–557. 27 Although Plaintiff's complaint is short, it is not a plain statement of his claims. As a basic 28 1 matter, the complaint does not clearly state, as to each defendants, what happened, when it 2 happened or who was involved. Indeed, the first amended complaint has fewer facts than the 3 original complaint and relies upon mere recitals of elements of a cause of action. Plaintiff has 4 failed to include factual allegations identifying what happened, when it happened and who was 5 involved. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. Plaintiff has been unable to cure this deficiency. 6 B.

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