(PC) Joseph v. Son

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 13, 2023
Docket2:22-cv-01558
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Joseph v. Son ((PC) Joseph v. Son) 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) Joseph v. Son, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID ABRAHAM JOSEPH, No. 2:22-cv-01558-CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 MONIVIRIN SON, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a former county inmate currently in state custody, is proceeding pro se in this 18 civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this court 19 by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 Plaintiff requests leave to proceed in forma pauperis. As plaintiff has submitted a 21 declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), his request will be granted. 22 Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§ 23 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the 24 initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court. 25 Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding 26 month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments will be forwarded by 27 the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff’s account 28 exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). 1 I. Screening Standard 2 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 3 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 4 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 5 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 6 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 7 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 8 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 9 Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 10 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 11 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 12 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th 13 Cir. 1989); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. 14 In order to avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than 15 “naked assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause 16 of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-557 (2007). In other words, 17 “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory 18 statements do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Furthermore, a claim 19 upon which the court can grant relief has facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A 20 claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw 21 the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. 22 at 678. When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted, 23 the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007), 24 and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 25 U.S. 232, 236 (1974). 26 II. Allegations in the Complaint 27 At all times relevant to the allegations in the complaint, plaintiff was an inmate at the 28 Amador County Jail. In his first claim for relief, plaintiff asserts that defendant Dr. Son violated 1 the Eighth Amendment by refusing to provide him with his prescribed medication of Suboxone 2 for 120 days causing him to suffer from severe drug withdrawal symptoms. Plaintiff further 3 indicates that defendant Son refused his requests for medical treatment. In his second claim for 4 relief, plaintiff contends that these same facts constitute a violation of the Americans with 5 Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by the Amador County Sheriff’s Department which is responsible for 6 hiring medical staff. In his third claim for relief, plaintiff contends that defendant Dr. Son 7 committed medical malpractice for abruptly discontinuing his prescription for Suboxone on 8 August 13, 2022 causing him to have a seizure and to suffer from drug withdrawal symptoms. By 9 way of relief, plaintiff seeks monetary compensation. 10 III. Legal Standards 11 The following legal standards are being provided to plaintiff based on his pro se status as 12 well as the nature of the allegations in his complaint. 13 A. Linkage 14 The civil rights statute requires that there be an actual connection or link between the 15 actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See 16 Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 17 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that “[a] person ‘subjects' another to the deprivation of a 18 constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates 19 in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that 20 causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th 21 Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). In order to state a claim for relief under section 1983, plaintiff must 22 link each named defendant with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of 23 plaintiff's federal rights. 24 B. Deliberate Indifference to a Serious Medical Need 25 Denial or delay of medical care for a prisoner’s serious medical needs may constitute a 26 violation of the prisoner’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 27 97, 104-05 (1976). An individual is liable for such a violation only when the individual is 28 deliberately indifferent to a prisoner’s serious medical needs. Id.; see Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006); Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 744 (9th Cir. 2002); Lopez v. 2 Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1131-32 (9th Cir. 2000). 3 In the Ninth Circuit, the test for deliberate indifference consists of two parts. Jett, 439 4 F.3d at 1096, citing McGuckin v. Smith,

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Joseph v. Son, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-joseph-v-son-caed-2023.