(PC) Kose v. Siez

District Court, E.D. California·Decided June 27, 2023·No. 1:23-cv-00557·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 WANI J. KOSE, Case No.: 1:23-cv-00557-CDB 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS CERTAIN CLAIMS 13 v. 14-DAY OBJECTION PERIOD 14 H. SIEZ, et al.,

15 Defendants. Clerk of the Court to Assign District Judge 16 17 Plaintiff Wani J. Kose is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights 18 action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 19 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 20 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 21 governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). 22 The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the complaint is frivolous or malicious, 23 fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant 24 who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). The Court should dismiss a complaint if 25 it lacks a cognizable legal theory or fails to allege sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal 26 theory. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). 27 // // 1 II. PLEADING REQUIREMENTS 2 A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) 3 “Rule 8(a)’s simplified pleading standard applies to all civil actions, with limited 4 exceptions.” Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 513 (2002). A complaint must contain 5 “a short and plain statement of the claims showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. 6 Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Such a statement must simply give the defendant fair notice of what the 7 plaintiff’s claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 512 (internal 8 quotation marks & citation omitted). 9 Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a 10 cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 11 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must 12 set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim that is plausible on its face.’” 13 Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). Factual allegations are accepted as true, but legal 14 conclusions are not. Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). 15 The Court construes pleadings of pro se prisoners liberally and affords them the benefit of 16 any doubt. Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). However, “the 17 liberal pleading standard . . . applies only to a plaintiff’s factual allegations,” not his legal 18 theories. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 330 n.9 (1989). Furthermore, “a liberal interpretation 19 of a civil rights complaint may not supply essential elements of the claim that were not initially 20 pled,” Bruns v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., 122 F.3d 1251, 1257 (9th Cir. 1997) (internal 21 quotation marks & citation omitted), and courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted 22 inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation 23 marks & citation omitted). The “sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully” is not 24 sufficient to state a cognizable claim, and “facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s 25 liability” fall short. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (internal quotation marks & citation omitted). 26 B. Linkage and Causation 27 Section 1983 provides a cause of action for the violation of constitutional or other federal 1 section 1983, a plaintiff must show a causal connection or link between the actions of the 2 defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by the plaintiff. See Rizzo v. Goode, 3 423 U.S. 362, 373-75 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that “[a] person ‘subjects’ another to the 4 deprivation of a constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an affirmative 5 act, participates in another’s affirmative acts, or omits to perform an act which he is legal required 6 to do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 7 743 (9th Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). 8 III. DISCUSSION 9 A. Plaintiff’s Complaint 10 Plaintiff’s complaint names Correctional Officer H. Siez, and Registered Nurses Negre 11 Analyn1 and Melisa Walker, all employed at North Kern State Prison, as Defendants. (Doc. 1 at 12 1-2.) Plaintiff sues Defendants in their individual and official capacities. (See Doc. 1 at 23 13 [handwritten page with “’1-A’” entered at the bottom].) By way of relief, Plaintiff seeks a 14 declaratory judgment, compensatory and punitive damages, and any other relief the Court deems 15 proper. (Id. at 22.) 16 Because Plaintiff’s complaint provides supporting factual allegations as to each claim 17 asserted, the factual allegations will be addressed separately in the same manner. 18 B. Plaintiff’s Claims 19 Claim I: Eighth Amendment Threat to Safety 20 Factual Allegations 21 Plaintiff contends that on July 14, 2020, he was “monitored at TTA”2 after being found 22 unconscious in his cell. (Doc. 1 at 3.) Plaintiff states he was taken to TTA “with no shoes on.” 23 (Id.) Defendant H. Siez was the medical transport officer on the morning shift and noticed 24 Plaintiff’s “condition was not well” and inquired of Plaintiff whether he was able to walk. (Id.) 25

26 1 Plaintiff’s complaint alternates between identifying this defendant by her first name and her last name. For the sake of continuity, the Court will refer to Defendant Negre Analyn by her surname. 27 2 According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, “TTA” is a Triage and Treatment Area. See https://www.cdcr.ca.gov (last visited June 27, 2023). 1 Plaintiff advised Siez he did not wish to walk because he “was still dizzy and [had] bare feet.” 2 (Id.) Plaintiff contends he had to walk after “attempting to get a wheelchair from RN Negre 3 Analyn and RN Melisa Walker.” (Id.) Plaintiff contends it was “torture stepping on rocks and 4 gravel [stabbing his] feet.” (Id.) Siez noticed Plaintiff stumbling and stated, “Now that’s messed 5 up how the nurses were acting.” (Id.) Plaintiff contends Siez told him he “should write it up” and 6 that Plaintiff “looked just like” Siez’s son. (Id.) Plaintiff contends Siez advised him “that 7 watching how the nurses didn’t want to help made him think about what if [Plaintiff] was his 8 son.” (Id.) 9 Plaintiff asserts Siez decided to use a golf cart to prevent Plaintiff from suffering further. 10 (Doc. 1 at 4.) The golf cart was “a cart that was a two seater with a mini truck like flat bed in the 11 back.” (Id.) Plaintiff asserts there “was no way to transform that flat bed into a seat,” that there 12 were no rails or seat belts, and that his feet touched the ground while sitting on the low cart.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(PC) Kose v. Siez, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

(PC) Kose v. Siez ((PC) Kose v. Siez) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Rizzo v. Goode
423 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Whitley v. Albers
475 U.S. 312 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Neitzke v. Williams
490 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Wilson v. Seiter
501 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Hafer v. Melo
502 U.S. 21 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Hudson v. McMillian
503 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A.
534 U.S. 506 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Hebbe v. Pliler
627 F.3d 338 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
John C. McGuckin v. Dr. Smith John C. Medlen, Dr.
974 F.2d 1050 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Gibson v. County of Washoe, Nevada
290 F.3d 1175 (Ninth Circuit, 2002)
Toguchi v. Soon Hwang Chung
391 F.3d 1051 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
Wilhelm v. Rotman
680 F.3d 1113 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Labatad v. Corrections Corp. of America
714 F.3d 1155 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
Farmer v. Brennan
511 U.S. 825 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
572 F.3d 677 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)