(PC) Lewis v. Newsome

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedOctober 12, 2022
Docket1:22-cv-01036
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Lewis v. Newsome ((PC) Lewis v. Newsome) 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) Lewis v. Newsome, (E.D. Cal. 2022).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DARONTA T. LEWIS, Case No. 1:22-cv-01036-ADA-HBK (PC) 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DENY PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (g) 1 14 THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, GOVERNOR OFFICE, ET. AL., FOURTEEN-DAY OBJECTION PERIOD 15 Defendants. (Doc. No. 2) 16 17 Plaintiff Daronta T. Lewis, a prisoner incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison, initiated 18 this action by filing a pro se prisoner civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on August 17, 19 2022. (Doc. No. 1, “Complaint”). Plaintiff seeks to proceed in this action in forma pauperis. 20 (Doc. No. 2). For the reasons discussed below, the undersigned recommends the district court 21 deny Plaintiff’s IFP motion under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) because Plaintiff has had at least three 22 actions or appeals that constitute strikes, and the Complaint does not establish that Plaintiff meets 23 the imminent danger exception. 24 BACKGROUND AND FACTS 25 The Complaint identifies the following as defendants: Governor Gavin Newsom, “Deputy 26

27 1 The undersigned submits these factual findings and recommendations to the District Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302 (E.D. Cal. 2022). 28 1 Director of CDCR,” Christian Peiffer, “Associate Warden John Doe (male Hispanic), “Associate 2 Warden over KVSP (2nd in charge),” “Associate Warden of ADA at KVSP,” “Mr. Captree- 3 Captain Second Level Manager,” “Lieutenant Moore- First Level Manager,” “Mr. Lerma, 4 Response Supervisor on C Facility,” “Mr. J. Servin of KVSP, Custodial- C Facility,” “Mr. 5 Martinez of KVSP, Custodial Peace Officer.” (Doc. No. 1 at 1-4). Plaintiff’s Complaint consists 6 of 81 pages in total, 25 of which comprise the Complaint with the remaining 56 pages consisting 7 of inmate grievances, responses thereto, and an order from a state re-sentencing hearing. (See 8 generally id. at 1-25 (complaint), 26-80 (grievances)). 9 The Complaint is difficult to decipher and disjointed. To the extent discernable, the 10 gravamen of Plaintiff’s complaints is that he has not been afforded some type of early release or 11 placed in a rehabilitation program. The Complaint strays from various topics in which Plaintiff 12 recounts being called by various racial epithets, being denied unspecified services due to being in 13 a wheelchair, having his good-time credits improperly taken away, disputing his classification, 14 facing discrimination at KSV because he is a black inmate, and being absent from certain family 15 events. In an apparent attempt to meet the imminent danger exception, Plaintiff states he has 16 been waiting for 5 years for surgery on “brachial plexsus.”2 (Doc. No. 1 at 8). Plaintiff also 17 states he engaged in hunger strikes at various point in protest to his treatment. (Id. at 9). Plaintiff 18 writes on the top of a page near the end of the Complaint “irreparable injury- continued here” 19 followed by allegations that unidentified inmates force him to perform oral sex on them because 20 he is “paralyzed and defenseless.” (Id. at 18). On the following pages, Plaintiff alleges he is 21 being “excluded from equal access and opportunity” and to pre-release from custody (id. at 19), 22 he requires surgery on his “left side gunshot Brachial plexsus,” (id. at 20), and is being denied his 23 First Amendment right to redress of grievances without retaliation (id. at 21). 24 APPLICABLE THREE STRIKE LAW 25 The “Three Strikes Rule” states: 26 In no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action or proceeding under 27 2 “Brachial plexus” is defined as the network of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord to the 28 shoulder, arm and hand. 1 this section if the prisoner has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal 2 in the United States that was dismissed on grounds that it was frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may 3 be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury. 4 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). As part of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, the Three Strikes Rule was 5 enacted to help curb non-meritorious prisoner litigation. See Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez, 140 S. Ct. 6 1721, 1723 (2020) (citations omitted)). Under § 1915(g), prisoners who have repeatedly brought 7 unsuccessful suits may be barred from bringing a civil action and paying the fee on a payment 8 plan once they have had on prior occasions three or more cases dismissed as frivolous, malicious, 9 or for failure to state a claim. Id.; see also Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.2d 1047, 1052 (9th Cir. 10 2007). 11 For a dismissal to count as a strike, the dismissal had to be on a “prior occasion,” meaning 12 the order dismissing the case must have been docketed before plaintiff initiated the current case. 13 See § 1915(g). The reviewing court then looks to the basis of prior dismissals. Knapp v. Hogan, 14 738 F.3d 1106, 1109 (9th Cir. 2013). A dismissal counts as a strike when the dismissal of the 15 action was for frivolity, maliciousness, or for failure to state a claim, or an appeal was dismissed 16 for the same reasons. Lomax, 140 S. Ct. at 1723 (citing Section 1915(g)); see also Washington v. 17 Los Angeles Cty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, 833 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2016) (reviewing dismissals that count 18 as strikes); Coleman v. Tollefson, 135 S. Ct. 1759, 1761 (2015) (dismissal that is on appeal counts 19 as a strike during the pendency of the appeal). It is immaterial whether the dismissal for failure to 20 state a claim to count was with or without prejudice, as both count as a strike under § 1915(g). 21 Lomax, 140 S. Ct. at 1727. When a district court disposes of an in forma pauperis complaint 22 requiring the full filing fee, then such a complaint is “dismissed” for purposes of §1915(g). Louis 23 Butler O’Neal v. Price, 531 F.3d 1146, 1153 (9th Cir. 2008). 24 Once a prisoner-plaintiff has accumulated three strikes, he/she may not proceed without 25 paying the full filing fee, unless “the complaint makes a plausible allegation” that the prisoner 26 “faced ‘imminent danger of serious physical injury’ at the time of filing” of the complaint. 27 Andrews v. Caervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051-52 (9th Cir. 2007) (addressing imminent danger 28 1 exception for the first time in the Ninth Circuit). The court must construe the prisoner’s “facial 2 allegations” liberally to determine whether the allegations of physical injury are plausible. 3 Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1190 (9th Cir. 2015). 4 In order to avail oneself of this narrow exception, “the PLRA requires a nexus between 5 the alleged imminent danger and the violations of law alleged in the prisoner’s complaint.” Ray 6 v. Lara, 31 F. 4th 692, 700-701 (9th Cir. Apr. 11, 2022) (adopting nexus test).

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Lewis v. Newsome, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-lewis-v-newsome-caed-2022.