(PC) McKenna v. Cisneros

District Court, E.D. California·Decided October 25, 2022·No. 2:22-cv-01294·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 EDWARD PHILLIP MCKENNA No. 2:22-cv-01294-KJM-CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER AND 14 T. CISNEROS, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 Defendants. 16

17 18 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 19 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 20 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 21 Plaintiff initiated this action by filing a 116 page complaint on July 9, 2022 which is 22 before the court for screening. ECF No. 1. Also pending before the court are two separate 23 motions to proceed in forma pauperis, three motions for a preliminary injunction/temporary 24 restraining order, three requests to amend the complaint or add claims or defendants, a motion to 25 intervene, and a second motion to reconsider this court’s denial of the appointment of counsel. 26 ECF Nos. 2, 3, 11, 16-17, 19-22, 24. These motions will be addressed in turn. 27 Plaintiff requests leave to proceed in forma pauperis. As plaintiff has submitted a 28 declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), his request will be granted. 1 Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the 3 initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court. 4 Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding 5 month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments will be forwarded by 6 the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff’s account 7 exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). 8 I. Motion to Intervene 9 Before screening plaintiff’s complaint, the court will address plaintiff’s motion to add a 10 plaintiff to this civil action. ECF No. 24. Plaintiff seeks to amend the complaint by adding 11 constitutional violations against another prisoner. ECF No. 24 at 1. According to plaintiff, they 12 were both denied a fair hearing for a disciplinary violation. ECF No. 24. 13 The court construes plaintiff’s motion as a request to bring a class action lawsuit on his 14 behalf as well as on the behalf of other similarly situated plaintiffs. However, plaintiff is a non- 15 lawyer proceeding without counsel. It is well established that a layperson cannot ordinarily 16 represent the interests of a class. See McShane v. United States, 366 F.2d 286, 288 (9th Cir. 17 1966). This rule becomes almost absolute when, as here, the putative class representative is 18 incarcerated and proceeding pro se. Oxendine v. Williams, 509 F.2d 1405, 1407 (4th Cir. 1975) 19 (per curiam) (finding that it was plain error to allow a pro se prisoner to represent fellow inmates 20 in a class action lawsuit). In direct terms, plaintiff cannot “fairly and adequately protect the 21 interests of the class,” as required by Rule 23(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See 22 Martin v. Middendorf, 420 F. Supp. 779, 780 (D. D.C. 1976). Therefore, the court will deny 23 plaintiff’s motion to amend for the purpose of bringing a class action. 24 II. Screening Requirement 25 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 26 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 27 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 28 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 1 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 2 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 3 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 4 Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 5 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 6 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 7 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th 8 Cir. 1989); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. 9 In order to avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than 10 “naked assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause 11 of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-557 (2007). In other words, 12 “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory 13 statements do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Furthermore, a claim 14 upon which the court can grant relief has facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A 15 claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw 16 the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. 17 at 678. When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted, 18 the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007), 19 and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 20 U.S. 232, 236 (1974). 21 III. Allegations in the Complaint 22 In the complaint, plaintiff names the wardens at California State Prison-Corcoran, Mule 23 Creek State Prison, and the California Medical Facility as defendants. ECF No. 1. In addition, 24 plaintiff sues a “lady sargant” [sic], a correctional officer identified only as “Miss B.,” and other 25 unidentified officers and prison officials at the California Substance Abuse and Treatment 26 Facility and California State Prison-Sacramento. ECF No. 1. The factual allegations raised in the 27 complaint date back to the criminal proceedings initiated against plaintiff in the San Bernardino 28 Superior Court that resulted in a sentence of 118 years to life. ECF No. 1. Since that unspecified 1 date, plaintiff has experienced numerous constitutional violations at various prisons ranging from 2 acts of retaliation, the loss and destruction of his personal property, due process violations at 3 disciplinary hearings, the denial of basic necessities and access to the courts, and the failure to 4 protect him from threats by other inmates.

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