(PC) Mwasi v. Shittu

District Court, E.D. California·Decided September 1, 2023·No. 1:23-cv-00364·Unknown

Opinion

KING MWASI, No. 1:23-cv-00364-ADA-BAM (PC) Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE FEDERAL CLAIMS BE v. DISMISSED, WITH PREJUDICE, FOR SHITTU, et al., FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM AND THE COURT DECLINE TO EXERCISE Defendants. SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION OVER STATE LAW CLAIMS (Doc. 12) FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE Plaintiff King Mwasi is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint, and he was granted leave to amend. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint is currently before the Court for screening. (ECF No. 12.) I. Screening Requirement and Standard The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A(b). A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969. II. Plaintiff’s Allegations Plaintiff is currently housed at San Quentin State Prison. Plaintiff alleges that the events in the first amended complaint occurred while he was housed at North Kern State Prison (“NKSP”). Plaintiff names as defendants: (1) Dr. Adekunle Shittu, Chief Physician and surgeon, (2) J. Jeter, Associate Warden, (3) Ted Kubicki, Medical CEO, and (4) Fite-Barker, RN, (5) Does 1-10, (6) North Kern State Prison, (7) California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, (8) Dr. James Chau, doctor, (9) Dr. Amen Zenahly, dentist, (10) RN Etrata, optometrist RN, (11) Guard Marquez, (12) Janet Meda, DNP-FNP-C, and (13) B. Johnson, CCII, 602 coordinator. On 5/24/18, Plaintiff was transferred to NKSP. At Plaintiff’s previous facility, Plaintiff was a CCP (chronic care patient) with various severe and serious medical conditions such as hearing and speech defects, orthopedic issues, painful injuries to ankles, nerve damage, hip, knee and shoulder pain, among other issues. Pursuant to Plata v. Newsom, when transferring between prisons, the receiving prison is supposed to continue the same care, appointments, and specialists. Throughout Plaintiff’s stay at NKSP (5/24/18 through August 2019), Defendants violated the decree including by Defendant Shittu and Kubicki. Plaintiff alleges that a wide-spread conspiracy to deny medical care existed among all the defendants who knowingly committed deliberate acts of misconduct which violated Plaintiff’s rights. Plaintiff was retaliated against when he filed complaints and medical care worsened. Problems started when Plaintiff arrived at NKSP because of discrepancies involving Plaintiff’s hearing impairment. NKSP is not designated as a prison for hearing impaired and no special accommodations are made. Staff does not have experience with this disability. Inmates use methods to communicate with Plaintiff, like speaking slowly, using hand signals, write notes, etc. Staff observing these interactions think Plaintiff can understand okay. About a week after his arrival at NKSP, Plaintiff was trying to communicate with an inmate he knew. Defendant Fite-Barker and an unknown staff misinterpreted what they were observing about Plaintiff and called Kubicki who also watched Plaintiff. Kubicki concluded, based on that flawed perception, Plaintiff could hear. He started telling staff not to accommodate Plaintiff. Plaintiff was unaware of this conspiracy for several months. Plaintiff learned that the sign language interpreter was instructed to rescind Plaintiff’s hearing impaired status, and Dr. James Chou was also told the same. From then on, staff had “license” to abuse Plaintiff based on the erroneous observations of Plaintiff. Once this started, the lie took a life of its own, and all Defendants blindly followed. “Defendant their erroneous perceptions to commit civil rights violations, clouding medical judgments and ultimately deny medical care to Plaintiff.” Plaintiff was denied treatment and “ADA” accommodation. In claim 1, Plaintiff alleges violations of the First, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, and state torts for intentional torts, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and ADA violations. Plaintiff alleges as follows. Plaintiff alleges Defendants denied ADA accommodations for his hearing disability simply because they did not believe or understand his symptoms. Defendant NKSP and CDCR were aware of Plaintiff’s disability yet did not transfer him to a hearing impaired medical facility. Defendant Fite-Barker, Kubicki and others erroneously made wildly false conclusions that Plaintiff did not have any disabilities and spread disinformation to not accommodate Plaintiff’s disability. There were documented records by a neurologist and an MRI and EKG showing brain damage. On 6/6/18, Defendants Barker, Kubicki, and others made an observation of Plaintiff from over 40 yards away and made false and impossible conclusions about whether Plaintiff could hear. On 8/2/18, Defendant was brought by Defendant Marquez to the transportation area to be brought to a neurologist appointment. Marquez told escorting guards Sotelo and Hernandez- Reyes the misinformation by Kubicki about Plaintiff’s ability to hear. Plaintiff was escorted to a neurologist appointment by guards Sotelo and M. Hernandez-Reyes. At the appointment, the guards heard the doctor say that the part of Plaintiff’s brain is dead which deals with language. The guards told the doctor about the misinformation circulated by Kubicki and the doctor disagreed with this based on medical evidence. On 8/3/18, the RN refused to write to communicate. On 8/22/18, Dr. Chau denied Plaintiff’s medically needed cervical pillow, orthopedic shoes, and insoles, despite specialist orders because of the conspiracy. On 9/21/18 DNP-FNP-C Janet Meda refused to write to communicate and to provide medical care. At a neurologist appointment escorted by D. Salcido and M. Garcia, the neurologist told them about the brain damage from a stroke. The guards agreed that the misinformation about Plaintiff hearing

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

(PC) Mwasi v. Shittu, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

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

Related

Cagle Ex Rel. Estate of Butler v. Sutherland
334 F.3d 980 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs
383 U.S. 715 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Rizzo v. Goode
423 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Meachum v. Fano
427 U.S. 215 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Montanye v. Haymes
427 U.S. 236 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon
473 U.S. 234 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey
524 U.S. 206 (Supreme Court, 1998)
United States v. Georgia
546 U.S. 151 (Supreme Court, 2006)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Bartlett v. Strickland
556 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Simmons v. Navajo County, Ariz.
609 F.3d 1011 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Owens v. Hinsley
635 F.3d 950 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
Kathleen Hansen v. Ronald L. Black
885 F.2d 642 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
Eric Sanchez v. Duane R. Vild
891 F.2d 240 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)