(PC) Peterson v. CDCR

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 27, 2025
Docket2:24-cv-01794
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Peterson v. CDCR ((PC) Peterson v. CDCR) 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) Peterson v. CDCR, (E.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RONALD K. PETERSON, No. 2:24-cv-1794 CSK P 12 Plaintiff, ORDER 13 v. 14 CDCR, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 18 § 1983 and requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. This 19 proceeding was referred to this Court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 Initially, it appears that plaintiff may have intended to file his complaint in the Sacramento 21 County Superior Court, because it is filed on a State of California Judicial Council form, and was 22 initially misdirected to the Unlawful Detainer Division of the Sacramento Superior Court. (ECF 23 No. 1 at 16.) As discussed below, plaintiff’s claims are more appropriately filed in state court, 24 but the proper address is the Sacramento County Superior Court, 720 Ninth Street, Sacramento, 25 CA 95814. Therefore, this Court defers ruling on plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma 26 pauperis in this Court. Plaintiff is granted the opportunity to voluntarily dismiss this action and 27 proceed in the Sacramento County Superior Court. If plaintiff chooses this option, he will not be 28 assessed this Court’s filing fee. 1 In the alternative, if plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint and proceed in this 2 Court, the Court will address plaintiff’s filing fee at that time. Plaintiff is advised that even if he 3 is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, he will be required to pay the statutory filing fee of 4 $350.00 for this action, although he will be allowed to pay it in installments from his inmate trust 5 account. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). 6 I. SCREENING STANDARDS 7 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 8 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 9 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner raised claims that are legally 10 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 11 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). 12 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 13 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 14 Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous when it is based on an 15 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 16 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 17 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th 18 Cir. 1989), superseded by statute as stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130-31 (9th Cir. 19 2000) (“[A] judge may dismiss [in forma pauperis] claims which are based on indisputably 20 meritless legal theories or whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.”); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 21 1227. 22 Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘a short and plain 23 statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the 24 defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Bell Atlantic 25 Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). 26 In order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, a complaint must contain more than “a 27 formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;” it must contain factual allegations 28 sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. at 555. 1 However, “[s]pecific facts are not necessary; the statement [of facts] need only ‘give the 2 defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v. 3 Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (quoting Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. at 555, citations and internal 4 quotations marks omitted). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as 5 true the allegations of the complaint in question, Erickson, 551 U.S. at 93, and construe the 6 pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 7 (1974), overruled on other grounds, Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 (1984). 8 II. PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT 9 Plaintiff alleges a personal injury claim exceeding $25,000.00 for premises liability. 10 Plaintiff claims that defendants CDCR, Folsom State Prison, and Does 1 – 10, were deliberately 11 indifferent because there were no warning signs of water on the concrete floor in Building 12 (Section B) 3 block on yard A at Folsom State Prison, causing plaintiff to fall on April 6, 2021, 13 and again on December 9, 2021, due to a leaky roof and despite numerous work orders to repair 14 the leaky roof. (ECF No. 1 at 4.) Plaintiff includes causes of action for intentional tort, general 15 negligence, and premises liability. (Id. at 5, 6, 15.) After his first fall, plaintiff slipped on his 16 butt, hurting his tailbone, and hit his head. (Id. at 5, 6.) During his second fall, plaintiff fell “face 17 down on 1 knee,” landing on his back and elbow. (Id. at 6.) Plaintiff was transported by 18 wheelchair to medical, where an x-ray showed a chipping of bone. (Id. at 6, 14.) 19 Plaintiff seeks money damages. (Id. at 3.) 20 III. DISCUSSION 21 A. Eleventh Amendment 22 In his complaint plaintiff named the CDCR and Folsom State Prison as defendants. The 23 Eleventh Amendment serves as a jurisdictional bar to suits brought by private parties against a 24 state or state agency unless the state or the agency consents to such suit. See Quern v. Jordan, 25 440 U.S. 332 (1979); Alabama v. Pugh, 438 U.S. 781 (1978) (per curiam); Jackson v. Hayakawa, 26 682 F.2d 1344, 1349-50 (9th Cir. 1982). In the instant case, the State of California has not 27 consented to suit. Accordingly, plaintiff’s claims against the CDCR and Folsom State Prison 28 must be dismissed. 1 B. Eighth Amendment 2 1. Legal Standards 3 The Eighth Amendment does not establish premises liability for negligence leading to a 4 slip and fall. Rather, the Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from inhumane methods of 5 punishment and inhumane conditions of confinement. Morgan v.

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Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Scheuer v. Rhodes
416 U.S. 232 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Rizzo v. Goode
423 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Alabama v. Pugh
438 U.S. 781 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Quern v. Jordan
440 U.S. 332 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Davis v. Scherer
468 U.S. 183 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Neitzke v. Williams
490 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Wilson v. Seiter
501 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Hudson v. McMillian
503 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Erickson v. Pardus
551 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Reynolds v. Powell
370 F.3d 1028 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
Ivey v. Board of Regents of University of Alaska
673 F.2d 266 (Second Circuit, 1982)
Harry Franklin v. Ms. Murphy and Hoyt Cupp
745 F.2d 1221 (Ninth Circuit, 1984)

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(PC) Peterson v. CDCR, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-peterson-v-cdcr-caed-2025.