(PC) Rials v. Lozano

District Court, E.D. California·Decided June 3, 2022·No. 2:19-cv-02152·Unknown

Opinion

JAMES ALEXANDER RIALS, No. 2:19-cv-02152-TLN-CKD P Plaintiff, v. ORDER AND J. LOZANO, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Defendants. Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This case is proceeding on plaintiff’s first amended complaint alleging an Eighth Amendment sexual abuse claim against defendant Bowen and a failure to protect claim, also under the Eighth Amendment, against defendants Lozano and Footman. See ECF Nos. 15 (screening order), 21 (order adopting Findings and Recommendations dismissing remaining defendants and claims). Currently pending before the court are defendants’ motions for summary judgment based on plaintiff’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”). ECF Nos. 57, 60. Plaintiff has filed an opposition and defendants have filed replies. ECF Nos. 75, 79, 80. For the reasons explained below, the undersigned recommends granting the motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Lozano and Footman. ECF No. 57. The court further recommends granting, in part, and denying, in part, defendant Bowen’s separately filed motion for summary judgment. I. Ancillary Matters Before addressing the pending summary judgment motions, the court will address several outstanding non-dispositive motions filed by the parties. On October 7, 2021, the court issued a discovery and scheduling order governing this case. ECF No. 48. Discovery closed on February 11, 2022 and all pretrial motions were to be filed on or before May 6, 2022. ECF No. 48. Several weeks prior to the close of discovery, plaintiff filed a request for the issuance of four subpoenas duces tecum to various non-parties. ECF No. 56. That same week, defendants filed a joint motion to stay all merits-based discovery and to vacate all pending deadlines until their pending summary judgment motions on exhaustion were resolved. ECF No. 61. The court granted defendants’ joint motion on February 2, 2022 and stayed the discovery period as it related to the merits of plaintiff’s claims and vacated the deadlines set by the discovery and scheduling order. ECF No. 48. The court noted that an amended discovery and scheduling order would be set as necessary after a ruling on defendants’ summary judgment motions. ECF No. 48. In light of the court’s order granting a stay of all merits-based discovery, plaintiff’s request for subpoenas is premature because none of the requested documents pertain to the exhaustion issue pending before the court. As a result, the court denies plaintiff’s request for subpoenas at this time. Plaintiff also filed a request for judicial notice of facts related to voyeurism and various CDCR regulations and policies. ECF No. 55. Defendants filed a joint opposition to this motion. ECF No. 62. The court denies plaintiff’s request for judicial notice as the facts to be noticed are not relevant to the resolution of the pending summary judgment motions on exhaustion. See Ruiz v. City of Santa Maria, 160 F.3d 543, 548 n. 13 (9th Cir. 1998). By order dated November 2, 2021, the court denied plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time to file a reply to defendants’ answers by informing him that “no reply is necessary as the court has not ordered one.” ECF No. 51 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a)(7)). Despite this court order, plaintiff filed two separate replies to defendants’ answers. See ECF Nos. 52, 54. On January 18, 2022, defendants filed a joint motion to strike plaintiff’s replies to their answers as unauthorized pleadings. ECF No. 64. Because these pleadings were filed in violation of a court order, defendants’ motion to strike is granted. The court will direct the Clerk of Court to strike these pleadings from the docket. II. Motions for Summary Judgment In their motion for summary judgment, defendants Lozano and Footman assert that the undisputed material facts demonstrate that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies with respect to the Eighth Amendment failure to protect claims against them. ECF No. 57. Defendants submit that plaintiff’s “relevant appeal only concerned allegations against defendant Bowen regarding alleged staff misconduct for November 29, 2018, and plaintiff added new claims regarding alleged subsequent events involving Bowen after he appealed to the Office of Appeals.” ECF No. 57-1 at 1. In a separately filed motion for summary judgment, defendant Bowen asserts that plaintiff failed to properly exhaust his administrative remedies because he added new claims of sexual misconduct that occurred after November 29, 2018 in his appeal to the third level of administrative review. ECF No. 60. According to defendant Bowen, CDCR regulations required plaintiff to submit a new 602 administrative grievance concerning these subsequent sexual misconduct allegations. ECF No. 60 at 8. Defendant Bowen expressly concedes that “[a]s of the date the original Complaint was filed on October 24, 2019, the only claim that was arguably exhausted by the filing of Appeal Log Number CMF-M-19-00128 was Plaintiff’s claim that C. Bowen asked Plaintiff to undress without giving any reasonable justification related to legitimate penological interest.” ECF No. 60 at 9. As to this claim, defendant Bowen argues that the factual allegations do not rise to the level of an Eighth Amendment violation because there was no alleged touching or physical injury that plaintiff suffered. ECF No. 60 at 10. Defendant Bowen equates the Eighth Amendment sexual abuse claim against him to a claim of mere verbal harassment. ECF No. 60 at 9-10. Therefore, defendant Bowen seeks summary judgment on the merits of the Eighth Amendment sexual abuse claim against him. ECF No. 60 at 10. In his opposition to the summary judgment motions, plaintiff explains that his failure to protect claims against defendants Lozano and Footman are based on their decision to allow defendant Bowen “unfettered access” to plaintiff after he filed his administrative grievance in January. ECF No. 75 at 5. Plaintiff does not explain how he exhausted his administrative appeal with respect to the claims against defendants Lozano and Footman. Regarding his exhaustion of his administrative remedies, plaintiff contends that his 602 grievance “included all facts known and available to him regarding the sexual misconduct, naming Bowen as the staff member responsible and [he] exhausted that appeal up to and including the Third Level of Review.” ECF No. 75 at 2. He acknowledges adding additional incidents of “physical contact and intensified sexual harassment by defendant C. Bowen” into his appeal from the second level of administrative review filed on April 6, 2019. ECF No. 75 at 4. With respect to the merits of the Eighth Amendment claim against defendant Bowen, plaintiff contends that “Bowen’s admitted solicitation of a sexual act from plaintiff on November 29, 2018 and subsequent sexual fondling far exceed the threshold of a constitutional violation….” ECF No. 75 at 3. Plaintiff separately filed a request for the court to defer resolution of the pending summary judgment motions in accordance with Local Rule 260(b) because additional discovery is necessary. ECF No. 75-1. In support of this request, plaintiff points to defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts In Support of Summary Judgment re: Exhaustion.” ECF No. 75-1 at 3. However, plaintiff admits all but two of these undisputed facts, one of which pertains to the merits of the claim against defendant Bowen. ECF No. 75-2. Concerning the issue of exhaustion, plaintiff argues that “discovery is needed to determine if the Office of Appeals did provide informati

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