(PC) Wolinski v. Abdulgader

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 6, 2023
Docket2:21-cv-02078
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Wolinski v. Abdulgader ((PC) Wolinski v. Abdulgader) 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) Wolinski v. Abdulgader, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KRZYSZTOF F. WOLINSKI, No. 2:21-cv-02078-TLN-CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 ABDULBASET ABDULGADER, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights 18 action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local 19 Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 On January 27, 2022, the court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint for failing to state a claim, 21 but granted him leave to amend. ECF No. 8. In the screening order, plaintiff was provided with 22 the appropriate legal standards governing his claims for relief and advised that the treatment, or 23 lack of treatment, concerning plaintiff's medical conditions do not provide a basis upon which to 24 impose liability under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Rehabilitation Act 25 (RA). ECF No. 8 at 7 (collecting cases). Following several extensions of time, plaintiff filed a 26 first amended complaint on August 29, 2022 which is now before the court for screening.1 ECF 27 1 The filing date was calculated using the prison mailbox rule. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 28 266 (1988). 1 No. 26. 2 I. Screening Requirement 3 As plaintiff was previously advised, the court is required to screen complaints brought by 4 prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental 5 entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The court will independently dismiss a complaint or portion 6 thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state 7 a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is 8 immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 9 II. Allegations in the First Amended Complaint 10 Plaintiff is a state inmate suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a traumatic brain injury 11 (TBI), mobility impairments, and mental disabilities requiring an Enhanced Outpatient Program 12 (EOP) within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). He has been 13 housed at the California Health Care Facility (CHCF) and the California Medical Facility (CMF) 14 in Vacaville. The allegations in the first amended complaint are based on events that occurred at 15 both CHCF and CMF. Plaintiff names both medical and non-medical prison staff at both of these 16 prisons as defendants in this action. 17 In his first claim for relief plaintiff contends that defendant Abdulgader, his primary care 18 physician between October 2019 and November 10, 2021, retaliated against him in violation of 19 his First Amendment rights for filing health care grievances. ECF No. 26 at 6. This retaliation 20 took the form of discontinuing plaintiff’s chronos for durable medical equipment, removing him 21 from the “OHU” level of care, and discontinuing his prescription medications. ECF No. 26 at 6. 22 Plaintiff further alleges that defendant Abdulgader and defendant Williams acted with deliberate 23 indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment by depriving him 24 of treatment for chronic pain, a renewed prescription for Gabapentin, and a replacement TENS 25 unit. ECF No. 26 at 7. According to plaintiff, he required hospitalization and almost died as a 26 result of these defendants’ lack of adequate medical care. ECF No. 26 at 8. 27 In claim two, plaintiff generally alleges that he was denied a religious Halal diet by prison 28 authorities in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 1 (RLUIPA) and the First Amendment. ECF No. 26 at 9. Plaintiff names defendants Burton and 2 Weinholdt in this claim, but he fails to identify what specific actions either took which led to the 3 asserted constitutional violations. 4 In the third claim, plaintiff contends that defendants Weinholdt and Petersen violated his 5 rights under the ADA and the RA based on his mobility impairments. ECF No. 26 at 12-14. 6 Other than describing the title of their jobs at CHCF, plaintiff does not describe how each of these 7 defendants were responsible for the damage done to his wheelchair on November 20, 2020 and 8 May 19, 2021. Id. at 13-14. In fact, plaintiff specifically states that his wheelchair was damaged 9 by “P.M.&R. Workers who service ADA inmates Durable Medical Equipment….” Id. at 13. 10 Following the damage to his wheelchair, defendant Weinholdt met with plaintiff in October 2021 11 and informed him that he would receive a replacement wheelchair. Id. at 14. To date, plaintiff 12 has not received this wheelchair. Id. 13 Plaintiff’s fourth claim concerns his medical treatment and disability accommodations 14 following his transfer to CMF on or about December 15, 2021. ECF No. 26 at 15. Specifically, 15 plaintiff contends that defendant Osmon, the Chief Medical Executive, and defendant Benavidez, 16 the Warden, refused to house him in a wheelchair accessible cell. As a result, plaintiff suffered a 17 seizure and a head injury on December 21, 2021. ECF No. 26 at 16. Defendant Osmon also 18 refused to provide plaintiff medical care such as I.V. fluids during his hunger strike. Id. 19 Defendant Tran, plaintiff’s primary care physician, failed to order any seizure medication or 20 chronic pain treatment for his medical conditions in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Id. 21 In claim five, plaintiff contends that defendant Montgomery used excessive force against 22 him on January 2, 2022 and January 13, 2022. ECF No. 26 at 18. Both incidents occurred after 23 plaintiff was handcuffed. Id. Plaintiff also alleges that defendant Montgomery destroyed his 24 durable medical equipment and personal property on these occasions. Id. 25 In his last claim for relief, plaintiff alleges that defendants Singh, Butterfield, and Macato 26 used excessive force against him on January 25, 2022 by unreasonably using pepper spray against 27 him knowing that he has asthma and C.O.P.D. ECF No. 26 at 20-21. Plaintiff’s durable medical 28 equipment was also damaged or destroyed during this incident. Id. at 21. 1 By way of relief, plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages. ECF No. 26 at 24. 2 III. Legal Standards 3 A. Linkage Requirement 4 The civil rights statute requires that there be an actual connection or link between the 5 actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See 6 Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 7 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that “[a] person ‘subjects' another to the deprivation of a 8 constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates 9 in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that 10 causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th 11 Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). In order to state a claim for relief under section 1983, plaintiff must 12 link each named defendant with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of 13 plaintiff's federal rights. 14 B.

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Wolinski v. Abdulgader, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-wolinski-v-abdulgader-caed-2023.