Robert Lamount Crossley v. Sheriff Boudreaux, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedSeptember 25, 2025
Docket1:21-cv-01758
StatusUnknown

This text of Robert Lamount Crossley v. Sheriff Boudreaux, et al. (Robert Lamount Crossley v. Sheriff Boudreaux, et al.) 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
Robert Lamount Crossley v. Sheriff Boudreaux, et al., (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 ROBERT LAMOUNT CROSSLEY, No. 1:21-cv-01758 GSA (PC) 12 Plaintiff, SCREENING ORDER (SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT) 13 v. (ECF No. 14) 14 SHERIFF BOUDREAUX, et al., ORDER AND FINDINGS AND 15 Defendants. RECOMMENDATIONS 16 ORDER FINDING THAT CLAIM ONE A STATES CLAIMS UPON WHICH RELIEF 17 MAY BE GRANTED 18 (See ECF No. 14 at 3-4) 19 ORDER RECOMMENDING THAT CLAIM TWO BE DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO 20 STATE A CLAIM UPON WHICH RELIEF MAY BE GRANTED 21 (See ECF No. 14 at 4) 22 PLAINTIFF’S OBJECTIONS TO FINDINGS 23 AND RECOMMENDATIONS DUE IN FOURTEEN DAYS 24 25 Plaintiff, a former pretrial detainee proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, has filed this 26 civil rights action seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The matter was referred to a United 27 States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302. 28 1 Before this Court is Plaintiff’s second amended complaint (“SAC”). ECF No. 14. For the 2 reasons stated below the Court finds that Plaintiff’s complaint states viable Fourteenth 3 Amendment failure to protect and excessive force claims against Defendants Scotty, Osuna, and 4 Calderon in Claim One, and they can be served. However, the SAC fails to raise a viable failure 5 to protect claim against Defendant Boudreaux. Therefore, the undersigned will recommend that 6 Claim Two that Plaintiff has raised against Defendant Boudreaux be dismissed for failure to state 7 a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff will have fourteen days to file objections to 8 this order. 9 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 10 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 11 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 12 Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 13 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 14 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)-(2). 15 “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall 16 dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that the action or appeal fails to state a claim 17 upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 18 A complaint is required to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that 19 the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 20 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 21 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 22 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)); see Whitaker v. Tesla Motors, Inc., 985 23 F.3d 1173, 1176 (9th Cir. 2021) (citing Iqbal). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, 24 courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 25 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To state a viable 26 claim, Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief 27 that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss v. United States Secret Service, 28 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). While factual allegations are accepted as true, legal 1 conclusions are not. Id. The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting this 2 plausibility standard. Id. 3 Finally, under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 18 and 20, the claims raised against a 4 party in a complaint should be related. In addition, defendants should only be joined in an action 5 if it can be alleged that they are liable for the “same transaction, occurrence, or series of 6 transactions or occurrences” where “any question of law or fact common to all defendants will 7 arise in the action.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 18(a) and 20(a)(2). 8 II. STANDARD OF REVIEW 9 A. Generally 10 Section 1983 “provides a cause of action for the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or 11 immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” Wilder v. Virginia Hosp. 12 Ass’n, 496 U.S. 498, 508 (1990) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 1983). Section 1983 is not itself a source 13 of substantive rights, but merely provides a method for vindicating federal rights conferred 14 elsewhere. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393-94 (1989). 15 To state a claim under Section 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1) 16 that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated and (2) that the 17 alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v. 18 Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Ketchum v. Alameda Cty., 811 F.2d 1243, 1245 (9th Cir. 1987). 19 B. Linkage Requirement 20 In addition, under Section 1983, a plaintiff bringing an individual capacity claim must 21 demonstrate that each defendant personally participated in the deprivation of his rights. See Jones 22 v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). There must be an actual connection or link 23 between the actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by 24 plaintiff. See Ortez v. Washington County, State of Oregon, 88 F.3d 804, 809 (9th Cir. 1996); 25 see also Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989). 26 Government officials may not be held liable for the actions of their subordinates under a 27 theory of respondeat superior. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676 (stating vicarious liability is inapplicable in 28 Section 1983 suits). Since a government official cannot be held liable under a theory of vicarious 1 liability in Section 1983 actions, a plaintiff must plead sufficient facts showing that the official 2 has violated the Constitution through his own individual actions by linking each named defendant 3 with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of plaintiff's federal rights. 4 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676. 5 III. PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT 6 A.

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Bluebook (online)
Robert Lamount Crossley v. Sheriff Boudreaux, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-lamount-crossley-v-sheriff-boudreaux-et-al-caed-2025.