Sanders v. JD Home Rentals

District Court, E.D. California·Decided September 8, 2022·No. 1:22-cv-00251·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PHILLIP SANDERS, Case No. 1:22-cv-00251-ADA-SKO 12 Plaintiff, SECOND SCREENING ORDER 13 v. ORDER FINDING PLAINTIFF’S FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FAILS TO STATE 14 JD HOME RENTALS, et al., A COGNIZABLE FEDERAL CLAIM AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND 15 Defendants. (Doc. 6) 16 THIRTY-DAY DEADLINE 17

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20 21 On March 1, 2022, Plaintiff Phillip Sanders, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, 22 filed a complaint. (Docs. 1, 3). On June 8, 2022, the Court screened the complaint, found that it 23 failed to state any cognizable claims, and granted Plaintiff thirty days leave to file an amended 24 complaint curing the pleading deficiencies identified in the order. (Doc. 6.) On July 8, 2022, 25 Plaintiff filed an amended complaint. (Doc. 6.) 26 After screening Plaintiff’s amended complaint, the Court finds that despite the explicit 27 recitation of the deficiencies of the original complaint, Plaintiff has failed to state a claim under 28 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In the amended complaint, Plaintiff has also added claims for violations of 42 1 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1985, and 1988, which are not sufficiently pleaded. Given Plaintiff’s pro se 2 status, Plaintiff is granted one final opportunity to file an amended complaint to cure, to the 3 extent possible, the identified deficiencies. Plaintiff is once again provided the pleading 4 requirements and legal standards under which his claim in a second amended complaint will be 5 analyzed. 6 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 7 In cases where the plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court is required to 8 screen each case and shall dismiss the case at any time if the Court determines that the allegation 9 of poverty is untrue, or that the action or appeal is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim 10 upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune 11 from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). See also Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845 (9th Cir. 12 2001) (dismissal required of in forma pauperis proceedings which seek monetary relief from 13 immune defendants); Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995) (district court has 14 discretion to dismiss in forma pauperis complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)); Barren v. 15 Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 1998) (affirming sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a 16 claim). If the Court determines that a complaint fails to state a claim, leave to amend may be 17 granted to the extent that the deficiencies of the complaint can be cured by amendment. Lopez v. 18 Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). 19 In determining whether a complaint fails to state a claim, the Court uses the same pleading 20 standard used under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). A complaint must contain “a short and 21 plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 22 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of 23 a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 24 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). A 25 complaint may be dismissed as a matter of law for failure to state a claim for two reasons: (1) lack 26 of a cognizable legal theory; or (2) insufficient facts under a cognizable legal theory. See 27 Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). Plaintiff must allege a 28 minimum factual and legal basis for each claim that is sufficient to give each defendant fair notice 1 of what the plaintiff’s claims are and the grounds upon which they rest. See, e.g., Brazil v. U.S. 2 Dep’t of the Navy, 66 F.3d 193, 199 (9th Cir. 1995); McKeever v. Block, 932 F.2d 795, 798 (9th 3 Cir. 1991). 4 In reviewing the pro se complaint, the Court is to liberally construe the pleadings and 5 accept as true all factual allegations contained in the complaint. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 6 94 (2007). Although a court must accept as true all factual allegations contained in a complaint, a 7 court need not accept a plaintiff’s legal conclusions as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. “[A] 8 complaint [that] pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability . . . ‘stops 9 short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’” Id. (quoting 10 Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557). 11 II. SUMMARY OF PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT 12 Plaintiff’s amended complaint lists six defendants: JD Home Rentals, Bryce D. 13 Hovannisian, Lindsay Bedrosian, Lance Armo (erroneously named as “Lance Armor”), and 14 Vanessa Hernandez (collectively, “Defendants”). (Doc. 6.) Plaintiff alleges that: Hovannisian 15 and Bedrosian are the owner and vice president of operations of JD Home Rentals, respectively; 16 Armo is the attorney for JD Home Rentals; and Hernandez is a process server. (Id. at 2, 6.) 17 In describing the nature of the instant action, Plaintiff alleges that “[t]his civil rights 18 lawsuit seeks monetary tort and punitive relief to remedy damages for [D]efendants[’] 19 unconstitutional business practices[,] fraud[,] perjury[,] and conspiracy to commit fraud that led 20 to civil rights violations[,] particularly 14th [A]mendment due process violation[.]” (Doc. 6 at 1.) 21 Plaintiff’s claims arise from an “illegal eviction where [D]efendants fabricated a fraudulent 22 unlawful detainer complaint [and] had Plaintiff illegally evicted without a deed or property title 23 rights to be the owner or landlord to hire anyone as a property management company[.]” (Id.) 24 Plaintiff obtained the property at issue in 1986. (Doc. 6 at 5.) On March 11, 2019, 25 Plaintiff lost the property when JD Home Rentals bought it at a tax sale. (Id.) On March 15, 26 2019, one month before the deed of purchase was recorded and before JD Home Rentals “had 27 title or deed rights,” Armo, on behalf of JD Home Rentals, filed a “fraudulent fabricated unlawful 28 detainer” complaint against Plaintiff in the Fresno County Superior Court. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges 1 the complaint contained false information, indicating that he had entered into an oral agreement 2 with JD Home Rentals the day before the tax sale, which Plaintiff claims never occurred. (Id.) 3 Additionally, the wrong unlawful detainer complaint form was used. (Id. at 2.) The complaint 4 was verified by Bedrosian. (Id.

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