Taylor v. Department of Corrections

CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedJune 30, 2025
Docket4:25-cv-00008
StatusUnknown

This text of Taylor v. Department of Corrections (Taylor v. Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. Department of Corrections, (D. Alaska 2025).

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA MADE ALLEN TAYLOR,

Plaintiff, v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Case No. 4:25-cv-00008-SLG Defendant. SCREENING ORDER

On February 13, 2025, self-represented prisoner Made Allen Taylor (“Plaintiff”) filed a civil complaint, a civil cover sheet, and an application to waive prepayment of the filing fee.1 Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges that the Alaska Department of Corrections (“DOC”) failed to protect him from violence and failed to provide him with adequate medical care. Specifically, Plaintiff claims that in

December 2018, while he was a pretrial detainee at the Fairbanks Correctional Center (“FCC”), he was assaulted by two other inmates.2 While the exact dates are unclear, sometime after the assault, Plaintiff was released from DOC custody.3

1 Dockets 1-3. 2 Docket 1 at 4. 3 Pursuant to Rule 201 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Court takes judicial notice of the Courtview records of the Alaska Trial Courts. Judicial notice is the “court’s acceptance, for purposes of convenience and without requiring a party’s proof, of a well-known and indisputable fact; the court’s power to accept such a fact.” Black’s Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024); See also United States ex rel. Robinson Rancheria Citizens Council v. Borneo, Inc., 971 F.2d 244, 248 (9th Cir. 1992) (“We may take notice of proceedings in other courts, both within and without the federal judicial system, if those proceedings have a direct relation to matters at issue”) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted.). Plaintiff appears to have been rearrested February 2024,4 and he was transferred to FCC on November 8, 2024.5 Plaintiff alleges he is experiencing physical pain and mental anguish due to DOC’s failure to provide him with adequate medical

care.6 For relief, Plaintiff requests $10,000,000 in damages, $20,000,000 in punitive damages, and an order requiring Defendants to provide him with adequate medical care.7 The Court has now screened Plaintiff’s Complaint in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e) and 1915A. As an initial matter, this action is deficient because

Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee or filed a completed application to waive prepayment of the fee with a statement from his prison trust account for the past six months. Additionally, Plaintiff's Complaint fails to adequately state a claim for which relief may be granted. Therefore, the Complaint is DISMISSED. However, Plaintiff is accorded 60 days to file an amended complaint that attempts to correct

the deficiencies identified in this order. If the amended complaint is dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim and this case is closed, it will count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C.

4 State of Alaska vs. Taylor, Made Allen, Case No. 4FA-24-00390CR, Docket 02/28/2024 (Warrant Issued by Fairbanks Court issued), Docket 08/22/2024 (Bail Hearing); Docket 10/28/2024 (Bail Hearing). 5 Docket 1-1 at 4. 6 Docket 1 at 4-5. 7 Docket 1 at 2.

Case No. 4:25-cv-00008-SLG, Taylor v. Department of Corrections §1915(g), which may limit Plaintiff’s ability to bring future cases under Section 1983 in federal court. SCREENING STANDARD

Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, a federal district court must screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.8 In this screening, a district court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that the action: (i) is frivolous or malicious;

(ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.9

In conducting its screening review, a district court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint, construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor.10 However, a court is not required to accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact.11 Although the scope of review generally is limited to the contents of the complaint, a court may also consider documents attached to

8 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915, 1915A. 9 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). 10Bernhardt v. L.A. County, 339 F.3d 920, 925 (9th Cir. 2003) (holding that a court must construe pleadings filed by self-represented litigants liberally and afford the complainant the benefit of any doubt). 11 Doe I v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

Case No. 4:25-cv-00008-SLG, Taylor v. Department of Corrections the complaint, documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, or matters of judicial notice.12 Such documents that contradict the allegations of a complaint may fatally undermine the complaint's allegations.13

Before a court may dismiss any portion of a complaint, a court must provide a plaintiff with a statement of the deficiencies in the complaint and an opportunity to file an amended complaint, unless to do so would be futile.14 Futility exists when “the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.”15

DISCUSSION I. This action is deficient because Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee or filed a completed application to waive prepayment of the filing fee. To properly commence a civil rights action, a prisoner must file a complaint, a civil cover sheet, and either pay the filing fee of $405.00, or file a completed application to waive prepayment of the filing fee.16 Prisoner litigants requesting to waive prepayment of the filing fee must include a statement from their prison trust

12 United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). 13 Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir. 2001), amended by 275 F.3d 1187 (2001) (noting that a plaintiff can “plead himself out of a claim by including . . . details contrary to his claims”). 14 Gordon v. City of Oakland, 627 F.3d 1092, 1094 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Albrecht v. Lund, 845 F.2d 193, 195 (9th Cir. 1988)). 15 Schreiber Distributing Co. v. Serv-Well Furniture Co., 806 F.2d 1393, 1401 (9th Cir. 1986). 16 District of Alaska Local Civil Rule 3.1.

Case No. 4:25-cv-00008-SLG, Taylor v. Department of Corrections account for the past six months.17 Federal law only allows prisoners to waive prepayment of the fees associated with civil rights lawsuits.18 Prisoners must pay the filing fee incrementally until paid in full, regardless of the outcome of the

action.19 This action is deficient because Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee or filed a completed application to waive prepayment of the fee along with a statement from his prisoner trust account for the past six months. At Docket 3, Plaintiff filed a motion to waive prepayment of the filing fee that does not satisfy the requirements

for proceeding without prepayment of fees under federal law.

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