Tiffany Harrison Shabazz v. Debra Kahn, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedDecember 1, 2025
Docket2:25-cv-02813
StatusUnknown

This text of Tiffany Harrison Shabazz v. Debra Kahn, et al. (Tiffany Harrison Shabazz v. Debra Kahn, 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
Tiffany Harrison Shabazz v. Debra Kahn, 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 TIFFANY HARRISON SHABAZZ, Case No. 2:25-cv-02813-TLN-CSK PS 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER GRANTING IFP REQUEST AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND 14 DEBRA KAHN, et al., (ECF Nos. 1, 3) 15 Defendants. 16 Plaintiff Tiffany Harrison Shabazz is representing herself in this action and seeks 17 leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915.1 (ECF No. 3.) 18 Plaintiff’s application in support of the IFP request makes the required financial showing. 19 Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiff’s IFP request. 20 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 21 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e), the court must screen every in forma pauperis 22 proceeding, and must order dismissal of the case if it is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to 23 state a claim on which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief against a 24 defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Lopez v. Smith, 25 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 (2000) (en banc). A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an 26 27 1 This matter proceeds before the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636, Fed. R. 28 Civ. P. 72, and Local Rule 302(c). 1 arguable basis either in law or in fact. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). In 2 reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court accepts as true the factual 3 allegations contained in the complaint, unless they are clearly baseless or fanciful, and 4 construes those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Neitzke, 490 5 U.S. at 327; Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 960 6 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 564 U.S. 1037 (2011). 7 Pleadings by self-represented litigants are liberally construed. Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 8 F.3d 338, 342 & n.7 (9th Cir. 2010) (liberal construction appropriate even post–Iqbal). 9 However, the court need not accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable 10 inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact. Western Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 11 618, 624 (9th Cir. 1981). A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action does 12 not suffice to state a claim. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-57 (2007); 13 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). 14 To state a claim on which relief may be granted, the plaintiff must allege enough 15 facts “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A 16 claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court 17 to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” 18 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. A pro se litigant is entitled to notice of the deficiencies in the 19 complaint and an opportunity to amend unless the complaint’s deficiencies could not be 20 cured by amendment. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1130-31; Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 80 21 F.3d 336, 339 (9th Cir. 1996). 22 II. DISCUSSION 23 Plaintiff brings three causes of action against Defendants Dr. Kahn, Christine 24 (RN), and Susan Peck: (1) wrongful death; (2) elder abuse/neglect under California 25 Welfare & Institutions Code § 15600 et seq.; and (3) interference with civil rights/familial 26 association under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Compl. (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff’s claims appear 27 to relate to an incident that took place beginning “in or around” 2021, and lasted 28 approximately ten months. Compl. ¶¶ 6, 7. Plaintiff alleges that in 2021, Iman Shabazz, 1 Plaintiff’s spouse, was hospitalized and later transferred into long-term care. Compl. 2 ¶¶ 1, 6. Defendants confiscated Iman Shabazz’s personal cell phone and his daughter’s 3 phone for approximately ten months, “isolating him from his wife, children, and 4 advocates.” Compl. ¶ 7. 5 A. Pro Se Representation 6 Plaintiff brings this action “individually and as a representative of the Estate of 7 Iman Shabazz, and on behalf of minor children[.]” Compl. at 1. Plaintiff is not able to 8 bring a claim on behalf of her minor children, because she cannot represent others pro 9 se. See Johns v. Cnty. of San Diego, 114 F.3d 874, 877 (9th Cir. 1997) (“[W]e hold that 10 a parent or guardian cannot bring an action on behalf of a minor child without retaining a 11 lawyer.”); C.E. Pope Equity Trust v. United States, 818 F.2d 696, 697 (9th Cir. 1987) (pro 12 se party “has no authority to appear as an attorney for others than himself”). Further, 13 Plaintiff is not able to bring a claim on behalf on the Estate of Iman Shabazz for the 14 same reason. See Gutierrez v. Dep’t of Children & Family Servs. (D.C.F.S.), 2022 WL 15 3574691, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2022) (finding the plaintiff could not sue on behalf of 16 the estate of his daughter). If Plaintiff wishes to bring claims on behalf of the estate and 17 her minor children, she will need to retain a lawyer. 18 B. Statute of Limitations for 42 U.S.C. § 1983 19 Section 1983 does not contain a specific statute of limitations, so federal courts 20 apply “the law of the state in which the cause of action arose and apply the state law of 21 limitations governing an analogous cause of action. Pouncil v. Tilton, 704 F.3d 568, 573 22 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 387 (2007)). For Section 1983 23 actions, federal courts apply the “forum state’s statute of limitations for personal injury 24 actions, along with the forum state’s law regarding tolling, including equitable tolling, 25 except to the extent any of these laws is inconsistent with federal law.” Butler v. Nat. 26 Cmty. Renaissance of Cal., 766 F.3d 1191, 1198 (9th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation 27 marks and citations omitted). 28 Under California law, the statute of limitations for personal injury actions is two 1 years. Butler, 766 F.3d at 1198 (citing Cal. Code Civ. P. § 335.1). This limitations period 2 is statutorily tolled for a period of two years for person who is, “at the time the cause of 3 action accrued, imprisoned on a criminal charge, or in execution under the sentence of a 4 criminal court for a term less than for life.” See Cal. Code Civ. P. § 352.1(a); Johnson v. 5 State of California, 207 F.3d 650, 654 (9th Cir. 2000). The statute of limitations can be 6 suspended by equitable tolling as well. See Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918, 928 (9th Cir. 7 2004).

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Tiffany Harrison Shabazz v. Debra Kahn, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tiffany-harrison-shabazz-v-debra-kahn-et-al-caed-2025.