Tyson C. Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, Correctional Officer Townsend, and Correctional Officer Kenna

CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedFebruary 2, 2026
Docket4:25-cv-00044
StatusUnknown

This text of Tyson C. Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, Correctional Officer Townsend, and Correctional Officer Kenna (Tyson C. Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, Correctional Officer Townsend, and Correctional Officer Kenna) 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.

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Tyson C. Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, Correctional Officer Townsend, and Correctional Officer Kenna, (D. Alaska 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA TYSON C. HILLYER,

Plaintiff, v. Case No. 4:25-cv-00044-SLG

DISCIPLINARY OFFICER GUTZMAN, CORRECTIONAL OFFICER TOWNSEND, and CORRECTIONAL OFFICER KENNA,

Defendants.

SCREENING ORDER On September 25, 2025, self-represented prisoner Tyson C. Hillyer (“Plaintiff”) filed a Prisoner’s Complaint Under the Civil Rights Act 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Complaint”), a civil coversheet, and an incomplete application to waive prepayment of the filing fee.1 On October 30, 2025, Plaintiff filed a motion to obtain security camera footage with a supporting affidavit.2 Plaintiff brings claims against Correctional Officer Townsend, Correctional Officer Kenna, and Disciplinary Officer Gutzman related to events that allegedly occurred while serving a sentence at the Fairbanks Correctional Center (“FCC”) in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections (“DOC”).3 Plaintiff requests $1 million in damages, $1

1 Dockets 1-3. 2 Dockets 5-6. 3 Docket 1. million in punitive damages, an order to stop placing him in danger, a declaration of his rights, and reinstatement of his job.4 The Court has now screened Plaintiff’s Complaint in accordance with 28

U.S.C. §§ 1915(e) and 1915A. For the reasons discussed in this order, the Complaint fails to adequately state a claim for which relief may be granted. Therefore, the Complaint is DISMISSED. However, Plaintiff is accorded 60 days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint as to Claim 1 only that attempts to correct the deficiencies identified in this order. Alternatively, Plaintiff

may file a notice of voluntary dismissal in which he elects to close this case. 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.5 In this screening, a district court

must dismiss the complaint at any time if the court determines that the complaint: (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.6

4 Docket 1 at 8. 5 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915, 1915A. 6 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Case No. 4:25-cv-00044-SLG, Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, et al. 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 a self-represented plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor.7 However, a

court is not required to accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact.8 Although the scope of review generally is limited to the contents of the complaint, a court may also consider documents attached to the complaint, documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, or matters of judicial notice.9 Such documents that contradict the

allegations of a complaint may fatally undermine the complaint's allegations.10 Before a court may dismiss any portion of a complaint, a court must provide a self-represented 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.11 Futility exists when “the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged

pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.”12

7Bernhardt v. Los Angeles County, 339 F.3d 920, 925 (9th Cir. 2003) (noting that a court must construe pleadings filed by self-represented litigants liberally and afford the complainant the benefit of any doubt). 8 Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir. 2001), amended by 275 F.3d 1187 (2001). 9 United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). 10 Sprewell, 266 F.3d 979 at 988 (noting that a plaintiff can “plead himself out of a claim by including . . . details contrary to his claims”). 11 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)). 12 Schreiber Distributing Co. v. Serv-Well Furniture Co., 806 F.2d 1393, 1401 (9th Cir. 1986). Case No. 4:25-cv-00044-SLG, Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, et al. THE THREE STRIKES RULE The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that a self-represented prisoner receive a “strike” when a case he has filed in federal court is dismissed “as

frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted[.]”13 The “three strikes” provision was “designed to filter out the bad claims and facilitate consideration of the good.”14 If a prisoner-plaintiff has accumulated three strikes, he is prohibited from bringing any other civil rights cases in federal court without prepaying the full filing fee unless he makes “plausible allegations” that, at the time

he filed the complaint, he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury, and that danger is fairly traceable to the unlawful conduct of the defendants alleged in the complaint and redressable by the Court.15 Imminent danger requires an allegation that a harm is “ready to take place” or “hanging threateningly over one's head.”16 It cannot be triggered solely by complaints of past injury or generalized

fears of possible future harm.17

13 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). 14 Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 204 (2007). 15 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); see also Ray v. Lara, 31 F.4th 692, 701 (9th Cir. 2022) (adopting nexus test). 16 Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1056 (9th Cir. 2007). 17 Id. at 1053 (“The exception's use of the present tense, combined with its concern only with the initial act of ‘bring[ing]’ the lawsuit, indicates to us that the exception applies if the danger existed at the time the prisoner filed the complaint.”). Case No. 4:25-cv-00044-SLG, Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, et al. DISCUSSION I. This action is deficient because Plaintiff did not include a fully completed Application to Waive Prepayment of the Filing Fee on the Court’s form or a statement from his prison trust account for the past six months Prisoner litigants requesting to waive prepayment of the filing fee must file a completed and signed correct application form (District of Alaska Form PS10) and include with that application a statement from their prison trust account for the past six months.18 Federal law only allows prisoners to waive prepayment of the fees associated with civil lawsuits.19 Prisoners must pay the filing fee incrementally until paid in full, regardless of the outcome of the action.20 Should Plaintiff proceed with

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Tyson C. Hillyer v. Disciplinary Officer Gutzman, Correctional Officer Townsend, and Correctional Officer Kenna, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tyson-c-hillyer-v-disciplinary-officer-gutzman-correctional-officer-akd-2026.