Valez v. Corrections Corporation of America

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided November 12, 2020·No. 2:20-cv-01400·Unknown

Opinion

1 WO MDR 2 3 4 5 8 9 Carlos Valez, No. CV 20-01400-PHX-JAT (DMF) 10 Plaintiff, 11 v. ORDER 12 Corrections Corporation of America, et 13 al., 14 Defendants.

15 16 On July 15, 2020, Plaintiff Carlos Valez, who is confined in the Northern Nevada 17 Correctional Center in Carson City, Nevada, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant 18 to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a Motion for Appointment of Counsel and paid the filing and 19 administrative fees. In a September 8, 2020 Order, the Court denied without prejudice the 20 Motion for Appointment of Counsel, dismissed the Complaint because Plaintiff had failed 21 to state a claim, and gave Plaintiff thirty days to file an amended complaint that cured the 22 deficiencies identified in the Order. 23 On September 24, 2020, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint. In an October 24 9, 2020 Order, the Court dismissed the First Amended Complaint because Plaintiff had 25 failed to state a claim. The Court gave Plaintiff 30 days to file a second amended complaint 26 that cured the deficiencies identified in the Order. 27 On November 2, 2020, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 7). The 28 Court will order Defendant Perez to answer Count One of the Second Amended Complaint, 1 give Plaintiff an opportunity to discover the true names of Defendants John Does 1-4, and 2 dismiss the remaining claims and Defendants without prejudice. 3 I. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints 4 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief 5 against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 6 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff 7 has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which 8 relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from 9 such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)–(2). 10 A pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 11 pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does 12 not demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, the- 13 defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 14 (2009). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 15 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. 16 “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a 17 claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 18 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content 19 that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the 20 misconduct alleged.” Id. “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for 21 relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial 22 experience and common sense.” Id. at 679. Thus, although a plaintiff’s specific factual 23 allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there 24 are other “more likely explanations” for a defendant’s conduct. Id. at 681. 25 But as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has instructed, courts 26 must “continue to construe pro se filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 27 (9th Cir. 2010). A “complaint [filed by a pro se prisoner] ‘must be held to less stringent 28 1 standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 2 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam)). 3 II. Second Amended Complaint 4 In his three-count Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief and 5 monetary damages from Defendants Corrections Corporation of America (CCA),1 Warden 6 B. Thomas, Lieutenant Perez, and Correctional Officers John Does 1, 2, 3, and 4. 7 In Count One, Plaintiff alleges he was subjected to excessive force in violation of 8 his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiff claims he was awakened on 9 February 2, 2018, by a disturbance in his tier. He contends Defendant Perez, Defendants 10 John Does 1-4, and other prison employees, appeared at his cell door, and Defendant Perez 11 instructed him to strip naked and wait for further instructions. Plaintiff asserts he stripped 12 and stood naked in front of his cell door. He contends Defendant Perez then instructed him 13 to submit to restraints. Plaintiff asserts that when he reached for his underwear, Defendant 14 Perez sprayed him with “O.C. pepper spray” for ten seconds, without warning. He claims 15 immediately afterward, Defendant Perez opened his cell door, and Defendants John Does 16 1-4 rushed in, knocked Plaintiff to the floor, and punched and kicked Plaintiff until he lost 17 consciousness. Plaintiff alleges witnesses told him he was dragged, naked, across the 18 dayroom by Defendants John Does 1-4, who then placed him on the shower floor and 19 turned on the cold water. 20 Plaintiff claims he was then escorted, in his underwear, but without shoes, to the 21 unit office and was evaluated by a nurse. He alleges he complained he could not breathe 22 and had severe pain in his head and midsection. Plaintiff contends he was then returned to 23 his cell, which had been stripped and had no mattress, bedding, or property, and no way to 24 write a medical request for treatment of his injuries. Plaintiff claims that a week later, 25 Defendant Thomas appeared at his cell door, and Plaintiff verbally requested medical 26 treatment and basic necessities such as a mattress and bedding. He alleges his requests 27

28 1 Corrections Corporation of America has changed its name to CoreCivic as part of a rebranding. 1 were denied and he was never treated for his injuries. He claims he suffered bruised ribs, 2 a bloody nose, and a skin rash, and continues to have difficulty breathing, severe 3 headaches, emotional stress, and hypertension. 4 In Count Two, Plaintiff contends he was denied medical care, in violation of his 5 Eighth Amendment rights. He asserts Defendant Thomas was deliberately indifferent to 6 Plaintiff’s serious medical needs when he denied Plaintiff medical care on February 9, 7 2018, for the injuries Plaintiff sustained on February 2, 2018. 8 In Count Three, Plaintiff alleges he was denied his Fourteenth Amendment right 9 to due process relating to “Policies and Training.” He contends Defendants CCA and 10 Thomas are responsible for establishing the policies that allowed Plaintiff to be sprayed 11 with pepper spray for ten seconds; allowed the use of force by Defendants John Does 1-4 12 “without proper training”; and allowed Plaintiff to be placed, without a due process 13 hearing, in a stripped cell without basic necessities, such as a mattress or bedding, for 14 weeks. 15 III. Discussion of Second Amended Complaint 16 Although pro se pleadings are liberally construed, Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 17 520-21 (1972), conclusory and vague allegations will not support a cause of action. Ivey 18 v. Bd. of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Valez v. Corrections Corporation of America, (D. Ariz. 2020).

Valez v. Corrections Corporation of America (Valez v. Corrections Corporation of America) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Buckner v. Toro
116 F.3d 450 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Haines v. Kerner
404 U.S. 519 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Rizzo v. Goode
423 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 1976)
United States v. Sanford
429 U.S. 14 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati
475 U.S. 469 (Supreme Court, 1986)
City of Canton v. Harris
489 U.S. 378 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Hebbe v. Pliler
627 F.3d 338 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Smith v. K-Mart Corporation
177 F.3d 19 (First Circuit, 1999)
Ivey v. Board of Regents of University of Alaska
673 F.2d 266 (Second Circuit, 1982)
Elviraida Laracuente v. The Chase Manhattan Bank
891 F.2d 17 (First Circuit, 1989)
Michael Henry Ferdik v. Joe Bonzelet, Sheriff
963 F.2d 1258 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Dennis Hamilton v. Roger v. Endell
981 F.2d 1062 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Mabe v. San Bernardino County
237 F.3d 1101 (Ninth Circuit, 2001)