Larson v. Kwon, et al.
Filing
4
ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE AND RESPONSE: Attorney General for the State of Alaska or designee shall file an entry of appearance within 21 days. See order for additional deadlines. Signed by Judge Sharon L. Gleason on 5/19/2023. (ANM, COURT STAFF)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA
DARIS ERIC LARSON, SR.,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 3:23-cv-00030-SLG
v.
RYAN KWON, DEMETRIUS
KARGAS, and the YUKONKUSKOKWIM MEDICAL ADVISORY
COMMITTEE,
Defendants.
ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE AND RESPONSE
Self-represented state prisoner, Daris E. Larson, Sr. (“Plaintiff”) filed a civil
rights complaint (“Complaint”) against Superintendent Ryan Kwon, Superintendent
Demetrius Kargas, and unidentified members of the “Medical Advisory Committee”
for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center and has paid the filing fee.1 The
Court screened Plaintiff’s Complaint in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Liberally construed2, the Complaint appears to state a plausible claim for violations
of Plaintiff’s federal constitutional rights. This means that the claims will not be
1
Docket 1 at 1-2.
See Hebbe v. Plier, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (“[O]ur ‘obligation’ remains [after Ashcroft
v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009)], ‘where the petitioner is pro se, particularly in civil rights cases, to
construe the pleadings liberally and to afford the petitioner the benefit of any doubt.’”) (citation
omitted).
2
summarily dismissed at this time but may proceed to the next stage of litigation.
The Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1343.
The Court finds that Plaintiff’s Complaint includes a claim against
unidentified individuals that are sufficiently cognizable to survive this initial
screening inquiry.3
Although courts do not generally favor actions against
unknown “Doe” defendants, a plaintiff may sue unnamed defendants when the
identity of the alleged defendants is not known before filing the complaint, but may
be discoverable later.4 Once Plaintiff ascertains the names of each presently
unidentified Defendant in this action, he should file a motion to substitute that adds
that named Defendant as a party to this action. Plaintiff is cautioned that any
unidentified defendant(s) will ultimately be dismissed from this action.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1.
Plaintiff must be ready to diligently pursue the case to completion. Missing
a deadline or otherwise failing to pursue a case may result in the dismissal
of this action.
3
Claim 1 “Yukon-Kuskokwim/Correction ‘Medical Dept.’” as Defendants.
See Gillespie v. Civiletti, 629 F.2d 637, 642 (9th Cir. 1980) (“As a general rule, the use of ‘John
Doe’ to identify a defendant is not favored. However, situations arise . . . where the identity of
alleged defendants will not be known prior to the filing of a complaint. In such circumstances, the
plaintiff should be given an opportunity through discovery to identify the unknown defendants,
unless it is clear that discovery would not uncover the identities, or that the complaint would be
dismissed on other grounds.”) (citations omitted).
4
Case No. 3:23-cv-00030-SLG, Larson v. Kwon, et al.
Order Directing Service and Response
Page 2 of 8
2.
Self-represented litigants are expected to review and comply with the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Civil Rules, and all Court orders.5
Failure to do so may result in the imposition of sanctions authorized by law,
including dismissal of this action.
3.
Prior to docketing this order, the Clerk of Court shall provide electronic notice
via CM/ECF to the State of Alaska, Civil Division, of all orders and
documents issued in this case.
4.
The Attorney General has indicated that the State of Alaska’s Department
of Law will accept service on behalf of Defendants. The Clerk of Court shall
immediately send a copy of this order and the Complaint to:
Mark Cucci
Chief Assistant Attorney General
State of Alaska Department of Law
1031 West 4th Avenue, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99501-1994
5
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practiceprocedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure; Court’s Local Rules: https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courtinfo/local-rules-and-orders/local-rules
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Order Directing Service and Response
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5.
On or before 21 days from the date of service of this order, the Attorney
General for the State of Alaska or his designee shall file an appearance for
each named Defendant that the Attorney General has decided to represent.
6.
Each Defendant represented by the Attorney General for the State of Alaska
shall have 60 days after the entry of appearances to file an Answer or
otherwise respond.6 The Court will issue an additional order with service
instructions for any Defendant that the Attorney General of the State of
Alaska has not appeared for.
7.
After service of the Complaint, all future papers sent to the Court must be
identified with the name of the Court, the case number, the name of the
Plaintiff and name of the first the Defendant, and the title of the document,
as illustrated on the first page of this order.7
8.
Plaintiff shall serve a copy of all further filings submitted to the Court upon
each Defendant or, if an appearance has been entered by counsel a
Defendant, on the Defendant’s attorney(s). Plaintiff shall include, with any
6
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(3).
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a) (“The title of the complaint must name all the parties; the title of other
pleadings, after naming the first party on each side, may refer generally to other parties.”).
7
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Order Directing Service and Response
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original paper filed with the Clerk of Court, a certificate stating the date that
an exact copy of the document was mailed to each Defendant or
Defendant’s counsel. A Certificate of Service may be written in the following
form at the end of the document:
I hereby certify that a copy of the above (name of document)
was mailed, first class, U.S. mail, to (name of opposing party or
counsel) at (address) on (date of delivery for mailing to
correctional officer).
(Signature)
Any paper received by a District Court Judge or Magistrate Judge which
does not include a Certificate of Service indicating that each Defendant was
served with a copy of that document will be disregarded by the Court.
9.
All documents filed with the Clerk of Court must contain an original
signature, and must be mailed to the Court at the following address:
U.S. District Court
222 West 7th Avenue, #4
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
10.
A motion should contain the information identified in the caption of this
order and should be titled “Motion for (add the relief requested).” In a
motion, a party should state specifically and concisely what he or she
wants, so that the Court understands what the party is requesting. This
Court’s Local Civil Rule 7.1(b) requires that motions be filed with a
proposed order that the Court can issue, if the motion is granted. The
Case No. 3:23-cv-00030-SLG, Larson v. Kwon, et al.
Order Directing Service and Response
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proposed order helps to clarify what the moving party is asking the Court to
do.
11.
All litigants are responsible for keeping copies of everything filed with the
Court. As a courtesy, the Clerk’s Office will keep original filings from selfrepresented litigants, including exhibits, for 180 days from the date the
document was filed. However, litigants should not send important original
documents or documents that cannot be replaced to the Court. If an
original must be returned, a Motion for Return of Document should be filed
as soon as possible.
12.
Copies of documents filed with the Court may be obtained from the Clerk’s
Office for 50 cents per page. Litigants and members of the public may also
print information from the Court’s docket using the public computer terminal
located in the Clerk's Office for 10 cents per page. In the event of special
circumstances or serious financial need, a litigant may file a motion asking
for the copying costs to be waived or reduced. Litigants may also set up an
account for online access to electronic records through the Public Access to
Court Electronic Records (PACER) service.
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13.
At all times, all parties shall keep the Court informed of any change of
address or phone number. Such notice shall be titled “Notice of Change of
Address.” The Notice shall contain only information about the change of
address, and its effective date.8 The Notice shall not include requests for
any other relief.
A Notice of Change of Address form, PS23, may be
obtained from the Clerk of Court, if needed. If a plaintiff fails to keep a
current address on file with the Court, that may result in dismissal of the
case without further notice.
14.
All case-related inquiries should be directed to the Clerk’s Office. It is not
permissible to write, telephone, or otherwise try to directly communicate with
the judge assigned to your case. Contact the Clerk’s Office for questions
regarding procedure or assistance accessing legal forms and resources.
Please be advised that Clerk's Office staff are prohibited by law from
providing legal advice.
15.
Plaintiff is warned that if a Defendant prevails in this action, Plaintiff may be
ordered to pay costs and attorney’s fees to that Defendant.
See Local Civil Rule 11.1(b) (requiring a notice of change of address to be filed, as “[s]elfrepresented parties must keep the court and other parties advised of the party’s current address
and telephone number.”).
8
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16.
The Clerk of Court is directed to send Plaintiff a copy of the District Court’s
handbook, “Representing Yourself in Alaska’s Federal Court,” and the
Court’s Motion form (PS15) with this order.
DATED this 19th day of May, 2023, at Anchorage, Alaska.
/s/ Sharon L. Gleason
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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