Shaka v. Ryan et al

Filing 288

ORDER that Plaintiff's request for a typewriter (Doc. 273 at 2) is denied. Signed by Senior Judge Stephen M McNamee on 10/3/2014. (KMG)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Shaka,

No. CV 10-2253-PHX-SMM

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

ORDER

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Charles Ryan, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s request for a typewriter, which is found on

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page 2 of his most recent discovery motion (Doc. 273 at 2). The request must be denied.

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I.

Governing Standard for Injunctive Relief

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A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy and “one that

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should not be granted unless the movant, by a clear showing, carries the burden of

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persuasion.” Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997) (per curiam) (quoting 11A

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C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2948, pp. 129-130

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(2d ed. 1995)). The purpose of a preliminary injunction is to preserve the status quo until

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the merits of the action are ultimately determined. University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451

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U.S. 390, 395 (1981). To obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party must show

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“that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in

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the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an

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injunction is in the public interest.” Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.,

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555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008); Am. Trucking Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 559 F.3d 1046,

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1052 (9th Cir. 2009). The moving party has the burden of proof on each element of the

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test. Environmental Council of Sacramento v. Slater, 184 F. Supp. 2d 1016, 1027 (E.D.

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Cal. 2000).

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There is a heightened burden where a plaintiff seeks a mandatory preliminary

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injunction, which should not be granted “unless the facts and law clearly favor the

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plaintiff.” Comm. of Cent. Am. Refugees v. I.N.S., 795 F.2d 1434, 1441 (9th Cir. 1986)

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(citation omitted).

Prohibitory injunctions seek to preserve the status quo, while

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mandatory injunctions go beyond maintaining the status quo and are “particularly

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disfavored.” Stanley v. University of S. Calif., 13 F.3d 1313, 1320 (9th Cir. 1994).

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II.

Analysis

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The Court must determine if Plaintiff has met all the elements of the test for a

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preliminary injunction—“that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to

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suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities

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tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Winter, 555 U.S. at 20.

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Plaintiff requests return of his typewriter that is in “permanent storage.” Plaintiff’s

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request does not seek to maintain the status quo through a prohibitory injunction. Rather,

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he seeks to change the status quo in the form of a mandatory injunction, which places a

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heightened burden on the Plaintiff. Comm. of Cent. Am. Refugees, 795 F.2d at 1441. But

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his request is limited to a one-sentence request in a discovery motion. He completely

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fails to discuss the Winter factors or to support his request with any evidence. Thus, the

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Court holds that it cannot find that Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of his

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claims or that he faces imminent irreparable injury, much less that Plaintiff meets the

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heightened burden requirements of a mandatory injunction.

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There are additional reasons supporting denial of Plaintiff’s request. The Ninth

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Circuit has held that inmates have no right to a typewriter to prepare legal documents as

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long as there remains some other means of preparing legal documents. Phillips v. Hust,

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477 F.3d 1070, 1077 (9th Cir. 2007), vacated on other grounds, 129 S. Ct. 1036 (2009).

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Here, there is little doubt regarding Plaintiff’s ability to file legal documents (see Docs.

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260, 261-264, 268-271, 273, 275, 276) (documents filed in the last 90 days).

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Plaintiff’s request for a typewriter bears no relationship to this action—denial of

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treatment for his torn rotator cuff. Instead, Plaintiff asserts that the need for a typewriter

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stems from other unrelated medical issues (Doc. 273 at 2). And a court should not grant

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an injunction “when the injunction in question is not of the same character, and deals

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with a matter lying wholly outside the issues in the suit.” Kaimowitz v. Orlando, 122

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F.3d 41, 43 (11th Cir. 1997); see Devose v. Herrington, 42 F.3d 470, 471 (8th Cir. 1994)

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(a plaintiff seeking injunctive relief must show “a relationship between the injury claimed

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in the party’s motion and the conduct asserted in the complaint”). For all these reasons,

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Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief will be denied.

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s request for a typewriter (Doc.
273 at 2) is denied.
DATED this 3rd day of October, 2014.

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Further,

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