Martinez v. Arpaio

Filing 12

ORDER that Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint 11 and this action are dismissed for failure to state a claim, and the Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly. The Clerk of Court must make an entry on the docket stating that the di smissal for failure to state a claim may count as a "strike" under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The docket shall reflect that the Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) and Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3)(A), that any appeal of this decision would not be taken in good faith. Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 10/1/12. (DMT)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Gilbert Martinez III,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Joseph M. Arpaio, et al.,
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Defendants.
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No. CV 12-0779-PHX-DGC (DKD)
ORDER

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Plaintiff Gilbert Martinez, III, who is confined in the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix,

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Arizona, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which was

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dismissed for failure to state a claim with leave to amend. (Doc. 1, 7.) Plaintiff filed a First

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Amended Complaint, which was also dismissed for failure to state a claim with leave to

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amend. (Doc. 9, 10.) Plaintiff has filed a Second Amended Complaint. (Doc. 11.) The

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Court will dismiss the Second Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim and terminate

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this action.

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I.

Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against

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a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised

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claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may

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be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.

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28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2).

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A pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does not

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demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-

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unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009).

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“Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory

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statements, do not suffice.” Id.

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“[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a

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claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,

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550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content

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that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the

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misconduct alleged.” Id. “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for

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relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial

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experience and common sense.” Id. at 1950. Thus, although a plaintiff’s specific factual

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allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there

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are other “more likely explanations” for a defendant’s conduct. Id. at 1951.

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But as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has instructed, courts

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must “continue to construe pro se filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th

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Cir. 2010). A “complaint [filed by a pro se prisoner] ‘must be held to less stringent standards

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than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89,

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94 (2007) (per curiam)).

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II.

First Amended Complaint

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Plaintiff alleges one count for denial of basic necessities or unconstitutional conditions

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of confinement.1 Plaintiff sues only Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio. Plaintiff

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seeks declaratory and compensatory relief.

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In addition, Plaintiff again asserts violations of Graves v. Arpaio, CV77-0479. In
Graves, the Court ordered prospective relief against Sheriff Arpaio concerning ongoing
conditions for pretrial detainee at County jails. Many inmates apparently believe that they
may receive an immediate payout from a fund established in that class action. No such fund
exists. The inmates in Graves asked for injunctive relief and not monetary damages.
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Plaintiff alleges the following: on March 23, 2012, he was placed in a cell at the

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Fourth Avenue Jail on the Fourth Floor. Plaintiff was a pretrial detainee. The cell was

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“extremely dirty” with blood, semen, and other bodily fluids. Unnamed staff knew the cell

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needed to be sanitized after a mental health inmate had been housed in it, but failed to do so

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and placed Plaintiff in the cell. Despite statements in the inmate handbook, unnamed staff

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denied Plaintiff’s request for cleaning supplies, including a broom, mop, cleanser, and

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disinfectant. According to Plaintiff, Arpaio violated his constitutional rights by “making”

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him endure those conditions; as a result, he caught a cold and suffered emotional and

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psychological stress.

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III.

Failure to State a Claim

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To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that (1) the conduct about which

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he complains was committed by a person acting under color of state law, and (2) the conduct

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deprived him of a constitutional right. Balisteri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699

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(9th Cir. 1988). In addition, a plaintiff must allege that he suffered a specific injury as a

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result of the conduct of a particular defendant and he must allege an affirmative link between

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the injury and the conduct of that defendant. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371-72, 377

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(1976).

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Plaintiff designates his claim as one for the denial of basic necessities based on

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unsanitary conditions of his cell and the denial of cleaning supplies. The Court construes

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Plaintiff’s claims as one challenging his conditions of confinement, specifically sanitation.

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A prison inmate’s claim for unconstitutional conditions of confinement arises under

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the Eighth Amendment, Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979), while a pretrial detainee’s

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claim for unconstitutional conditions arises under the Fourteenth Amendment, Frost v.

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Agnos, 152 F.3d 1124, 1128 (9th Cir. 1998). Nevertheless, the same standard is applied. See

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Frost, 152 F.3d at 1128. To state a claim for unconstitutional conditions, a plaintiff must

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allege an objectively “sufficiently serious” deprivation that results in the denial of "the

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minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834

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(1994); Allen v. Sakai, 48 F.3d 1082, 1087 (9th Cir. 1994); see Estate of Ford v. Ramirez-3-

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Palmer, 301 F.3d 1043, 1049-50 (9th Cir. 2002). That is, a plaintiff must allege facts

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supporting that he is incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial risk of harm. Farmer,

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511 U.S. at 834. Only deprivations denying the minimal civilized measure of life’s

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necessities are sufficiently grave for an Eighth Amendment violation. Johnson v. Lewis, 217

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F.3d 726, 731 (9th Cir. 2000) (quotation omitted). These are “deprivations of essential food,

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medical care, or sanitation” or “other conditions intolerable for prison confinement.” Rhodes

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v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 348 (1981). Whether a condition of confinement rises to the

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level of a constitutional violation may depend, in part, on the duration of an inmate’s

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exposure to that condition. Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1089 (9th Cir. 1996). “The more

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basic the need, the shorter the time it can be withheld.” Hoptowit v. Ray, 682 F.2d 1287,

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1259 (9th Cir. 1982).

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In addition to alleging facts to support that he is confined in conditions posing a

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substantial risk of harm, a plaintiff must also allege facts to support that a defendant had a

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“sufficiently culpable state of mind,” i.e., that the official acted with deliberate indifference

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to inmate health or safety.

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indifference” in the prison context, the Supreme Court has imposed a subjective test: “the

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official must both be aware of the facts from which the inference could be drawn that a

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substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference.” Id. A plaintiff

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must also allege how he was injured by the alleged unconstitutional conditions. See, e.g.,

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Lewis, 518 U.S. at 349 (doctrine of standing requires that claimant have suffered or will

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imminently suffer actual harm).

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See Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837.

In defining “deliberate

Plaintiff sues Sheriff Arpaio. While Arpaio may be sued for constitutional violations,
Plaintiff fails to state a claim against him.

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“A plaintiff must allege facts, not simply conclusions, that show that an individual was

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personally involved in the deprivation of his civil rights.” Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d

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1193, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998). For an individual to be liable in his official capacity, a plaintiff

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must allege that the official acted as a result of a policy, practice, or custom. See Cortez v.

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County of Los Angeles, 294 F.3d 1186, 1188 (9th Cir. 2001). Further, there is no respondeat
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superior liability under § 1983, so a defendant’s position as the supervisor of someone who

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allegedly violated a plaintiff’s constitutional rights does not make him liable. Monell v.

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Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978); Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir.

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1989). A supervisor in his individual capacity, “is only liable for constitutional violations

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of his subordinates if the supervisor participated in or directed the violations, or knew of the

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violations and failed to act to prevent them.” Taylor, 880 F.2d at 1045.

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Plaintiff fails to allege facts against Arpaio to support that Arpaio directly violated

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Plaintiff’s constitutional rights or facts to support that Arpaio enacted or enforced a policy,

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custom, or practice that resulted in the denial of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. Indeed,

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Plaintiff acknowledges that the inmate handbook contained a policy that inmates be provided

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with supplies to clean their cells and common areas and that despite that policy, unknown

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staff denied Plaintiff’s request for supplies. In short, Plaintiff’s allegations reflect that staff-

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members, not Arpaio, may have violated a policy or practice set by Arpaio. As discussed

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above, Plaintiff cannot predicate liability under § 1983 on respondeat superior against

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Arpaio. For these reasons, Plaintiff fails to state a claim in his Second Amended Complaint.

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IV.

Dismissal without Leave to Amend

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Because Plaintiff has failed to state a claim in his Second Amended Complaint, the

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Court will dismiss his Second Amended Complaint. “Leave to amend need not be given if

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a complaint, as amended, is subject to dismissal.” Moore v. Kayport Package Express, Inc.,

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885 F.2d 531, 538 (9th Cir. 1989). The Court’s discretion to deny leave to amend is

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particularly broad where Plaintiff has previously been permitted to amend his complaint.

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Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe v. United States, 90 F.3d 351, 355 (9th Cir. 1996). Repeated

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failure to cure deficiencies is one of the factors to be considered in deciding whether justice

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requires granting leave to amend. Moore, 885 F.2d at 538.

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Plaintiff has made three efforts at crafting a viable complaint and appears unable to

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do so despite specific instructions from the Court. The Court finds that further opportunities

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to amend would be futile. Therefore, the Court, in its discretion, will dismiss Plaintiff’s

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Second Amended Complaint without leave to amend.
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IT IS ORDERED:
(1)

Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 11) and this action are dismissed

for failure to state a claim, and the Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly.
(2)

The Clerk of Court must make an entry on the docket stating that the dismissal

for failure to state a claim may count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
(3)

The docket shall reflect that the Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a)(3) and Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3)(A), that any appeal of this

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decision would not be taken in good faith.

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DATED this 1st day of October, 2012.

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