Jeffers v. Unknown Parties et al
Filing
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ORDER dismissing the First Amended Complaint (Doc. 9 ) with leave to amend. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, by January 31, 2022, Plaintiff may file a Second Amended Complaint if he can cure the defects identified in this Order. If Plaintiff fails to timely file a Second Amended Complaint, the Clerk of Court is directed to close this matter without further Order of the Court. See document for complete details. Signed by Judge John J Tuchi on 1/10/2022. (WLP)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Jay Jeffers, Jr.,
Plaintiff,
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ORDER
v.
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No. CV-21-01814-PHX-JJT
Unknown Parties, et al.,
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Defendants.
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At issue is pro se Plaintiff Jay Jeffers, Jr.’s First Amended Complaint (Doc. 9, FAC).
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In a prior Order (Doc. 7), the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s original Complaint (Doc. 1) for
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failure to state a claim or the basis of the Court’s jurisdiction. Now, upon screening Plaintiff’s
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FAC pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court again finds that Plaintiff fails to state a
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claim on which this Court may grant relief.
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I.
LEGAL STANDARDS
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A.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)
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For cases in which a party is permitted to proceed in forma pauperis—that is, the
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party lacks the means to pay court fees—Congress has provided that a district court “shall
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dismiss the case at any time if the court determines” that the “allegation of poverty is untrue”
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or that the “action or appeal” is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to state a claim on which
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relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
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such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Section 1915(e) applies to all in forma pauperis
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proceedings. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2000). “It is also clear that section
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1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to dismiss an in forma pauperis
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complaint that fails to state a claim.” Id. at 1127.
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B.
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A complaint must include “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). The complaint must contain “sufficient
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factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’”
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Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
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544, 570 (2007)). A dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim can be based
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on either (1) the lack of a cognizable legal theory or (2) insufficient facts to support a
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cognizable legal claim. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).
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The Court is to construe a pro se plaintiff’s complaint “liberally” and afford the plaintiff “the
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benefit of any doubt.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012) (citation
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omitted). However, even where a complaint has the factual elements of a cause of action
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present but scattered throughout the complaint and not organized into a “short and plain
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statement of the claim,” it may be dismissed for failure to satisfy Rule 8(a). Sparling v.
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Hoffman Constr. Co., 864 F.2d 635, 640 (9th Cir. 1988).
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II.
Sufficiency of a Claim
ANALYSIS
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The Court laid out Plaintiff’s factual allegations in the prior Order (Doc. 7) and need
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not repeat them here. The FAC again fails to state a claim because it does not sufficiently
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identify a legal basis for Plaintiff’s claims or factual allegations to support any claim.
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Plaintiff now states that Defendants violated his 8th and 14th Amendment rights, but the
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factual allegations do not plausibly support such claims. First, the 8th Amendment, which
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may apply to actions of a state through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,
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provides that “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
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and unusual punishments inflicted.” U.S. Const. amend. VIII. None of Plaintiff’s
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allegations indicate the state has extracted or imposed excessive fees, nor did the state
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impose an excessive criminal punishment to violate the “cruel and unusual punishments”
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clause. Because the Court does not find that Plaintiff could amend the FAC to plausibly
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state an 8th Amendment claim, the Court dismisses any such claim with prejudice.
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Plaintiff also fails to state on what basis he brings a 14th Amendment claim against
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Defendants. To the extent Plaintiff intends to bring a claim against Defendants as state
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actors, the Court recognizes that “[a] plaintiff may bring an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
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to redress violations of his ‘rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution
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and [federal] laws’ by a person or entity, including a municipality, acting under color of
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state law.” Awabdy v. City of Adelanto, 368 F.3d 1062, 1066 (9th Cir. 2004) (citing Monell
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v. Dep’t of Social Servs., 468 U.S. 658, 690–95 (1978)). But it is not clear from the FAC
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that Defendants are state actors. Generally, private parties cannot be held liable under
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§ 1983 for violating a plaintiff’s constitutional rights unless it is “demonstrate[d] that the
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private individual acted under color of state law . . . .” Franklin v. Fox, 312 F.3d 423, 444
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(9th Cir. 2002). Additionally, “in order for a private individual to be liable for a § 1983
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violation when a state actor commits the challenged conduct, the plaintiff must establish
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that the private individual was the proximate cause of the violations.” Id. at 445. “Mere
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negligence or lack of due care by state officials in the conduct of their duties does not
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trigger the substantive due process protections of the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore
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does not state a claim under section 1983.” Woodrum v. Woodward Cty., Okl., 866 F.2d
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1121, 1126 (9th Cir. 1989). And finally, Plaintiff has not adequately pled the underlying
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constitutional right Defendants violated by way of their conduct, as required to sustain a
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§ 1983 claim.
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For these reasons, the Court must dismiss the FAC for failure to state a claim. If a
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defective complaint can be cured, a plaintiff is entitled to amend the complaint before it is
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dismissed. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127–30 (9th Cir. 2000). Because it is
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possible that Plaintiff could amend the FAC to state a legal claim, the Court will give
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Plaintiff the opportunity to file a Second Amended Complaint if he can cure the defects the
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Court has identified in this Order.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED dismissing the First Amended Complaint (Doc. 9)
with leave to amend.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, by January 31, 2022, Plaintiff may file a
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Second Amended Complaint if he can cure the defects identified in this Order. If Plaintiff
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fails to timely file a Second Amended Complaint, the Clerk of Court is directed to close
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this matter without further Order of the Court.
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Dated this 10th day of January, 2022.
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Honorable John J. Tuchi
United States District Judge
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