Darrell Parks v. Wren et al

Filing 73

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER by Judge Stephen V. Wilson: IT IS ORDERED THAT Plaintiff's Motion 57 is DENIED. (kh)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DARRELL JAMES PARKS,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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WREN, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. ED CV 12-1353 SVW (JCG)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTION AND TEMPORARY
RESTRAINING ORDER

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For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies plaintiff Darrell James Parks’

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(“Plaintiff”) Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order

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(“Motion”). [Dkt. No. 57.] Specifically, Plaintiff requests an order directing certain

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staff members at the United States Penitentiary Terre Haute in Indiana (“U.S.P. Terre

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Haute staff”) to allow Plaintiff to possess his legal materials. (Mot. at 2.)1 Because the

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Court has no jurisdiction over U.S.P. Terre Haute staff, the Court is without authority

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to grant the relief requested.
“A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as of

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right.” Winter v. Nat. Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008). To

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For ease of reference, the Court uses CM/ECF pagination in referring to the Motion.

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merit a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show that: (1) he is likely to succeed

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on the merits, (2) he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary

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relief, (3) the balance of equities tips in his favor, and (4) an injunction is in the public

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interest. Id. at 20.

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In addition, a federal court must have jurisdiction over the parties the plaintiff

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seeks to enjoin. Zepeda v. United States I.N.S., 753 F.2d 719, 727 (9th Cir. 1985)

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(explaining that a federal court may issue an injunction only “if it has personal

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jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter jurisdiction over the claim” ). The court

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“may not attempt to determine the rights of persons not before [it].” Id. Accordingly,

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“[u]nder Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d), an injunction binds only ‘the parties to

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the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and . . . those

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persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of the

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order . . . .’” Id. (internal citation omitted); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a)(1) (“The

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court may issue a preliminary injunction only on notice to the adverse party.”)

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(emphasis added).

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Here, in order to grant Plaintiff his desired relief, the Court must be able to

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exercise jurisdiction over the non-moving parties. The Court cannot do that. The

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operative claim in the First Amended Complaint concerns an alleged incident that

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occurred at the United States Penitentiary Victorville and the one remaining defendant,

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R. Villegas (“Defendant”), is a correctional officer there. (See generally FAC), but in

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his Motion, Plaintiff alleges that the staff at U.S.P. Terre Haute in Indiana, where

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Plaintiff is currently incarcerated, confiscated his legal materials concerning the

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underlying complaint. (See generally Mot.) As such, he seeks an order directing

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U.S.P. Terre Haute staff to return his legal materials. (See id. at 2.) However, U.S.P.

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Terre Haute staff are not parties to this action, nor are they Defendant’s officers,

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agents, servants, employees, and attorneys. See Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727. Further,

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Plaintiff has not alleged that U.S.P. Terre Haute staff are in active concert or

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participation with Defendant, who is sued in his individual capacity in any event. (See
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generally Mot.) The Court thus lacks the authority to direct U.S.P. Terre Haute staff to

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provide the relief Plaintiff seeks. See Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727.

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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT Plaintiff’s Motion is DENIED.

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DATED: February 21, 2018

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__________________________________

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HON. STEPHEN V. WILSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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