Cranford v. Perryman et al
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND (ECF No. 1 ), Amended Complaint Due Within Thirty (30) Days, signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 7/1/2013. Amended Complaint due by 8/5/2013. (Attachments: # 1 Complaint filed April 22, 2013, # 2 Amended Complaint Form)(Fahrney, E)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ARCHIE CRANFORD,
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CASE NO.
Plaintiff,
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1:13-cv-00581-MJS (PC)
ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND
v.
(ECF No. 1)
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SAMANTHA PERRYMAN, et al.,
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AMENDED COMPLAINT DUE WITHIN
THIRTY (30) DAYS
Defendants.
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SCREENING ORDER
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I.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
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On April 22, 2013, Plaintiff Archie Cranford, a civil detainee proceeding pro se and
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in forma pauperis, filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.)
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Plaintiff has consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. (ECF No. 4.) His Complaint is
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now before the Court for screening.
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II.
SCREENING REQUIREMENT
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court must conduct an initial review of the
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Complaint for sufficiency to state a claim. The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion
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thereof if it determines that the action has raised claims that are legally “frivolous or
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malicious,” “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,” or that seek monetary
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relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
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“Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court
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shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action or appeal . .
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. fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
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Section 1983 “provides a cause of action for the ‘deprivation of any rights, privileges,
or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws’ of the United States.” Wilder v.
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Virginia Hosp. Ass’n, 496 U.S. 498, 508 (1990) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 1983). Section 1983
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is not itself a source of substantive rights, but merely provides a method for vindicating
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federal rights conferred elsewhere. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393-94 (1989).
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III.
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SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT
The Complaint identifies the following individuals as Defendants: (1) Samantha
Perryman; (2) Senait Endile; and (3) Stefeni Vally.
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Plaintiff alleges the following:
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On February 21, 2013, Plaintiff approached the unit two medication room window
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at Coalinga State Hospital to receive his prescription. When Defendant Endile observed
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it was Plaintiff approaching, she picked up an unknown pill off of the floor and placed it
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alongside Plaintiff’s medication in a paper cup. She instructed Plaintiff to swallow all of the
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pills at once. Plaintiff complied without suspicion because medication had been dispensed
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in this manner before. Approximately forty-five minutes later Plaintiff became flushed, his
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vision was impaired, and his heart rate accelerated. (Compl. at 3.)
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Plaintiff received medical attention and it was confirmed that his heart rate was
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dangerously high. He asked to see Defendants Perryman and Vally. Plaintiff was told that
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Perryman was in a meeting and Vally was in the patient dinning room. Plaintiff made it to
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the dinning room with extreme difficulty and told Vally what had happened. She replied,
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“what do you whant [sic] me to do about it[?]” (Compl. at 4.) Eventually Perryman became
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aware of the incident but failed to respond within the allotted time. (Id.)
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IV.
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ANALYSIS
A.
Section 1983
To state a claim under Section 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements:
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(1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated and
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(2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law.
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See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Ketchum v. Alameda Cnty., 811 F.2d 1243,
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1245 (9th Cir. 1987).
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A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are
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not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by
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mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949
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(2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must set
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forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim that is plausible on its
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face.’” Id. Facial plausibility demands more than the mere possibility that a defendant
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committed misconduct and, while factual allegations are accepted as true, legal
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conclusions are not. Id. at 1949-50.
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B.
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As a civil detainee, Plaintiff's right to medical care is protected by the substantive
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Fourteenth Amendment
component of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Youngberg v.
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Romeo, 457 U.S. 307, 315 (1982). Under this provision of the Constitution, Plaintiff is
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“entitled to more considerate treatment and conditions of confinement than criminals
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whose conditions of confinement are designed to punish.” Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918,
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931 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Youngberg, 457 U.S. at 321–22); cf. Clouthier v. County of
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Contra Costa, 591 F.3d 1232, 1243–44 (9th Cir. 2010) (pretrial detainees, who are
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confined to ensure their presence at trial and are therefore not similarly situated to those
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civilly committed, are afforded only those protections provided by the Eighth Amendment).
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Thus, to avoid liability, Defendants’ decisions must be supported by “professional
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judgment.” Youngberg, 457 U.S. at 321. A defendant fails to use professional judgment
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when his or her decision is “such a substantial departure from accepted professional
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judgment, practice, or standards as to demonstrate that [he or she] did not base [his or her]
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decision on such a judgment.” Youngberg, 457 U.S. at 323.
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In determining whether a defendant has met his or her constitutional obligations,
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decisions made by the appropriate professional are entitled to a presumption of
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correctness. Youngberg, 457 U.S. at 324. “[T]he Constitution only requires that the courts
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make certain that professional judgment in fact was exercised. It is not appropriate for the
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courts to specify which of several professionally acceptable choices should have been
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made.” Id. at 321. Liability will be imposed only when the medical decision “is such a
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substantial departure from accepted professional judgment, practice, or standards as to
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demonstrate that the person responsible actually did not base the decision on such a
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judgment.” Id. at 323; Houghton v. South, 965 F.2d 1532, 1536 (9th Cir.1992).
Plaintiff alleges that he was given medication from the floor, endured a severe
physical reaction to it, and was then ignored. Plaintiff’s asserts the conclusion that such
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acts violated constitutional rights, but he includes no facts that would enable the court to
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so find. The Complaint has no factual allegations that would support a conclusion that
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what happened was a substantial departure from accepted professional judgment,
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practice, or standards. Even Plaintiff acknowledges that medication periodically falls on
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the floor and is taken without adverse side effects. To state a claim, Plaintiff must provide
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more detail and explain why Defendant Endile’s conduct amounted to a significant
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departure from accepted professional judgment, practice, or standards. Plaintiff must
allege facts; suspicions and speculation are not sufficient to state a claim.
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Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants Perryman and Vally are also deficient. The
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facts alleged fall short of establishing that either Defendant failed to exercise professional
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judgment. Plaintiff’s sole allegation regarding Defendant Vally is that she asked, perhaps
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callously, what Plaintiff wanted her to do about his condition. The Complaint is missing the
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circumstantial detail that would permit the Court to make a determination that Vally acted
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outside the bounds of professional judgment, practice, or standards and that Plaintiff
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suffered harm as a result. Plaintiff does not allege what happened immediately after Vally
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questioned him, he does not describe his condition at the time they interacted, he does not
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explain what responsibility Vally had at the time, and he does not explain what, if any,
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adverse consequences he suffered as a result of her response.
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Finally, Plaintiff asserts that Defendant Perryman is responsible for a constitutional
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violation because she failed to respond to Plaintiff’s administrative grievance promptly.
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Perryman was in a meeting during the incident and Plaintiff’s only allegation is that she
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failed to respond to his complaint. Generally, denying an administrative appeal does not
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cause or contribute to the underlying violation. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 609 (7th
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Cir. 2007) (quotation marks omitted). However, if there is an ongoing constitutional
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violation and the supervisor had the authority and opportunity to prevent the ongoing
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violation, a plaintiff may be able to establish liability by alleging that the supervisor knew
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about an impending violation and failed to prevent it. See Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040,
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1045 (9th Cir. 1989) (supervisory official liable under § 1983 if he or she knew of a violation
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and failed to act to prevent it). That circumstance has not been presented here. Plaintiff
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complains of conduct that occurred after the alleged violations were completed. Plaintiff
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has not set forth facts to demonstrate that Perryman knew of, and failed to prevent, any
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constitutional violations. Accordingly, he fails to state a claim against the Defendant.
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While the Court does not condone acts such as Plaintiff has described here, there
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is nothing in the pleading to suggest they reached the level of a constitutional violation.
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The Court will grant Plaintiff leave to amend. To state a claim, Plaintiff must provide a
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detailed and chronological recitation of the events in question. The facts alleged must
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demonstrate how each Defendant acted in a manner that substantially departed from
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professionally accepted judgment, practice, or standards. Youngberg, 457 U.S. at 324.
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Plaintiff must show that the Defendants’ conduct reflected “a conscious indifference
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amounting to gross negligence, so as to demonstrate that [their] decision[s] [were] not
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based upon professional judgment.” Houghton, 965 F.2d at 1536. He must allege facts
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showing that he suffered injury as a result of the unconstitutional actions.
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V.
CONCLUSION AND ORDER
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Plaintiff’s Complaint does not state a claim for relief under section 1983. The Court
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will grant Plaintiff an opportunity to file an amended complaint. Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d
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1446, 1448-49 (9th Cir. 1987). If Plaintiff opts to amend, he must demonstrate that the
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alleged acts resulted in a deprivation of his constitutional rights. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1948-
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49. Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter . . . to ‘state a claim that is plausible
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on its face.’” Id. at 1949 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must also
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demonstrate that each named Defendant personally participated in a deprivation of his
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rights. Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002).
Plaintiff should note that although he has been given the opportunity to amend, it
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is not for the purposes of adding new claims. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir.
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2007). Plaintiff should carefully read this Screening Order and focus his efforts on curing
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the deficiencies set forth above.
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Finally, Plaintiff is advised that Local Rule 220 requires that an amended complaint
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be complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. As a general rule, an
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amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55,
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57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once an amended complaint is filed, the original complaint no longer
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serves any function in the case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original
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complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently alleged.
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The amended complaint should be clearly and boldly titled “First Amended Complaint,”
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refer to the appropriate case number, and be an original signed under penalty of perjury.
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Plaintiff's amended complaint should be brief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Although accepted as
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true, the “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the
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speculative level . . . .” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations omitted).
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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1.
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The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff (1) a blank civil rights complaint form
and (2) a copy of his Complaint, filed April 22, 2013;
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2.
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Plaintiff’s Complaint is dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief
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may be granted;
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3.
Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days; and
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4.
If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint in compliance with this order, this
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action will be dismissed, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim and failure to comply
with a court order.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
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July 1, 2013
/s/
Michael J. Seng
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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