Sokolsky v. State of California et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's Request for Service by the Court and ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's Motion for Stay re 72 signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 8/6/2017. (Jessen, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
REQUEST FOR SERVICE BY THE
COURT
Plaintiff,
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1:13-cv-02044-LJO-GSA-PC
MARK S. SOKOLSKY,
vs.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR STAY
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al.,
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Defendants.
(ECF No. 71.)
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I.
BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff is a civil detainee housed at Coalinga State Hospital (CSH), proceeding pro se
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in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This case now proceeds on Plaintiff’s
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Second Amended Complaint, filed on February 4, 2016, against defendants Domrese,1 King,
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Meek, Porter, and Bonsu, for denial of free exercise of religion under the First Amendment and
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violation of RLUIPA; and defendants Domrese, King, Porter, and Bonsu for violation of due
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process relating to conditions of confinement. (ECF No. 30.)
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On March 30, 2017, Defendants Meek, King, Porter, Coyne,2 and Bonsu
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(“Defendants”) filed a motion for summary judgment or partial summary judgment. (ECF No.
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68.) On April 3, 2017, the court issued an order providing Plaintiff with a Rand Warning,
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To date, defendant Domrese has not been served with process.
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Defendant Christine Coyne was dismissed from this case on May 25, 2016. (ECF No. 39.)
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notifying him of the requirements for opposing Defendants’ motion. (ECF No. 70.) On April
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24, 2017, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Plaintiff’s Objection to Rand Warning (Objection),”
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in which Plaintiff claims that he has not been served with the motion for summary judgment.
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(ECF No. 71.) Plaintiff also requests a thirty-day stay of the proceedings in this action to allow
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him time to obtain private counsel. (Id.) On May 26, 2017, Defendants filed a response to
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Plaintiff’s Objections. (ECF No. 76.) Plaintiff did not file a reply.
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II.
SERVICE OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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Plaintiff claims that he “has not been served with any motion for summary judgment.”
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(ECF No. 71 at 1:26.) Plaintiff asserts that Defendants attempted to send him a box that
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violated the Administrative Directives of CSH, which permit patients to “have a total of three
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inches of paper when stacked.” (Id. at 2:2.) Plaintiff states that when such a box is delivered,
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he is forced to stand in a long line for over three hours, only to be rejected because of the
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quantity of documents. Plaintiff requests that the court serve him with the motion for summary
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judgment by CD.
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Defendants provide evidence that they served Plaintiff with the motion for summary
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judgment by mail, but Plaintiff refused delivery of the package. (ECF No. 68 #6; Exh. A. to
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ECF No. 76.) Defendants also provide evidence that the box they sent to Plaintiff did not
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exceed the size limits allowed by CSH. (Exh. A to ECF No. 76.) Defendants submit the
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declaration of Kenneth Bell, Hospital Police Lieutenant for CSH, who declares that CSH “has
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no directive that limits patients to three inches of paper when stacked;” “[t]he amount of paper
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documents which a patient may possess is based on the whole quantity of their personal
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property;” and “patients are allowed one bin of personal property and one bin of legal material
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to be stored in the Patient Property area of the hospital and patients may schedule appointments
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Monday through Friday to go through their property stored in Patient Property.” (ECF No. 76-
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1 ¶¶4-6.) Lieutenant Bell has provided copies of the applicable CSH Administrative Directives
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and the Department of State Hospitals Statewide Property Contraband List. (ECF No. 76-1.)
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Defendants state that they are working with officials at CSH to ensure that Plaintiff is given and
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allowed to possess Defendants’ motion for summary judgment and the attendant documents
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and will file a new proof of service when the motion has been served again. (ECF No. 76 at
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5:1-4.)
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Given that Defendants have stated their intention to re-serve the motion for summary
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judgment on Plaintiff and file a new proof of service, Plaintiff’s request for the court to serve
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the motion for summary judgment on him by CD shall be denied.
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Plaintiff is advised that his response to the motion for summary judgment is due no later
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than 21 days after service of the motion. Local Rule 230(l).
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II.
MOTION FOR STAY
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Plaintiff requests a stay of the proceedings in this case for thirty days, to allow him time
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to seek private counsel to represent him in this matter. The court does not lightly stay
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litigation, due to the possibility of prejudice to defendants, and here, more than thirty days have
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passed since Plaintiff requested the thirty-day stay, causing his request to be moot. Therefore,
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Plaintiff’s motion for stay shall be denied as moot.
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Plaintiff is advised that a stay of the proceedings is not his only remedy. In the future, if
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Plaintiff requires additional time to meet a deadline or respond to a court order, he should file a
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motion for extension of time before the expiration of the existing deadline.
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III.
CONCLUSION
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Based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1.
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Plaintiff’s request for the court to serve him with Defendants’ motion for
summary judgment by CD, filed on April 24, 2017, is DENIED; and
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Plaintiff’s motion for a thirty-day stay of the proceedings in this action is
DENIED as moot.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
August 6, 2017
/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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