McCoy v. Holguin et al
Filing
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FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS to deny Plaintiff's Motion for emergency injunctive relief 145 and directing Clerk to serve Order on Litigation Coordinator signed by Magistrate Judge Helena M. Barch-Kuchta on 4/9/2021. Referred to Judge Dale A. Drozd; Objections to F&R due within 30-Days. (Lundstrom, T)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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LAKEITH L. MCCOY,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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HOLGUIN, et al.,
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Case No. 1:15-cv-00768-DAD-HBK
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO
DENY PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR
EMERGENCY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF1
OBJECTIONS DUE IN THIRTY DAYS
Defendants.
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(Doc. No. 145)
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK TO SERVE
ORDER ON LITIGATION COORDINATOR
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Pending review before the court is plaintiff’s motion for emergency injunctive relief.
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(Doc. No. 145). For the reasons stated below, the undersigned recommends that the court deny
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plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief. However, the court will advise the litigation coordinator at
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plaintiff’s place of incarceration of his claim that he has been denied access to the law library.
I.
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BACKGROUND & FACTS
Plaintiff Lakeith L. McCoy, a state prisoner, initiated this action on May 20, 2015 by
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filing a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendants. (Doc. No. 1).
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The operative complaint for this suit is plaintiff’s second amended complaint, filed October 26,
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2015. (Doc. No. 15). The complaint alleges that certain named defendants used excessive force
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This matter was referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302
(E.D. Cal. 2019).
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against plaintiff when they beat him and that other identified defendants failed to protect plaintiff
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from the beating. (See generally id.). The case is scheduled for a trial setting conference on May
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17, 2021. (Doc. No. 143).
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In the instant motion, plaintiff points to various acts all of which he alleges are being done
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for retaliatory purposes due to his seeking civil relief through a Kern County Superior Court
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lawsuit. (Doc. No. 145 at 3-5). Specifically, plaintiff complains that he was wrongfully put into
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an administrative segregation unit on two occasions, that he has had trouble receiving his legal
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mail, that he was wrongfully issued rules violation reports, and that he was wrongfully subjected
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to a strip search and a search of his cell which resulted in the loss of some of his legal documents.
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(See generally id.). Plaintiff seeks a transfer to a different prison due to these alleged actions of
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retaliation from prison staff. (Id. at 5, ¶ 13). Plaintiff acknowledges the incidents of which he
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complains are not the subject of his current operative complaint. (Id. at 3, ¶ 3).
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II.
APPLICABLE LAW
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 governs injunctions and restraining orders, and requires
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that a motion for temporary restraining order include “specific facts in an affidavit or a verified
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complaint [that] clearly show that immediate, and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to
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the movant before the adverse party can be heard in opposition,” as well as written certification
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from the movant’s attorney stating “any efforts made to give notice and the reasons why it should
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not be required.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b).
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Temporary restraining orders are governed by the same standard applicable to preliminary
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injunctions, with the exception that preliminary injunctions require notice to the adverse party.
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See Cal. Indep. Sys. Operator Corp. v. Reliant Energy Servs., Inc., 181 F.Supp.2d 1111, 1126
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(E.D. Ca. 2001); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a). Local Rule 231, however, requires notice for
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temporary restraining orders as well, “[e]xcept in the most extraordinary of circumstances,” and
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the court considers whether the applicant could have sought relief by motion for preliminary
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injunction at an earlier date. L.R 231 (a)-(b) (E.D. Ca. 2019). A temporary restraining order
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“should be restricted to serving [its] underlying purpose of preserving the status quo and
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preventing irreparable harm just so long as is necessary to hold a hearing, and no longer.”
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Granny Goose Foods, Inc. v. Bhd. of Teamsters & Auto Truck Drivers Local No. 70, 415 U.S.
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423, 439 (1974).
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A temporary restraining order, is “an extraordinary remedy” and may be issued only if
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plaintiff establishes: (1) likelihood of success on the merits; (2) likelihood of irreparable harm in
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the absence of preliminary relief; (3) that the balance of equities tips in his/her favor; (4) that an
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injunction is in the public interest. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008).
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Plaintiff bears the burden of clearly satisfying all four prongs. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v.
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Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2011). A TRO will not issue if plaintiff merely shows
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irreparable harm is possible – a showing of likelihood is required. Id. at 1131.
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The injunctive relief an applicant requests must relate to the claims brought in the
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complaint. See Pac. Radiation Oncology, LLC v. Queen’s Med. Ctr., 810 F.3d 631, 633 (9th Cir.
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2015) (“When a plaintiff seeks injunctive relief based on claims not pled in the complaint, the
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court does not have the authority to issue an injunction.”). Absent a nexus between the injury
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claimed in the motion and the underlying complaint, the court lacks the authority to grant plaintiff
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any relief. Id. at 636.
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The Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) imposes additional requirements on prisoner
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litigants seeking preliminary injunctive relief against prison officials. In such cases,
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“[p]reliminary injunctive relief must be narrowly drawn, extend no further than necessary to
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correct the harm the court finds requires preliminary relief, and be the least intrusive means
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necessary to correct that harm.” 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(2); Villery v. California Dep't of Corr.,
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2016 WL 70326, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 6, 2016). As the Ninth Circuit has observed, the PLRA
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places significant limits upon a court’s power to grant preliminary injunctive relief to inmates,
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and “operates simultaneously to restrict the equity jurisdiction of federal courts and to protect the
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bargaining power of prison administrators—no longer may courts grant or approve relief that
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binds prison administrators to do more than the constitutional minimum.” Gilmore v. People of
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the State of California, 220 F.3d 987, 998-99 (9th Cir. 2000). The court’s jurisdiction is “limited
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to the parties in this action” and the pendency of an action “does not give the Court jurisdiction
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over prison officials in general or over the conditions of an inmate's confinement unrelated to the
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claims before it.” Beaton v. Miller, 2020 WL 5847014, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 1, 2020). If a
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prisoner has been transferred, any sought injunctive relief against the previous facility becomes
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moot if the prisoner “has demonstrated no reasonable expectation of returning to [the prison].”
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Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517, 519 (9th Cir. 1991); Florence v. Kernan, 813 F. App'x 325, 326
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(9th Cir. 2020). Finally, state governments have “traditionally been granted the widest latitude in
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the dispatch of [their] own internal affairs.” Rizzo v. Goode, 423, U.S. 362, 378 (1976) (citations
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omitted). This deference applies even more strongly when the court is asked to involve itself in
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the administrative decisions of a prison. See Turner v. Safely, 482 U.S. 78, 85 (1987); Sandin v.
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Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 482-83 (1995).
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III.
ANALYSIS
a. Claims for Injunctive Relief
As an initial matter, the complaint does not raise any claims concerning the alleged acts of
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retaliation by prison staff. (See generally Doc. No. 15). Because these claims were not pled in
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the complaint, the court has no authority to issue an injunction addressing these claims. See Pac.
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Radiation Oncology, LLC, 810 F.3d at 633. Further, plaintiff makes no assertion that the named
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defendants in this suit are the same individuals who are currently retaliating against him. The
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court does not have jurisdiction over nonparties in this case, such as unspecified prison
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administrative staff. Thus, the court does not have authority to issue the requested injunctive
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relief sought. Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727. To the extent plaintiff believes he is being subjected to
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retaliatory actions as a result of his filing of a lawsuit, his proper remedy is to file a civil rights
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complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, after he has exhausted is administrative remedies within the
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California Department of Corrections and Rehibition. Therefore, the court recommends that
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plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief be denied.
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b. Law Library Access
In his motion for injunctive relief, plaintiff also states that he has been denied law library
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access for approximately one year. (Doc. No. 145 at 3-4). As an initial matter, the complaint
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does not raise any claims concerning plaintiff’s access to the law library. (See generally Doc. No.
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15); see Pac. Radiation Oncology, 810 F.3d at 633. Further, plaintiff makes no assertion that the
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named defendants have any authority over the law library. Plaintiff is informed that the court has
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no jurisdiction over nonparties in this case, such as prison library staff, and cannot order prison
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personnel to provide him library access. Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727. Thus, the court does not have
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authority to issue the requested injunctive relief sought and recommends that plaintiff’s request
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for injunctive relief be denied.
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To the extent plaintiff’s limited access to the law library is impeding his ability to
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prosecute this case, plaintiff has other options than seeking injunctive relief. He may seek an
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extension of time with the court to comply with a court-ordered deadline or he may attach a copy
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of this court’s order to his request to access the law library to demonstrate that the litigation of
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this case is ongoing. A review of the docket reveals that plaintiff is not currently under any court-
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ordered deadline in this case. However, as a courtesy, the court will advise the litigation
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coordinator at Kern Valley State Prison of plaintiff’s complaint to ensure that plaintiff is afforded
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adequate opportunities to access the law library, to the extent that doing so is consistent with
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institutional order and security. See Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 321-322 (1986) (“Prison
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administrators . . . should be accorded wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of
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policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline
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and to maintain institutional security.”). The clerk’s office will be directed to serve a copy of this
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order on the litigation coordinator.
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Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
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The clerk of court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the litigation coordinator at
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Kern Valley State Prison.
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Further, it is RECOMMEDED:
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Plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief (Doc. No. 145) be DENIED.
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NOTICE TO PARTIES
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These findings and recommendations will be submitted to the United States district judge
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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within thirty (30)
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days after being served with these findings and recommendations, a party may file written
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objections with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s
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Findings and Recommendations.” Parties are advised that failure to file objections within the
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specified time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834,
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838-39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
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April 9, 2021
HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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