Quiroga v. Graves et al

Filing 61

FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS recommending that Plaintiff's Motion for preliminary injunctive relief be denied 60 . Referred to Judge Dale A. Drozd. Objections to F&R's due within 14-Days. Signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 4/22/2019. (Lundstrom, T)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MONICO J. QUIROGA III,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
SERGEANT GRAVES, et al.,

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Defendants.

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1:16-cv-00234-DAD-GSA-PC
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS,
RECOMMENDING THAT PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTIVE RELIEF BE DENIED
(ECF No. 60.)
OBJECTIONS, IF ANY, DUE WITHIN
FOURTEEN DAYS

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I.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Monico J. Quiroga III (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis

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with this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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commencing this action on February 19, 2016. (ECF No. 1.) This case now proceeds with

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Plaintiff’s Fourth Amended Complaint filed on September 6, 2018, against defendant Corporal

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Oscar Fuentes for violation of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. (ECF No. 45.)

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Plaintiff filed the Complaint

On April 19, 2019, Plaintiff filed a motion for protective order, which the court construes
as a motion for preliminary injunctive relief. (ECF No. 60.)
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II.

PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

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“A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed

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on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that

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the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Id. at

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374 (citations omitted). An injunction may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the

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plaintiff is entitled to relief. Id. at 376 (citation omitted) (emphasis added).

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Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and in considering a request for

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preliminary injunctive relief, the Court is bound by the requirement that as a preliminary matter,

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it have before it an actual case or controversy. City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 102,

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103 S.Ct. 1660, 1665 (1983); Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of

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Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 471, 102 S.Ct. 752, 757-58 (1982). If the Court does not

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have an actual case or controversy before it, it has no power to hear the matter in question. Id.

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III.

BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff alleges in the Fourth Amended Complaint that in 2016, when he was a pretrial

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detainee at the Kern County Sheriff’s Detention Facility in Bakersfield, California, he was

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escorted by defendant Fuentes after an altercation between inmates and detained in an unsanitary

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cell. On December 18, 2018, the court found service of the complaint appropriate on defendant

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Fuentes. (ECF No. 49.) On April 5, 2019, defendant Fuentes filed an answer. (ECF No. 55.)

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On July 26, 2018, Plaintiff filed a motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin Kern

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County Sheriff’s deputies from acting against him. (ECF No. 41.) The court denied that motion.

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(ECF No. 46.)

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IV.

DISCUSSION

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Plaintiff now requests a “protective order or keep away” because of an upcoming hearing

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“for restitution modification and small claims and request to modify child support” that will cause

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him to be “in imminent danger from being assaulted again by defendants or harassed while in

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their custody.” (ECF No. 60 at 1.) Plaintiff’s current motion is similar to his prior one, which

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this court denied. (See ECF Nos. 42, 46.)

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Plaintiff is currently incarcerated at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California, in

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the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. To the extent that

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Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief against officers at High Desert State Prison, Plaintiff’s motion

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should be denied because the court lacks jurisdiction over those officers. An order enjoining

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those officers would enjoin persons who are not defendants in this action and who are not before

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the court. The court “may not attempt to determine the rights of persons not before the court.”

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Zepeda v. U.S. I.N.S., 753 F.2d 719, 727 (9th Cir. 1983).

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To the extent that Plaintiff seek injunctive relief against defendant Fuentes or any other

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officer at the Kern County Sheriff’s Detention Facility, Plaintiff’s motion should be denied as

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moot because Plaintiff is no longer in custody there.1 Where the prisoner is challenging

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conditions of confinement and is seeking injunctive relief, transfer to another prison renders the

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request for injunctive relief moot absent some evidence of an expectation of being transferred

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back. See Preiser v. Newkirk, 422 U.S. 395, 402-03 (1975); Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517,

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519 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam); see also Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1053 n.5 (9th

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Cir. 2007). Here, there is no evidence that Plaintiff expects to be transferred back to the Detention

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Facility in Bakersfield.

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V.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff’s motion for

preliminary injunctive relief, filed on April 19, 2019, be DENIED.

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These findings and recommendations are 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)(l). Within fourteen

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(14) days after the date of service of these findings and recommendations, Plaintiff may file

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written objections with the court.

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Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file

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objections within the specified time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v.

Such a document should be captioned "Objections to

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On June 10, 2016, Plaintiff filed a notice of change of his address from the Detention Facility in
Bakersfield, California, to Wasco State Prison in Wasco, California. (ECF No. 15.) On October 21, 2016, Plaintiff
filed a notice of change of address to the High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California, where Plaintiff is
presently incarcerated. (ECF No. 17.)
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Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 838-39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394

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(9th Cir. 1991)).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

April 22, 2019

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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