David Estrada v. Vanderpoel et al
Filing
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FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS that Plaintiff's 27 MOTION to Strike Defendants' Affirmative Defenses Be Granted in Part and Denied in Part, signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 6/29/17. Referred to Judge Drozd. Objections to F&R Due Within Twenty Days. (Gonzalez, R)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DAVID ESTRADA,
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Plaintiff,
v.
J. VANDERPOEL, et al.,
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Defendants.
1:16-cv-00673-DAD-EPG (PC)
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STRIKE
DEFENDANT’S AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
BE GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN
PART
(ECF No. 27)
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I.
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David Estrada (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis
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in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The case now proceeds on the
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Complaint filed by Plaintiff on May 12, 2016, against defendants A. Maxfield, M. Sexton, and
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J. Vanderpoel (“Defendants”) for violation of Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
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(ECF No. 15.)
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Housing Unit (“SHU”) and subject to an “R” classification without cause or due process for the
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last ten years. (ECF No. 13.)
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff alleges that he has been improperly confined to the Segregated
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Defendants filed an answer to the complaint on March 21, 2017, listing several
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affirmative defenses. (ECF No. 21.) On April 26, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion to strike the
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defendants’ affirmative defenses. (ECF No. 27.) On April 28, 2017, Defendants filed an
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opposition to the motion. (ECF No. 28.) This motion and opposition are now before the Court.
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II.
MOTION TO STRIKE
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Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows a district court to “strike from
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a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous
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matter.” Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010). “[T]he
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function of a 12(f) motion to strike is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that must
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arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial . . .” Everett
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H. v. Dry Creek Joint Elementary Sch. Dist., 5 F. Supp. 3d 1167, 1177 (E.D. Cal. 2014) (citing
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Sidney–Vinstein v. A.H. Robins Co., 697 F.2d 880, 885 (9th Cir.1983)).
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Defendants are required to “affirmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defenses.”
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c)(1). The Ninth Circuit has indicated that “‘the fair notice’ required by the
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pleading standards only requires describing the defense in ‘general terms.’” Kohler v. Flava
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Enterprises, Inc., 779 F.3d 1016, 1019 (9th Cir. 2015) (citing 5 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur
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R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1274 (3d ed. 1998)). Since Kohler, this District
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has routinely applied the fair notice standard to a motion to strike affirmative defenses. Gomez
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v. J. Jacobo Farm Labor Contractor, Inc., 188 F. Supp. 3d 986, 991–92 (E.D. Cal. 2016)
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(citing United States v. Gibson Wine Co., 2016 WL 1626988, *4–6 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 25, 2016)).
The fair notice standard “is less demanding than the Twombly/Iqbal standard, but still
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requires a party to plead some factual basis for its allegations.” Sherwin-Williams Co. v.
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Courtesy Oldsmobile- Cadillac, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-01137 MJS HC, 2016 WL 615335, at *2
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(E.D. Cal. Feb. 16, 2016). “The key to determining the sufficiency of pleading an affirmative
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defense is whether it gives plaintiff fair notice of the defense.” Simmons v. Navajo Cty., Ariz.,
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609 F.3d 1011, 1023 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Wyshak v. City National Bank, 607 F.2d 824, 827
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(9th Cir. 1979)). “Although ‘fair notice’ is a low bar that does not require great detail, it does
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require a defendant to provide ‘some factual basis’ for its affirmative defenses. [Citations]
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Simply referring to a doctrine or statute is insufficient to afford fair notice.” Gomez, 188 F.
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Supp. 3d at 992 (quoting Gibson Wine Co., 2016 WL 1626988, *4–6).
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III.
DISCUSSION
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Defendants’ answer lists five affirmative defenses. (ECF No. 21.) Plaintiff has moved
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to strike all five. (ECF No. 27.) Defendants oppose the motion to strike as to four of the
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affirmative defenses but do not object to striking the fifth affirmative defense. (ECF No. 28, p.
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7, “As their fifth affirmative defense, Defendants reserved their right to assert additional
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affirmative defenses to the extent such defenses were applicable… As Plaintiff implies, the
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mere reservation of rights is not an affirmative defense. [citations].”). Thus, the Court will
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recommend that the motion to strike be granted as to the fifth affirmative defense and will
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discuss defenses one through four immediately below.
A. First Affirmative Defense: Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
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Defendant’s first defense states, “[t]o the extent Plaintiff has failed to exhaust available
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administrative remedies, his claims are barred by 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a).” (ECF No. 21, p. 6.)
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Plaintiff’s motion to strike appears to argue that he did exhaust administrative remedies by
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filing numerous “602” appeals. (ECF No. 27.)
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A failure to exhaust is a valid affirmative defense. Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 212
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(2007) (“[T]he usual practice under the Federal Rules is to regard exhaustion as an affirmative
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defense.”). For such a defense, the defendant needs to show “that there was an available
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administrative remedy, and that the prisoner did not exhaust that available remedy.” Albino v.
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Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1172 (9th Cir. 2014).
Plaintiff has fair notice of the exhaustion defense because it applies to every civil rights
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case filed by a prisoner. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a).
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Plaintiff will have an opportunity to contest this defense if and when Defendants assert
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the defense through a motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment, and if needed, at an
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evidentiary hearing. The fact that Plaintiff challenges the defense is not a basis to strike the
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defense at the pleading stage.
As such, the Court recommends Plaintiff’s motion to strike the first affirmative defense
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be denied.
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B. Second Affirmative Defense: Qualified Immunity
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For the second affirmative defense, Defendants claim that they are entitled to qualified
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immunity.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that government officials performing
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discretionary functions should be shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their
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conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a
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reasonable person would have known. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 815, 102 S. Ct.
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2727, 2737, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1982).
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Defendants state that they “acted as reasonable Institutional Classification Committee
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members and prison administrators at all times during the time alleged in Plaintiff’s complaint.
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Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established at the time
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that acting according to policy and regulations would have violated an inmate’s constitutional
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rights.” (ECF No. 21, p. 6.)
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Plaintiff argues that the defense should be stricken because it would have been clearly
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established at the time of Defendants’ alleged constitutional violations that falsely being placed
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in the SHU was illegal. (ECF No. 27, p. 4.) Thus, Plaintiff appears to be arguing the merits of
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whether Defendants’ are entitled to qualified immunity rather than providing a basis to strike
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the defense from the answer.
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The Court finds that Plaintiff is on fair notice of this defense. The motion to strike
should be denied as to the second affirmative defense.
C. Third Affirmative Defense: Statute of Limitations
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Defendants’ third affirmative defense states, “Plaintiff’s claims arose in 2005 when he
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was first classified as a sex offender and dropout of the Mexican Mafia Security Threat Group,
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but this lawsuit was not brought until May 12, 2016. Accordingly, his claims are barred by the
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applicable statute of limitations.” (ECF No. 21, p. 6.)
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Plaintiff requests that the Court strike the defense but does not provide a clear reason
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why the defense should be stricken. He offers only that he filed an inmate appeal in 2015 and
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consistently raises issues with his custody designation whenever he meets with the committee
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in charge of such designations. (ECF No. 27, pp. 4-5.)
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The Court finds that Defendants have provided sufficient detail in their answer to put
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Plaintiff on fair notice of this defense. Again, Plaintiff’s motion appears to argue the merits of
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this defense, which is not a basis to strike the defense on the pleadings.
Thus, it is recommended that the motion to strike be denied as to the third affirmative
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defense.
D. Fourth Affirmative Defense: Mental or Emotional Injury
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The fourth affirmative defense states that “[t]o the extent that Plaintiff’s damages claims
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are based on mental or emotional injury, they must be dismissed where there is no showing of
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physical injury. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e).” (ECF No. 21, p. 6.) The Prison Litigation Reform
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Act provides that “[n]o Federal civil action may be brought by a prisoner confined in a jail,
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prison, or other correctional facility, for mental or emotional injury suffered while in custody
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without a prior showing of physical injury or the commission of a sexual act (as defined in
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section 2246 of Title 18).” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e). This section has been interpreted by the
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Ninth Circuit to apply to claims alleging a mental or emotional injury only (without any
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allegations of more than a de minimums prior physical injury). Oliver v. Keller, 289 F.3d 623,
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630 (9th Cir. 2002) (holding that the district court did not err in dismissing claims for emotion
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injury).
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Plaintiff’s motion to strike argues that the defense should be stricken because he
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actually suffered severe mental health problems as a result of the allegations in this case that he
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was confined in the SHU for ten years. (ECF No. 27, p. 5.) This is not a proper basis to strike
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the Defendants’ defense at this stage of the proceedings. See Smith v. Cobb, No. 15-CV-176-
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GPC(WVG), 2017 WL 2350443, at *6 (S.D. Cal. May 30, 2017) (denying motion to strike
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defense based on 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e) and providing that “[t]he existence of evidence that
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supports claims or injuries is a matter of factual proof for future determination as this case
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progresses—not an issue that bears on the sufficiency of an answer at this stage of the
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litigation.”).
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Plaintiff has fair notice of this defense. Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion to strike should be
denied as to the fourth defense.
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IV.
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Therefore, based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY RECOMMENDS that Plaintiff’s
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RECOMMENDATION
motion to strike (ECF No. 27) be GRANTED, in part and DENIED, in part, as follows:
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1. Plaintiff’s motion to strike should be GRANTED as to fifth affirmative defense.
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Accordingly, this defense should be STRIKEN from Defendants’ answer, and
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leave to amend should be denied as amendment would be futile.
2. Plaintiff’s motion to strike should be DENIED as to the first, second, third, and
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fourth affirmative defenses.
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These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United District Judge
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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within twenty (20)
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days after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written
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objections with the Court. Any such objections should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate
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Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any reply to the objections shall be served and filed
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within ten days after service of the objections. The parties are 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.
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Wheeler, 772 F. 3d 834, 838-39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F. 2d 1391,
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1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
June 29, 2017
/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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