Williams v. Santiago
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING CASE for Failure to State a Claim 10 , signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 4/7/17: Clerk to Close Case. (CASE CLOSED)(Hellings, J)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MICHAEL B. WILLIAMS,
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Plaintiff,
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CASE NO. 1:16-cv-01065-MJS (PC)
ORDER DISMISSING CASE FOR
FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM
v.
(ECF NO. 10)
JESSICA SANTIAGO,
CLERK TO CLOSE CASE
Defendant.
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Plaintiff is a civil detainee proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil
rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
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Plaintiff initiated this action on July 25, 2016. (ECF No. 1.) On November 1, 2016,
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the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint with leave to amend. (ECF No. 7.) On February
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13, 2017, the Court screened Plaintiff’s first amended complaint (“FAC”) and found it
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again stated no cognizable claims. (ECF No. 9.) Plaintiff was granted thirty days to
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amend. (Id.) His March 1, 2017 second amended complaint (“SAC”) is now before the
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Court for screening. (ECF No. 10.) He has consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.
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(ECF No. 3.) No other party has appeared.
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I.
Screening Requirement
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The in forma pauperis statute provides, “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any
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portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if
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the court determines that . . . the action or appeal . . . fails to state a claim upon which
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relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
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II.
Pleading Standard
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Section 1983 “provides a cause of action for the deprivation of any rights,
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privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
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Wilder v. Virginia Hosp. Ass'n, 496 U.S. 498, 508 (1990) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 1983).
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Section 1983 is not itself a source of substantive rights, but merely provides a method for
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vindicating federal rights conferred elsewhere. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393-94
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(1989).
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To state a claim under § 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
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law. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Ketchum v. Alameda Cnty., 811 F.2d
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1243, 1245 (9th Cir. 1987).
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A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that
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the pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations
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are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,
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supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.
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662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)).
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Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief
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that is plausible on its face.” Id. Facial plausibility demands more than the mere
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possibility that a defendant committed misconduct and, while factual allegations are
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accepted as true, legal conclusions are not. Id. at 677-78.
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III.
Plaintiff’s Allegations
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Plaintiff is detained at Coalinga State Hospital (“CSH”). Plaintiff’s SAC names
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Jessica Santiago “et al.” as Defendants in the caption of his complaint. Plaintiff does not
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expressly name the other Defendants. He also does not set forth the facts giving rise to
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his claims. Rather, Plaintiff intersperses his factual allegations with legal arguments
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asserting that his original complaint was improperly dismissed.
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An amended complaint supersedes the prior complaint, and should be complete
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in and of itself. Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d 896, 907 n. 1 (9th Cir. 2012). The
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following factual allegations are therefore drawn solely from Plaintiff’s SAC. The facts
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contained within Plaintiff’s prior complaints are therefore not repeated herein.
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undersigned has, however, reviewed them and concluded that consideration of them
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would not, In any event, change the outcome of this case.)
(The
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On April 5, 2016, Defendant Santiago, a former Unit 6 supervisor, placed
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Plaintiff’s access hall card on medical hold as punishment and in retaliation for Plaintiff
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exercising his “Fifth Amendment” right to refuse medication. Plaintiff refused his
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medications because they caused adverse side effects. Santiago did not conduct a
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disciplinary hearing before deactivating the access card. Plaintiff was thus denied: 1)
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written notice of the charges against him; 2) 24 hours advanced notice of the April 5
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“hearing” during which Santiago disabled the card; 3) a written statement by Santiago
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stating her reasons for disabling the card; 4) the right to call witnesses; and 5) staff
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assistance to defend his case. Santiago acted alone when she determined that Plaintiff
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was guilty of not taking his medications and placed his access card on medical hold.
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On February 17, 2017 (after the instant case was filed), Dr. Chand threatened to
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falsely report that Plaintiff was not competent to make his own medical decisions in
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refusing to take his blood pressure medications. The threat was in retaliation for
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Plaintiff’s continued refusal to take other heart-related medications prescribed by Dr.
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Nguyen.
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Plaintiff alleges retaliation and the violation of his due process rights under the
Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments.
IV.
Analysis
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Plaintiff’s first two complaints were dismissed for failure to state a claim. For the
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reasons set forth below, Plaintiff’s SAC will also be dismissed. Further leave to amend
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would be futile and will be denied.
Reconsideration of the Dismissal of Plaintiff’s FAC
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A.
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Plaintiff requests that the dismissal of his FAC be “set aside,” since, as Plaintiff
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argues, this Court erred in dismissing his FAC for failure to state a claim. The Court
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construes Plaintiff’s request as a motion for reconsideration.
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“A motion for reconsideration should not be granted, absent highly unusual
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circumstances, unless the district court is presented with newly discovered evidence,
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committed clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling law,” Marlyn
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Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co., 571 F.3d 873, 880 (9th Cir. 2009).
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“A motion for reconsideration may not be used to raise arguments or present evidence
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for the first time when they could reasonably have been raised in earlier litigation.” Id.
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Furthermore, “‘[a] party seeking reconsideration must show more than a disagreement
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with the Court’s decision, and ‘recapitulation . . .’” of that which was already considered
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by the court in rendering its decision. U.S. v. Westlands Water Dist., 134 F.Supp.2d
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1111, 1131 (E.D. Cal. 2001) (quoting Bermingham v. Sony Corp. of Am., Inc., 820 F.
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Supp. 834, 856 (D. N.J. 1992)). Similarly, Local Rule 230(j) requires that a party seeking
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reconsideration show that “new or different facts or circumstances are claimed to exist
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which did not exist or were not shown upon such prior motion, or what other grounds
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exist for the motion . . . .”
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Here, Plaintiff believes the Court overreached its authority by resolving genuine
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issues of fact in Defendants’ favor, and dismissing Plaintiff’s claims based on their
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supposed frivolity. (Id.) Plaintiff relies on the Supreme Court case of Denton v.
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Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25 (1992), in support.
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Denton involved a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s multiple civil rights
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complaints under the in forma pauperis statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d), which allows the
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court to dismiss a case filed by a litigant proceeding in forma pauperis if it determines the
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action is frivolous or malicious. Id. at 27. All of the complaints alleged that Plaintiff had
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been drugged and raped numerous times by inmates and prison officers at several
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different institutions. Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of three of the cases. The circuit
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court reversed and remanded, concluding that dismissal of a complaint as factually
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frivolous was appropriate only where the allegations conflicted with judicially noticeable
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facts. Id. at 30. On review, the United States Supreme Court held that the circuit court
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incorrectly limited the power granted the court to dismiss a frivolous case under §
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1915(d). Id. at 31. The Supreme Court, relying on a standard set forth in its decision in
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Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319 (1989), stated that a finding of factual frivolousness “is
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appropriate when the facts alleged rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly
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incredible, whether or not there are judicially noticeable facts available to contradict
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them, but a complaint cannot be dismissed simply because the court finds the
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allegations to be improbable or unlikely.” Denton, 504 U.S. at 25–26.
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Here, the Court did not dismiss Plaintiff’s FAC because the allegations were
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improbable or unlikely. Rather, the Court determined that even assuming Plaintiff’s
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allegations were true, they failed to demonstrate that a constitutional violation had
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occurred. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Plaintiff’s reliance on Denton is thus misplaced. As
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Plaintiff has not pointed to any new or different facts or circumstances necessitating
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reconsideration of the Court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s FAC, his request is denied. In any
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event, Plaintiff was granted leave to amend his claims in a SAC.
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B.
Substantive Claims
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Fifth Amendment
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Plaintiff states he has a Fifth Amendment right to refuse unwanted medical
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treatment. As Plaintiff was previously advised, the right to refuse medical treatment
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arises from the Fourteenth Amendment. (ECF No. 7 at 6.) Plaintiff was advised of the
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pleading standards for such a claim yet failed to raise them in his SAC. To the extent
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Plaintiff believes his right to refuse medical treatment was violated, that claim will be
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dismissed without leave to amend.
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2.
Procedural Due Process
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In order to establish that his procedural due process rights were violated, Plaintiff
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must allege the existence of a protected liberty interest that was subject to interference
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by the state. Kentucky Dept. of Corr. v. Thompson, 490 U.S. 454, 460 (1990). A liberty
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interest may arise from the Constitution itself, or from an expectation or interest created
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by state laws or policies. Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 556-58 (1974).
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The liberty interest at stake here is Plaintiff’s interest in not being punished
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without due process. See Rhoden v. Carona, No. SACV 08-00420 JHN (SS), 2010 WL
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4449711, at *21 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2010). Not all potential deprivations require the
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same level of procedural protections; “the requirements of due process are flexible and
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call for such protections as the particular situation demands.” Id. (citing Wilkinson v.
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Austin, 545 U.S. 209, 224 (2005). To Plaintiff, the deactivation of his access card
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constituted punishment; Plaintiff thus believes he was entitled to the full panoply of Wolff
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protections prior this deactivation.
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Plaintiff was directed to plead more facts detailing the “hearing” he was subjected
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to prior to the deactivation of his access card, as the Court could not determine what
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process Plaintiff was entitled to and what process was denied. Plaintiff’s SAC is slightly
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more detailed; Plaintiff reports he was denied: (1) written notice of the charges against
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him; (2) 24 hours advance notice of the “hearing”; (3) a written statement by the fact-
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finder outlining her reasons for the disciplinary action; (4) the right to call witnesses; (5)
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and legal assistance.
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Plaintiff claims he was punished after he was found “guilty” of a disciplinary
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violation. However, it is clear that what Plaintiff deems a deprivation of a liberty interest
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without due process was more likely an administrative measure taken in the interest of
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institutional order and security: Plaintiff refused to take his medication, therefore
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Defendant placed his access card on a medical hold, preventing Plaintiff from leaving his
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unit without staff supervision. Such a de minimis loss of privileges is not the sort of
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deprivation to which the Wolff procedural rights attach. Rhoden, 2010 WL 4449711, at
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*22 (citing Senty-Haugen v. Goodno, 462 F.3d 876, 886 n. 7 (8th Cir. 2006) (holding that
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depriving a civil detainee of privileges such as canteen access and computer privileges
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does not implicate the Constitution). Plaintiff’s procedural due process claim will be
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dismissed without leave to amend.
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3.
Retaliation
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Plaintiff claims he was retaliated against for refusing medical treatment. He was
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previously advised of the pleading standards for a retaliation claim. (ECF No. 9 at 6-7.)
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Nonetheless, he submits only the conclusory allegation that he was “retaliated” against.
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This claim will be dismissed without leave to amend.
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VI.
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Conclusion and Order
Plaintiff’s second amended complaint fails to state any cognizable claims. Further
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leave to amend would be futile and will be denied.
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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. Plaintiff’s request for reconsideration of the Court’s order dismissing Plaintiff’s
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FAC is DENIED;
2. Plaintiff’s SAC (ECF No. 10) is DISMISSED, with prejudice, for failure to state
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a claim;
3. The Clerk’s Office shall terminate all pending motions and CLOSE this case.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
April 7, 2017
/s/
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Michael J. Seng
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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