Wilkins v. Stanislaus County et al

Filing 5

ORDER DISMISSING 1 Complaint WITH LEAVE TO AMEND; Amended Complaint due within Thirty Days signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 5/2/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Complaint Form)(Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KEENAN WILKINS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
STANISLAUS COUNTY, et al.,

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Defendants.

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1:16-cv-01858-DAD-BAM
ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND
(Doc. No. 1)
THIRTY-DAY DEADLINE

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I.

Screening Requirement and Standard

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Plaintiff Keenan Wilkins (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma

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pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff’s complaint, filed on

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December 12, 2016, is currently before the Court for screening. (ECF No. 1.)

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a

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governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. §

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1915A(a). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous or

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malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary

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relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2); 28

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U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).

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A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not

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required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere
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conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell

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Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken

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as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores,

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Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

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To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires

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sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable

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for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. United

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States Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant

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acted unlawfully is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the

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plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.
II.

Plaintiff’s Allegations

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Plaintiff is currently housed at R. J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Plaintiff names the

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following defendants in their individual and official capacities: (1) Stanislaus County; (2)

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Rebecca J. Fleming, Clerk/Executive Officer; (3) Angela Segundo, Deputy Clerk; (4) Gloria

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Green, Deputy Clerk; (5) Jared D. Beeson, Research Attorney; (6) G. James, Deputy Clerk; (7)

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Michelle Salcido, Deputy Clerk; (8) Julie C. Dodge, Family Law Facilitator.

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Plaintiff asserts that multiple Stanislaus County officials acted or conspired to deny and

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interfere with his rights to Equal Protection, Due Process and Access to Courts in the Stanislaus

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County family law action titled Wilkins v. Wilkins, No. 686620. Plaintiff repeatedly attempted to

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serve and file motions and pleadings, but the clerks allegedly failed in their duty to file the

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submissions. Plaintiff contends that he was prejudiced and injured in the action, which threated

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his parental, custody, property and financial rights.

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Plaintiff alleges that he was served with “the action,” which the Court construes as the

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family law action titled Wilkins v. Wilkins, No. 686620. On February 4, 2013, Plaintiff served a

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motion for appointment of counsel. Thereafter, on April 22, May 13, May 20 and May 27, 2013,

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Plaintiff served notice, letters and objections that he had not received any ruling on his motion

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for counsel.

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subsequently learned in June 2013 from Defendant Dodge that the court issued an order on

Plaintiff requested status, but his correspondence was ignored.

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Plaintiff

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February 8, 2013 denying counsel. The order also allowed Plaintiff to appear at hearings by

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phone after he timely files a response. Plaintiff alleges that the judge’s clerk, Defendant James,

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never sent Plaintiff this order. Stanislaus County Research Attorney, Defendant Beeson, filed an

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informal response to Plaintiff’s mandate petition admitting the order was never served on

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Plaintiff. Plaintiff claims that he was prejudiced with a default judgment on April 11, 2013.
On March 11, 2013, Plaintiff received a response and documents from Defendant

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Segundo.

Plaintiff completed the forms and returned them to Defendant Segundo with a

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notice/letter. The response was not filed, and was returned to Plaintiff with no reason or

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explanation on March 27, 2013. Plaintiff resubmitted the documents to the Court on March 28,

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2013, with a notice to Defendant Segundo regarding Plaintiff’s confusion. The documents were

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not filed, and on April 11, 2013, a default judgment was granted against him. Plaintiff alleges

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that default was entered by Defendant Salcido, but he was not served and had to seek relief from

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the default judgment.
Plaintiff further alleges that his correspondence apparently was forwarded to Defendant

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Dodge, the Stanislaus County Family Law Facilitator.

On April 30, 2013, Defendant Dodge

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wrote Plaintiff a letter informing Plaintiff that counsel could not be provided in a family law

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case.

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correspondence, but Plaintiff alleges that she failed to provide any information about what

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Plaintiff needed to do and failed to take any action as the family law facilitator to help him.

Defendant Dodge also reported that she had reviewed all of Plaintiff’s prior

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On June 26, 2013, Plaintiff filed a writ of mandate in the Court of Appeal. The appellate

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court reportedly ordered an informal response. Defendant Beeson filed an informal response

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dated July 24, 2013. Defendant Beeson allegedly informed the court that Plaintiff’s action did

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not warrant appointment of counsel because it was not a bona fide civil action threatening his

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interests. Plaintiff asserts, however, that he lost custody, parental, visitation, property, finances

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and assets in the judgment. The appellate court denied the petition on July 31, 2013.

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Plaintiff filed a request for relief from default on June 19, 2013, which was granted.

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Plaintiff then began to serve numerous motions that were not filed by the family law clerk,

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Defendant James. One of the motions was a challenge for cause against Judge Jack Jacobson.
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Plaintiff served Judge Jacobson’s clerk. Defendant James reportedly failed to file the motion,

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and also failed to file Plaintiff’s motions to compel discovery served on September 20 and

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October 28, 2013.

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Plaintiff filed a writ of mandate in the court of appeal based on the trial court’s purported

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failure to hear the discovery motions.

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regarding whether Plaintiff filed a request for order to comply with discovery with the Stanislaus

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County Superior Court and, if so, how the court ruled on the request. On November 26, 2013,

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Defendant Gloria Green, a family division clerk, reportedly falsified that no such motion was

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filed or heard by the court. The appellate court then denied Plaintiff’s petition.

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The appellate court ordered an informal response

On December 9, 2013, the trial court issued an order against Plaintiff’s custody, parental,
visitation and property rights.

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On September 16, 2016, Plaintiff filed a Request for Hearing (Motion to Vacate) that was

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denied on November 10, 2016. Plaintiff wrote a letter to the family law self-help facilitator’s

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office “seeking to know the next step after denial of a Family Law FL-300 Petition.” (ECF No.

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1, p. 8.) Defendant Dodge sent Plaintiff a letter dated November 21, 2016, denying him any

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information.

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Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Stanislaus County failed to train its employees in the

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filing of documents from pro se incarcerated litigants and allowed the practice of not filing

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documents from February to December 2013. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant Rebecca

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Fleming, Clerk/Executive Officer of the Stanislaus County Superior Court, failed to train

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employees and allowed the practice of not filing Plaintiff’s submissions from February to

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December 2013.

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Plaintiff contends that Defendant Segundo, a deputy clerk, sent him family law forms to

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fill out and return. Although Plaintiff completed and returned forms twice, Defendant Segundo

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failed to file the documents and Plaintiff received an adverse default judgment on April 11, 2013.

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Plaintiff claims that Defendant Segundo violated his rights to due process, equal protection and

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access to the courts.

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Plaintiff further contends that Defendant Green, a court clerk, falsified to the appellate

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court that Plaintiff had not filed any requests to compel discovery, resulting in Plaintiff’s petition

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being denied. Plaintiff claims that Defendant Green violated his rights to due process, equal

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protection and access to the courts.

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Plaintiff also contends that Defendant Beeson falsified to the appellate court that

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Plaintiff’s action was not threatening any interests, resulting in Plaintiff’s petition being denied.

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Plaintiff claims that Defendant Beeson interfered with his rights to due process, equal protection

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and access to the courts.

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Plaintiff asserts that Defendant James, a court clerk, directly failed to file most of his

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submissions. Plaintiff claims that Defendant James denied him due process, equal protection and

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access to the courts.

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Plaintiff further asserts that Defendant Salcido is the clerk that entered a default judgment

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against him even though he had twice submitted his response for filing. Plaintiff claims that

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Defendnat Salcido conspired to violate his equal protection rights.
Plaintiff also asserts that Defendant Dodge denied him “equal protection to self help

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assistance as similarly situated litigants.”

(ECF No. 1, p. 12.)

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Defendants Green, Beeson, James, Salcido and Dodge conspired to deny Plaintiff equal

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protection.

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III.

Plaintiff also claims that

Discussion

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A. Eleventh Amendment Immunity

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Plaintiff names Stanislaus County as a defendant, arguing that the county is liable based

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on its failure to train the court clerks and on its practice allowing its employees not to file

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documents. Plaintiff’s allegations against Stanislaus County are more properly characterized as

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allegations against Stanislaus County Superior Court related to its training of employees and

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related practices. However, Plaintiff cannot state a claim against the Stanislaus County Superior

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Court because such suits are barred by the Eleventh Amendment. See Greater L.A. Council on

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Deafness Inc. v. Zolin, 812 F.2d 1103, 1110 (9th Cir. 1987) (“We conclude that a suit against the

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Superior Court is a suit against the State, barred by the eleventh amendment).
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B. Quasi-Judicial Immunity

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Court clerks have absolute quasi-judicial immunity from suits requesting damages or

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injunctive relief “when they perform tasks that are an integral part of the judicial process.”

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Mullis v. United States Bankruptcy Court, 828 F.2d 1385, 1390, 1394 (9th Cir.1987), cert.

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denied, 486 U.S. 1040, 108 S.Ct. 2031, 100 L.Ed.2d 616 (1988). Court law clerks (research

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attorneys) also enjoy judicial immunity when performing roles integral to the judicial process.

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See In re Castillo, 297 F.3d 940, 952 (9th Cir. 2002).

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Here, Plaintiff’s assertions regarding accepting or rejecting documents for filing, entering

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default judgment, and submitting responses to inquiries from the appellate court are all tasks part

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of the judicial process. Therefore, Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a cognizable claim against

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the Stanislaus County Superior Court Clerks or other court employees. See, e.g., Sermeno v.

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Lewis, No. 1:16-cv-01582 LJO-BAM (PC), 2017 WL 117879, at *2-3 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 11, 2017)

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(state superior court clerks entitled to quasi-judicial immunity for allegedly refusing or failing to

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file plaintiff’s documents); Palacios v. Fresno County Super. Ct., No. 1:09cv0554 OWW DLB,

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2009 WL 3416173, at *4-5 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 21, 2009).

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C. Access to Courts

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Inmates have a fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts. Lewis v. Casey,

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518 U.S. 343, 346 (1996). However, the right is limited to direct criminal appeals, habeas

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petitions, and civil rights actions. Id., at 354. Here, Plaintiff’s family law action is not a criminal

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appeal, habeas petition or civil rights action. Accordingly, Plaintiff cannot state a claim against

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any of the defendants based on a purported denial of access to the courts.

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IV.

Conclusion and Order

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Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a cognizable claim. As Plaintiff is proceeding pro se,

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the Court will grant him an opportunity to amend his complaint to cure the identified deficiencies

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to the extent he is able to do so in good faith. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir.

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2000).

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint should be brief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), but it must state what

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each named defendant did that led to the deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, Iqbal,
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556 U.S. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. at 1948-49. Although accepted as true, the “[f]actual allegations

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must be [sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the speculative level . . . .” Twombly, 550 U.S.

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at 555 (citations omitted).

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Additionally, Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, unrelated

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claims in his first amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) (no

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“buckshot” complaints).

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Finally, Plaintiff is advised that an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint.

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Lacey v. Maricopa Cnty., 693 F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir. 2012). Therefore, Plaintiff’s amended

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complaint must be “complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded pleading.”

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Local Rule 220.

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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff a complaint form;

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2.

Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed with leave to amend;

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3.

Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file a

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first amended complaint; and
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If Plaintiff fails to file a first amended complaint in compliance with this

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order, this action will be dismissed for failure to obey a court order and for failure to state

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a claim.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

May 2, 2017

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A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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