Britton v. Compas
Filing
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FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS to dismiss action, with prejudice for failure to state a claim, failure to obey a court order and failure to prosecute 15 signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 6/15/2018. Referred to Judge Dale A. Drozd; Objections to F&R due within 14-Days. (Lundstrom, T)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DONALD TREMAYNE BRITTON,
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Plaintiff,
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO
DISMISS ACTION, WITH PREJUDICE, FOR
FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM, FAILURE
TO OBEY A COURT ORDER, AND
FAILURE TO PROSECUTE
Defendant.
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Case No. 1:17-cv-01093-DAD-BAM (PC)
(ECF No. 15)
v.
COMPAS,
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FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE
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I.
Background
Plaintiff Donald Tremayne Britton (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in
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forma pauperis in this civil rights action. This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate
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Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.
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On February 15, 2018, the Court issued a screening order finding that Plaintiff had stated
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a cognizable claim against Defendant Compras for failure to protect him from an assault by
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Inmate Hampton on November 12, 2016, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, but failed to
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state any other claims. (ECF No. 11.) The Court ordered Plaintiff to file, within thirty days, a
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first amended complaint or to notify the Court of his willingness to proceed only on the
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cognizable claim against Defendant Compras. (Id. at 6.) After more than thirty days had passed
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and Plaintiff failed to file a first amended complaint or otherwise communicate with the Court
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regarding this action, the undersigned issued findings and recommendations regarding dismissal
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of this action for failure to obey a court order and failure to prosecute. (ECF No. 12.)
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On April 16, 2018, Plaintiff filed objections to the findings and recommendations,
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together with a first amended complaint. (ECF Nos. 13, 14.) As it appeared Plaintiff attempted
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to timely file his first amended complaint in compliance with the Court’s February 15, 2018
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order, the Court vacated the findings and recommendations and screened Plaintiff’s first amended
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complaint. (ECF No. 15.) The Court found that Plaintiff’s first amended complaint failed to state
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a cognizable claim, and Plaintiff was granted leave to file a second amended complaint within
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thirty (30) days. (Id.)
Plaintiff’s second amended complaint was due on or before June 4, 2018. Plaintiff has
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failed to file an amended complaint or otherwise communicate with the Court.
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II.
Failure to State a Claim
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A.
Screening Requirement
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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
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or 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 U.S.C.
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§ 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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Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as
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true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
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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. U.S.
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Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted
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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.
Plaintiff’s Allegations
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B.
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Plaintiff is currently housed at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California, where the
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events in the complaint are alleged to have occurred. In the original complaint, Plaintiff
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contended that Correctional Officer Compas, the sole defendant in this action, failed to protect
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Plaintiff from assault at the hands of Inmate Hampton in violation of Plaintiff’s Eighth
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Amendment rights.
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Plaintiff’s first amended complaint alleges the following:
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Furthermore as I stated in my original complaint, Inmate Hampton told C/O
Compas that he and I did not get along and he (Inmate Hampton) also made the
threat that somebodys [sic] gonna be hurt or killed. Inmate Hampton was
speaking to C/O Compas. Hampton has a history of fighting his cell mates C/O
Compas is aware of this fact. Hampton was forced upon me after fighting his
cell-mate in Bldg. 3 “facility A” C/O Compas Bldg. and C/O Compas was aware.
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Plaintiff further references pages 4 and 6 of a memorandum, but includes no attachments to the
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first amended complaint.
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C.
Discussion
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The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from inhumane methods of punishment and
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from inhumane conditions of confinement. Morgan v. Morgensen, 465 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir.
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2005). Prison officials must provide prisoners with medical care and personal safety and must
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take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the inmates. Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S.
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825, 832–33 (1994) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Prison officials have a duty under
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the Eighth Amendment to protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other prisoners because
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being violently assaulted in prison is simply not part of the penalty that criminal offenders pay for
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their offenses against society. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 833–34 (quotation marks omitted); Clem v.
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Lomeli, 566 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir. 2009); Hearns v. Terhune, 413 F.3d 1036, 1040 (9th Cir.
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2005).
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However, prison officials are liable under the Eighth Amendment only if they demonstrate
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deliberate indifference to conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm to an inmate; and it
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is well settled that deliberate indifference occurs when an official acted or failed to act despite his
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knowledge of a substantial risk of serious harm. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834, 841 (quotations
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omitted); Clem, 566 F.3d at 1181; Hearns, 413 F.3d at 1040. Where the failure to protect is
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alleged, the defendant must knowingly fail to protect plaintiff from a serious risk of conditions of
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confinement where defendant had reasonable opportunity to intervene. Orwat v. Maloney, 360
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F.Supp.2d 146, 155 (D. Mass. 2005), citing Gaudreault v. Municipality of Salem, 923 F.2d 203,
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207 n.3 (1st Cir. 1991); see also Borello v. Allison, 446 F.3d 742, 749 (7th Cir. 2006)
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(defendant’s deliberate indifference must effectively condone the attack by allowing it to happen).
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“Whether a prison official had the requisite knowledge of a substantial risk is a question of fact
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subject to demonstrating in the usual ways, including inference from circumstantial evidence, and
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a factfinder may conclude that a prison official knew of a substantial risk from the very fact that
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the risk was obvious.” Farmer, 511 U.S. at 842 (internal citations omitted).
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Based on the allegations in the first amended complaint, Plaintiff has failed to state a
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cognizable failure to protect claim against Defendant Compas, and has failed to state any other
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claims for relief. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint does not include any allegations that he has
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suffered any injury at the hands of Defendant Compas or any other person.
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An amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. Lacey v. Maricopa Cty., 693
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F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir. 2012). Therefore, Plaintiff’s amended complaint was required to be
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“complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded pleading.” Local Rule 220. To
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the extent Plaintiff’s first amended complaint references allegations made in the original
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complaint, those allegations are not properly before the Court.
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III.
Failure to Prosecute and Failure to Obey a Court Order
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A.
Legal Standard
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Local Rule 110 provides that “[f]ailure . . . of a party to comply with these Rules or with
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any order of the Court may be grounds for imposition by the Court of any and all sanctions . . .
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within the inherent power of the Court.” District courts have the inherent power to control their
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dockets and “[i]n the exercise of that power they may impose sanctions including, where
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appropriate, . . . dismissal.” Thompson v. Hous. Auth., 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir. 1986). A
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court may dismiss an action, with prejudice, based on a party’s failure to prosecute an action,
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failure to obey a court order, or failure to comply with local rules. See, e.g., Ghazali v. Moran, 46
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F.3d 52, 53–54 (9th Cir. 1995) (dismissal for noncompliance with local rule); Ferdik v. Bonzelet,
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963 F.2d 1258, 1260–61 (9th Cir. 1992) (dismissal for failure to comply with an order requiring
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amendment of complaint); Malone v. U.S. Postal Serv., 833 F.2d 128, 130–33 (9th Cir. 1987)
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(dismissal for failure to comply with court order).
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In determining whether to dismiss an action, the Court must consider several factors:
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(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the Court’s need to manage its
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docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of
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cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. Henderson v. Duncan, 779
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F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986); Carey v. King, 856 F.2d 1439, 1440 (9th Cir. 1988).
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B.
Discussion
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Here, Plaintiff’s second amended complaint is overdue, and he has failed to comply with
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the Court’s order. The Court cannot effectively manage its docket if Plaintiff ceases litigating his
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case. Thus, the Court finds that both the first and second factors weigh in favor of dismissal.
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The third factor, risk of prejudice to defendant, also weighs in favor of dismissal, since a
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presumption of injury arises from the occurrence of unreasonable delay in prosecuting an action.
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Anderson v. Air W., 542 F.2d 522, 524 (9th Cir. 1976). The fourth factor usually weighs against
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dismissal because public policy favors disposition on the merits. Pagtalunan v. Galaza, 291 F.3d
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639, 643 (9th Cir. 2002). However, “this factor lends little support to a party whose
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responsibility it is to move a case toward disposition on the merits but whose conduct impedes
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progress in that direction,” which is the case here. In re Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Products
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Liability Litigation, 460 F.3d 1217, 1228 (9th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted).
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Finally, the Court’s warning to a party that failure to obey the court’s order will result in
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dismissal satisfies the “considerations of the alternatives” requirement. Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262;
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Malone, 833 at 132–33; Henderson, 779 F.2d at 1424. The Court’s April 30, 2018 screening
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order expressly warned Plaintiff that his failure to file an amended complaint would result in a
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recommendation of dismissal of this action, with prejudice, for failure to obey a court order and
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for failure to state a claim. (ECF No. 15, p. 5.) Thus, Plaintiff had adequate warning that
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dismissal could result from his noncompliance.
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Additionally, at this stage in the proceedings there is little available to the Court that
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would constitute a satisfactory lesser sanction while protecting the Court from further
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unnecessary expenditure of its scarce resources. Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis in this
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action, making monetary sanctions of little use, and the preclusion of evidence or witnesses is
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likely to have no effect given that Plaintiff has ceased litigating his case.
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IV.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Accordingly, the Court finds that dismissal is the appropriate sanction and HEREBY
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RECOMMENDS that this action be dismissed, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim
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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, for failure to obey a Court order, and for Plaintiff’s failure to
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prosecute this action.
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These Findings and Recommendation 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)(l). Within fourteen
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(14) days after being served with these Findings and Recommendation, Plaintiff 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 Recommendation.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the
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specified time may result in the waiver of the “right to challenge the magistrate’s factual
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findings” on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v.
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Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
/s/ Barbara
June 15, 2018
A. McAuliffe
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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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