Jacobs v. CDCR
Filing
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ORDER ADOPTING 25 Findings and Recommendations and Dismissing this Action signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 4/22/2020. CASE CLOSED. (Rivera, O)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GEORGE E. JACOBS,
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No. 1:17-cv-01599-DAD-JLT (PC)
Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISMISSING
THIS ACTION
CDCR, et al.,
Defendants.
(Doc. No. 25)
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Plaintiff George E. Jacobs is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil rights action
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brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The 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 September 21, 2018, the assigned magistrate judge issued a screening order pursuant
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to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), finding that plaintiff had failed to state a claim upon which relief may
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be granted and providing plaintiff with an opportunity to amend his complaint. (Doc. No. 14.) In
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the screening order, the magistrate judge informed plaintiff that, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
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Procedure 20, he may not bring unrelated claims against multiple defendants in a single lawsuit.
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(Id. at 4–5.) The screening order outlined the pleading requirements under Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure 8(a), 18(a) and 20(a)(2) that plaintiff was required to follow in any amended complaint
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he elected to file. (Id. at 2–5.) The screening order also outlined the legal standards applicable to
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the claims that plaintiff appears to be attempting to assert in his complaint, including claims under
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the Eighth Amendment for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, state law claims
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under the California Government Tort Claims Act, claims involving supervisor liability, and
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claims implicating Eleventh Amendment immunity. (Id. at 5–10.)
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Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint (“FAC”) on December 10, 2018. (Doc. No. 18.)
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On May 2, 2019, the assigned magistrate judge issued a second screening order, finding that
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plaintiff’s FAC failed to comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 18 and 20. (Doc. No. 19.)
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The magistrate judge further found that the amended complaint was excessively long and violated
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. (Id. at 3–4.) The magistrate judge again granted plaintiff
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leave to amend, instructing him that, “[i]f he [chose] to file a second amended complaint, [he]
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shall make it as concise as possible,” and that he “must allege in specific terms how each named
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defendant is involved” in any alleged deprivation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights. (Id. at 4, 11–
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12.) In that second screening order, the magistrate judge again provided guidance to plaintiff on
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the pleading requirements and cautioned that “[t]his is the last opportunity Plaintiff will be
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provided to comply with Rules 18 and 20.” (Id. at 3, 11.) Moreover, the second screening order
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warned that “[i]f Plaintiff fails to comply with this order, this action will be dismissed for failure
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to obey a court order and for failure to state a claim.” (Id. at 12.)
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Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint (“SAC”) on August 14, 2019. (Doc. No. 23.)
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On December 13, 2019, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and recommendations,
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finding that plaintiff’s SAC again violates Rules 8 and 20, and recommending this action be
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dismissed due to plaintiff’s failure to comply with the court’s orders. (Doc. No. 25.) In the
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pending findings and recommendations, the magistrate judge categorized Plaintiff’s allegations
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into nine distinct “transactions,” “occurrences,” or “series of transactions or occurrences,” and
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found that they were unrelated for purposes of Rule 20. (Id. at 4–5.) The magistrate judge also
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found that plaintiff’s SAC was more than 20 pages longer than the FAC and “his fifteen causes of
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action are replete with redundancy, legal jargon, and conclusory statements,” despite the magistrate
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judge’s screening orders outlining Rule 8’s pleading requirements and instructing plaintiff to
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make any amended complaint as concise as possible. (Id. at 5–6.) In light of plaintiff’s repeated
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failure to comply with the pleading requirements under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
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despite extensive guidance and direction from the court in this regard, the magistrate judge found
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that plaintiff’s SAC suffers from the same deficiencies as his prior complaints, and amendment
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would be futile. (Id.) Accordingly, the magistrate judge recommended this action be dismissed.
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(Id. at 6.)
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The findings and recommendations were served on plaintiff and contained notice that any
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objections thereto were to be filed within twenty-one (21) days after service. (Id.) On March 16,
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2020, after receiving two extensions of time to do so, plaintiff filed objections to the pending
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findings and recommendations. (Doc. No. 31.)
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In his objections, plaintiff admits that “his first complaint was written very badly” but
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states that he is “confused as to what the issue is with his complaint,” and he does not “see any
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procedural defects with his complaint in violation of [Rules] 8(a), 18, or 20.” (Doc. No. 31 at 2.)
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First, plaintiff states in his objections that he is confused about why the length of his SAC
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(40 handwritten pages) is an issue, particularly because he has filed complaints in his other civil
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cases that were just as long or longer. (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff contends that this action should not be
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dismissed just because his SAC is lengthy. (Id.) The undersigned does not interpret the pending
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findings and recommendations as recommending dismissal of this action based solely on the
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length of plaintiff’s SAC, but rather that because plaintiff has failed to comply with Rule 8 and
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the court’s prior screening orders, the magistrate judge was not able to parse through plaintiff’s
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SAC to determine whether he has sufficiently stated any cognizable claims against any of the
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named defendants. Plaintiff also interpreted the pending findings and recommendations as
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recommending dismissal because “plaintiff cited too many causes of action.” (Id. at 3.) But the
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magistrate judge did not find that the number of causes of action warranted dismissal of plaintiff’s
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SAC. Rather, the issue with plaintiff’s various causes of action is that they “are replete with
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redundancy, legal jargon, and conclusory statements.” (Doc. No. 25 at 5.)
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Second, plaintiff argues that the magistrate judge screened his SAC pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915A, but the recommendation to dismiss plaintiff’s SAC is not based on any of the
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enumerated grounds for dismissal stated in 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)—that is, if the complaint is
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frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary
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relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. (Id. at 5) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)).
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According to plaintiff, the magistrate judge could only have recommended dismissal of his SAC
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based on one of those enumerated grounds, not based on a failure to comply with Rules 8(a), 18,
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or 20. (Id. at 5.) Plaintiff is mistaken. A complaint may be dismissed due to failure to comply
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with a court order or failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Fed. R.
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Civ. P. 41(b); see also McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 1996) (“the district court
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did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the entire complaint for violation of Rule 8 and of the
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court’s orders”); Knapp v. Harrison, No. CV 06-7702-JVS(RC), 2008 WL 4334683, at *1 (C.D.
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Cal. Sept. 12, 2008) (finding that a second amended complaint failed to comply with Rule 8 and
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dismissing action with prejudice under Rule 41(b)).
Third, plaintiff contends that the magistrate judge’s reasons for recommending dismissal
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of his SAC—that plaintiff may not join unrelated claims against multiple defendants in a single
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action and that he fails to show how the alleged occurrences are related—are misguided and
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contrary to law. (Id. at 8.) However, plaintiff cites only to case law regarding proper pleading of
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alternative legal theories of recovery based on the same set of circumstances. (Id. at 8.) None of
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plaintiff’s arguments, or the legal authority he cites in support thereof, call into question the
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magistrate judge’s analysis of whether plaintiff’s SAC complied with the requirements of Rules
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18 and 20. Plaintiff states that his SAC “has 8 defendants and 15 causes of actions [sic] all
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arising from a single event, plaintiff’s broken arm & ensuing medical treatment thereafter which
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expanded to a 5 month stay in the prison’s medical facility, resulting in injuries still present to
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this day.”1 (Id. at 3.) Plaintiff further contends that joinder is proper in this case because: all of
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Plaintiff believes the magistrate judge misstated the number of defendants named in plaintiff’s
SAC as ten defendants, because he contends that he only listed 8 defendants therein. (Doc. No.
31 at 11.) The undersigned has reviewed the SAC and agrees with the magistrate judge that
plaintiff has in fact named ten defendants: (1) CDCR; (2) Clark, Chief Medical Officer of CSPCorcoran; (3) K. Aye, Chief Physician and Surgeon at CSP-Corcoran; (4) Miranda, L.V.N.
Technician at CSP-Corcoran; (5) John Doe # 1, Chief Mental Health Services Doctor employed
by CDCR; (6) Jane Doe # 1, custodial officer employed by CDCR; (7) Sgt. John Doe # 2,
custodial officer employed by CDCR; (8) John Doe # 3, custodial officer employed by CDCR to
transport prisoners for medical care; (9) John Doe # 4, custodial officer employed by CDCR to
transport prisoners for medical care; and (10) John Doe # 5, Physician Doctor at CSP-Corcoran.
(See Doc. No. 23 at 9–12.) The fact that plaintiff believes that he only listed 8 defendants
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the alleged occurrences “transpired at CSP-Corcoran – long term housing infirmary, where
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plaintiff was situated due to the severity of his injury from November 13, 2015–May 2016”; all
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defendants were “employees at CSP-Corcoran and assigned to their post” in the infirmary; and
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“plaintiff came in contact with these defendants on a daily basis.” (Id. at 9.) Plaintiff argues that
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even if there is a misjoinder of the parties in his SAC, the court should “drop a party” or “sever a
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claim against a party, but not dismiss the action.” (Id. at 9) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 21)).
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Despite plaintiff’s assertion that all of his claims arise from the single event of his broken
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arm, plaintiff does not actually show how all of the alleged occurrences are related. For example,
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it was unclear to the magistrate judge, and remains unclear to the undersigned as it would to
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anyone reading the SAC, how plaintiff’s broken arm is related to his lip laceration, or to his being
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handcuffed while he was transported to the hospital for his hernia surgery, or to his being denied
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a soft diet when he was suffering from a stomach virus. Moreover, as far as the undersigned can
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discern from the SAC, different defendants were involved in each of these alleged occurrences.
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Thus, the undersigned agrees with the magistrate judge’s findings that plaintiff has improperly
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joined claims and defendants in violation of Rules 18 and 20. The undersigned also agrees with
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the caution given to plaintiff in the second screening order that “[t]he fact that all of Plaintiff’s
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allegations are based on the same type of constitutional violation (i.e. deliberate indifference to
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different medical needs) does not make claims related for purposes of Rule 18(a).” (Doc. No. 19
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at 6.) Although plaintiff is correct that under Rule 21, “[m]isjoinder of parties is not a ground for
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dismissing an action,” and “the court may at any time, on just terms, add or drop a party” and
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“may also sever any claim against a party,” plaintiff’s failure to comply with Rule 8 makes that
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approach impractical; it is not possible to discern which defendant(s) to drop and/or which claims
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to sever. Plaintiff’s SAC does not clearly identify which of the many named defendants he brings
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each of his fifteen causes of action against. In addition, the titles of plaintiff’s various the causes
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of action do not provide any clarity because many of those causes of action have identical titles.
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supports this court’s determination that plaintiff’s SAC violates Rule 8 and lacks sufficient
clarity, making it difficult to discern against which defendant plaintiff is attempting to bring each
of his various claims.
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In sum, plaintiff’s objections do not provide any basis upon which to reject the pending
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findings and recommendations. In addition, under the circumstances of this case as outlined
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above, it is apparent that granting further leave to amend would be futile because plaintiff has no
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intention of curing the deficiencies that have been pointed out to him in great detail by the
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screening orders.
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In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C), this court has conducted a
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de novo review of this case. Having carefully reviewed the entire file, including plaintiff’s
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objections, the court finds the findings and recommendations to be supported by the record and
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by proper analysis.
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Accordingly,
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are adopted;
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The findings and recommendations issued on December 13, 2019 (Doc. No. 25)
This action is dismissed due to plaintiff’s failure to obey a court order and failure
to comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8 and 20; and
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The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
April 22, 2020
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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