Rogers v. Warden

Filing 14

ORDER Directing Clerk's Office to Assign Matter to a District Judge; FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS to Allow Plaintiff to Proceed on Cognizable Claims and Dismiss Official Capacity Claims signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 10/04/2019. Referred to Judge O'Neill; Objections to F&R due by 10/21/2019. (Flores, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PHILIP JAMES ROGERS,

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CASE NO. 1:18-cv-0846 JLT (PC)
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK’S OFFICE
TO ASSIGN MATTER TO A DISTRICT
JUDGE; AND

Plaintiff,

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v.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
TOALLOW PLAINTIFF TO PROCEED
ON COGNIZABLE CLAIMS AND
DISMISS OFFICIAL CAPACITY CLAIMS

RODRIGUEZ, et al.,
Defendants.

(Doc. 13)

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FOURTEEN-DAY DEADLINE

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Plaintiff has filed a first amended complaint asserting claims against employees of the

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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (Doc. 13.) Generally, the Court is

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required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or

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officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a

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complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally “frivolous,

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malicious,” or that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary

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

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“Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall

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dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action or appeal . . . fails to state a

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claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).

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I.

Pleading Standard

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

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

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“[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements,

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do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,

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550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiffs must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to

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state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Facial plausibility

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demands more than the mere possibility that a defendant committed misconduct and, while factual

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allegations are accepted as true, legal conclusions are not. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677-78.

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Section 1983 “provides a cause of action for the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or

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immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” Wilder v. Virginia Hosp.

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Ass'n, 496 U.S. 498, 508 (1990) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 1983). To state a claim under section 1983,

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a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws

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of the United States was violated and (2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person

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acting under the color of state law. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Ketchum v.

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Alameda Cnty., 811 F.2d 1243, 1245 (9th Cir. 1987).

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Under section 1983 the plaintiff must demonstrate that each defendant personally

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participated in the deprivation of his rights. Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002).

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This requires the presentation of factual allegations sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief.

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). Prisoners

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proceeding pro se in civil rights actions are entitled to have their pleadings liberally construed and

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to have any doubt resolved in their favor, Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010)

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(citations omitted), but nevertheless, the mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting the

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plausibility standard, Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.

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II.

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Plaintiff’s Allegations
Plaintiff brings this action against Correctional Officers Rodriguez and Sergeant

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Benecourt, employees of Kern Valley State Prison where plaintiff was incarcerated at times

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relevant to this action. The defendant is sued in his or her individual and official capacities.

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Plaintiff’s allegations can be fairly summarized as follows:

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On June 22, 2017, plaintiff was working in the KVSP kitchen when CO Rodriguez

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directed him to stack boxes of ice in the walk-in freezer. Plaintiff explained that there was frozen

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water on the ground, which would make it dangerous to walk in there without proper shoes and

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especially lifting heavy boxes of ice. CO Rodriguez threatened plaintiff with a write-up if he did

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not do as asked. Plaintiff again explained to CO Rodriguez that a few other inmates had fallen

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hard trying to walk on that floor, and he asked if he could get the right sort of boots to wear.

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When CO Rodriguez asked why plaintiff didn’t have them already, plaintiff informed her that

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Sgt. Benecourt refused to get them even after someone fell on the freezer floor two days prior.

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CO Rodriguez again threatened plaintiff with a write-up if he did not comply with her order.

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Plaintiff then approached Sgt. Benecourt, the central kitchen supervisor, to get proper

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boots to work in the freezer, but this defendant refused to get any boots and simply told plaintiff

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to be careful. Per plaintiff, Sgt. Benecourt knew that rubber boots should be worn in certain areas

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of the kitchen for safety purposes, and plaintiff had asked him multiple times previously for

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rubber boots so that he could work safely in the freezer, to no avail.

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Not wanting to be written-up, plaintiff walked into the freezer to load the ice when he lost

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his footing and fell hard onto his head and back. As a result, plaintiff remained in a wheelchair for

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four months. The fall caused permanent nerve damage that limits his mobility and causes back

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pain and migraine headaches.

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Plaintiff brings Eighth Amendment claims of cruel and unusual punishment, failure to

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protect, and deliberate indifference to medical needs. He seeks injunctive relief and damages.

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III.

Discussion

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A.

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Plaintiff’s official capacity claims for damages against the defendants are barred by the

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Official Capacity Claims

Eleventh Amendment. See Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 169-70 (1985) (Eleventh

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Amendment immunity from damages in federal court action against state remains in effect when

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state officials are sued for damages in their official capacity). Plaintiff’s damages request against

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defendants in their official capacity should therefore be dismissed with prejudice because it

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cannot be cured through amendment.

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An exception to Eleventh Amendment immunity occurs when a plaintiff seeks prospective

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injunctive relief, but this exception “applies only to state officials with the ability to provide

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injunctive relief in their official capacities.” Roberts v. Cal. Dept. of Corr., 2007 WL 951289 at

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*2 (N.D. Cal. 2007). Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief here is “that the policy and practice of

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demanding work be done without the proper safety gear, clothing, shoes or boots, stop.” First

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Am. Compl. 6. At this pleading stage, the Court will presume that the named defendants have

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control over this practice and will recommend that this request for relief be allowed to proceed.

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B.

Eighth Amendment Claims

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The Eighth Amendment prohibits the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishments.” U.S.

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Const. amend. VIII. The unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain constitutes cruel and unusual

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punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986);

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Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 670 (1977); Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 105-06 (1976).

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The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from inhumane conditions of confinement as

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well as inhumane methods of punishment. Morgan v. Morgensen, 465 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir.

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2006). The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment applies to all conditions within a

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prison, including work programs, medical care, housing facilities, security measures, etc. See,

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e.g., Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 344-47 (1981). To be actionable, a prison official’s

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conduct “must involve more than ordinary lack of due care for the prisoner’s interests or safety.”

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Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986); see also Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104

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(1976); Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 298-99 (1991) (“It is obduracy and wantonness, not

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inadvertence or error in good faith, that characterize the conduct prohibited by the Cruel and

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Unusual Punishments Clause, whether that conduct occurs in connection with establishing

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conditions of confinement, supplying medical needs, or restoring official control over a

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tumultuous cellblock”). “[D]eliberate indifference describes a state of mind more blameworthy

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than negligence.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 835–36 & n. 4 (1994); Toguchi v. Chung,

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391 F.3d 1051, 1057 (9th Cir. 2004).

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An unsafe workplace alone does not equal a per se violation of the Eighth Amendment.

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See Osolinski v. Kane, 92 F.3d 934, 938 (9th Cir. 1996). In the context of prisoner working

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conditions, the Eighth Amendment is implicated only when a prisoner alleges that a prison

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official compelled him to “perform physical labor which [was] beyond [his] strength, endanger[ed

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his life] or health, or cause[d] undue pain.” Morgan, 465 F.3d at 1045, quoting Berry v. Bunnell,

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39 F.3d 1056 (9th Cir. 1994). Prison officials are liable for a prisoner’s workplace injury only if

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they were deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837

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(“the official must both be aware of the facts from which the inference could be drawn that a

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substantial risk of harm exists, and he must also draw the inference”); see Wilson, 501 U.S. at

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298–99, 302–03 (the official must actually know of the risk yet fail to take reasonable measures

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to ensure the prisoner’s safety); see also LeMaire v. Mass, 12 F.3d 1444 (9th Cir. 1993). Even

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“[i]f a prison official should have been aware of the risk, but was not, then the official has not

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violated the Eighth Amendment, no matter how severe the risk.” Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834.
Although a prison official’s conduct need not have been undertaken for the purpose of

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causing an inmate harm before it violates the constitution, a “sufficiently culpable state of mind”

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requires that the conduct involve more than mere negligence. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837, 847

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(nothing less than recklessness in the criminal sense, that is, subjective disregard of a risk of harm

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of which the actor is actually aware, satisfies the “deliberate indifference” element of an Eighth

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Amendment claim). If the risk of harm was obvious, the trier of fact may infer that a defendant

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knew of the risk, but obviousness per se will not impart knowledge as a matter of law. Id. at 840–

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42.

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Plaintiff accuses defendants of refusing to provide him with proper safety gear (to wit,

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rubber boots) before forcing him to work in the freezer, despite having knowledge of prior falls

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that injured other inmates and knowledge of the need for proper gear. Liberally construed, the

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Court finds these allegations sufficient to show that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to

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a substantial risk of serious harm to plaintiff.

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IV.

Conclusion

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Plaintiff has consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. (ECF No. 10.). However, no

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defendants have appeared or consented. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS that Clerk’s Office to

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randomly assign this matter to a district judge pursuant to Local Rule 120(e); and

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The Court RECOMMENDS that this action proceed against defendants Correctional

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Officer Rodriguez and Sergeant Benecourt in their individual capacities on an Eighth Amendment

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claim of deliberate indifference for damages. Plaintiff may also proceed on an official capacity

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claim for prospective injunctive relief that takes the form of providing proper safety gear and

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clothing to inmates before work is commenced. Plaintiff’s official capacity claims for damages

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should be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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These findings and recommendations 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)(1). Within fourteen (14)

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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 and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned

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“Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any reply to the objections

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shall be served and filed within 14 days after service of the objections. The parties are advised that

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failure to file objections within the specified time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal.

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Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (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:

October 4, 2019

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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