(PC) Raja v. Cryer et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING Defendant Kim's 26 Motion for Summary Judgment signed by Magistrate Judge Helena M. Barch-Kuchta on 07/19/2021. (Flores, E)
Case 1:19-cv-00817-HBK Document 44 Filed 07/19/21 Page 1 of 4
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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KHURAM RAJA,
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Case No. 1:19-cv-00817-HBK
Plaintiff,
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ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT KIM’S
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT1
v.
(Doc. No. 26)
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RYAN KIM, Medical Doctor,
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Defendant.
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Pending before the Court is Defendant Kim’s Motion for Summary Judgment filed
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October 15, 2020. (Doc. No. 26). Defendant Kim filed this exhaustion-based motion for
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summary judgment on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies
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prior to bringing this suit as mandated by the Prison Litigation Reform Act. (See generally, Id.).
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In support, Defendant submits a statement of undisputed facts (Doc. No. 28); a sworn declaration
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from Defendant Kim (Doc. No. 29 at 4-5); and a sworn declaration from S. Gates, Chief of Health
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Care Correspondence and Appeals Branch Policy and Risk Management Services (Doc. No. 29 at
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7-9). Plaintiff filed an opposition with exhibits in support. (Doc. No. 33). Defendant filed a
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reply. (Doc. No. 34). This matter is fully briefed. The Court denies Defendant’s exhaustion-
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The parties consented to magistrate judge jurisdiction over this action for all purposes, including trial,
and entry of final judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), and this case has been reassigned to the
undersigned. (Doc. Nos. 10, 42, 43).
Case 1:19-cv-00817-HBK Document 44 Filed 07/19/21 Page 2 of 4
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based motion for summary judgment because Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint was filed after
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Plaintiff was released from prison and binding Ninth Circuit precedent holds that the affirmative
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defense of exhaustion does not apply to the operative complaint filed post-release.
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I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Khuram Raja (“Plaintiff’ or “Raja”) initiated this action by filing a pro se civil
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rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on June 12, 2019. (Doc. No. 1, “Complaint”). Raja was
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a state prisoner housed at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility & State Prison (“SATF”), part
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of the California Department of Corrections, at the time this action was filed. (Id. at 1). The
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then-assigned magistrate judge granted Raja in forma pauperis status and assessed the full filing
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fee as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) due to his prisoner status. (Doc. No. 7). On July 29,
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2019, Raja filed a Notice of Change of Address indicating he was no longer incarcerated. (Doc.
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No. 8). On November 4, 2019, the Court screened the Complaint and found it stated a cognizable
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Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Kim but no other claims. (Doc. No. 11). The Court
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gave Raja the option of filing an amended complaint or standing on his Complaint as screened.
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(Id.). On December 2, 2019, Raja moved for an extension of time to file an amended complaint,
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noting he had been released from prison, inter alia. (Doc. No. 12). The Court granted Raja an
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extension of time (Doc. No. 13), and Raja filed his First Amended Complaint on January 2, 2020.
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(Doc. No. 14, “FAC”). The FAC, which is the operative pleading, alleges an Eighth Amendment
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medical deliberate indifference claim against Defendant Ryan Kim (“Kim”), who was Raja’s
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primary medical care provider while he was confined at SATF. (Id.). Raja states he suffers from
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a spinal condition and claims Kim failed to provide him with necessary surgery and falsified
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Raja’s medical records to minimize the severity of his condition so he would not receive surgery
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while imprisoned. (Id.). In addition to denying him surgery, Raja claims Kim also denied him a
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“walker/wheelchair,” “foam/pressure mattress” and “foam pillows.” (Id. at 20-24). As a result,
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Raja claims he is now “handicapped” and suffers from recurrent pain throughout his body, serious
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mobility issues, and emotional distress. (Id. at 3). As relief, Raja seeks compensatory and
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punitive damages. (Id. at 24-25).
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Case 1:19-cv-00817-HBK Document 44 Filed 07/19/21 Page 3 of 4
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Defendant Kim answered the FAC on July 15, 2020. (Doc. No. 22). Consistent with the
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Court’s Scheduling Order, Defendant filed an exhaustion-based motion for summary judgment on
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the grounds that Raja failed to exhaust his administrative remedies prior to bringing this suit
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against him, as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act. (Doc. No. 26).
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II. APPLICABLE LAW AND ANALYSIS
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Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, “[n]o action shall be brought with
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respect to prison conditions under [42 U.S.C. § 1983], or any other Federal law, by a prisoner
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confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are
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available are exhausted.” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Exhaustion is condition precedent to filing a
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civil rights claim. Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 93 (2006); see also McKinney v. Carey, 311
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F.3d 1198, 1200 (9th Cir. 2002) (“Congress could have written a statute making exhaustion a
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precondition to judgment, but it did not. The actual statute makes exhaustion a precondition to
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suit.” (citation omitted)). The exhaustion requirement “applies to all inmate suits about prison
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life.” Porter v. Nussle, 534 U.S. 516, 532 (2002). Further, the nature of the relief sought by the
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prisoner or the relief offered by the prison’s administrative process is of no consequence. Booth
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v. Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 741 (2001). And, because the PLRA’s text and intent requires
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“proper” exhaustion, a prisoner does not satisfy the PLRA’s administrative grievance process if
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he files an untimely or procedurally defective grievance or appeal. Woodford, 548 U.S. at 93. A
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prisoner need not plead or prove exhaustion. Instead it is an affirmative defense that must be
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proved by the defendant. Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 211 (2007). A prison’s internal grievance
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process, not the PLRA, determines whether the grievance satisfies the PLRA exhaustion
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requirement. Id. at 218. The PLRA recognizes no exception to the exhaustion requirement, and
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the court may not recognize a new exception, even in “special circumstances.” Ross v. Blake, 136
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S. Ct. 1850, 1862 (2016). The one significant qualifier is that “the remedies must indeed be
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‘available’ to the prisoner.” Id. at 1856.
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The Ninth Circuit held “that a plaintiff who was in custody at the time he initiated his suit
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but was free when he filed his amended operative complaint is not a ‘prisoner’ subject to the
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PLRA exhaustion defense.” Jackson v. Fong, 870 F.3d 928, 935 (9th Cir. 2017). Noting that the
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Case 1:19-cv-00817-HBK Document 44 Filed 07/19/21 Page 4 of 4
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operative complaint “completely supersedes” an earlier complaint, the Ninth Circuit determined
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the relevant inquiry is when the amended complaint became operative under the Federal Rules of
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Civil Procedure. Id.
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This Court is cognizant that a number of other Circuit Courts deem the operative time to
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be the date the action is filed versus the date the operative pleading is filed. See e.g. May v.
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Segovia, 929 F.3d 1223, 1229, 1234 (10th Cir. 2019) (an amended complaint “supersedes the
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original complaint’s allegations but not its timing” and the plaintiff thus “was required to exhaust
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any available administrative remedies.”); Cox v. Mayer, 332 F.3d 422, 425 (6th Cir. 2003)
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(finding that “plaintiff was required to exhaust any available administrative remedies before he
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filed suit” and “his suit must be dismissed” even though plaintiff was no longer incarcerated);
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Harris v. Garner, 216 F.3d 970, 974 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (holding that subsequent release
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does not excuse a former prisoner from exhaustion because the term “brought” in 42 U.S.C. §
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1997e referred to the filing of the action). At least one Circuit Court, post-Jackson adopted the
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Ninth Circuit’s reasoning that nothing in § 1997e(a)’s language displaces the language of the
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15. Garrett v. Wexford Health, 938 F.3d 69, 88 (3d Cir. 2019),
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cert. denied, 140 S. Ct. 1611, 206 L. Ed. 2d 955 (2020).
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It is indisputable that at the time Raja filed his FAC he was no longer incarcerated. Ninth
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Circuit binding precedent is clear that a plaintiff whose operative complaint is filed after their
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release “cannot be subject to an exhaustion defense.” Jackson, 870 F.3d 937. The affirmative
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defense of exhaustion under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) therefore does not apply to the FAC. Because
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Raja was not required to exhaust, § 1997e(a) cannot form the basis of summary judgment.
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Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
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Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 26) is DENIED.
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Dated:
July 19, 2021
HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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