Jones v. Sahota et al
Filing
101
FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 7/31/12 RECOMMENDING that 58 , 71 , 63 , 85 , 87 , 81 , 99 , 72 , 77 , 91 Motions for a preliminary injunction be denied. Referred to Judge Morrison C. England, Jr.; Objections to F&R due within 14 days after being served with these findings and recommendations. (Meuleman, A)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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HENRY A. JONES,
Plaintiff,
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vs.
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No. 2:10-cv-3206 MCE EFB P
SAHOTA, et al.,
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Defendants.
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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42
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U.S.C. § 1983. This action proceeds on his claim that defendants Sahota, Venderstyme, Suarto,
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and Jaffe responded to his chronic insomnia with deliberate indifference in violation of his
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Eighth Amendment rights. See Feb. 9, 2011 Am. Compl., Dckt. No. 12. Through no fewer than
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ten motions, plaintiff seeks the issuance of a preliminary injunction mandating that (1) his
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insomnia be treated with appropriate medication, (2) he be housed in a single cell, (3) he be
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placed in the Enhanced Outpatient Program yard, (4) he be transferred to another institution, and
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(5) that the court monitor his mail and investigate the law library. See Dckt. Nos. 58, 63, 71, 72,
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77, 81, 85, 87-1, 91, 99. Defendants have opposed plaintiff’s motions. See Dckt. Nos. 60, 64,
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75, 76, 78, 82, 92, 94. For the reasons stated below, plaintiff’s motions for a preliminary
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injunction must be denied.
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A preliminary injunction will not issue unless necessary to prevent threatened injury that
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would impair the court’s ability to grant effective relief in a pending action. Sierra On-Line, Inc.
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v. Phoenix Software, Inc., 739 F.2d 1415, 1422 (9th Cir. 1984); Gon v. First State Ins. Co., 871
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F.2d 863 (9th Cir. 1989). A preliminary injunction represents the exercise of a far reaching
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power not to be indulged except in a case clearly warranting it. Dymo Indus. v. Tapeprinter,
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Inc., 326 F.2d 141, 143 (9th Cir. 1964). In order to be entitled to preliminary injunctive relief, a
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party must demonstrate “that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer
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irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor,
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and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586 F.3d 1109, 1127
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(9th Cir. 2009) (citing Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7 (2008)). The Ninth
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Circuit has also held that the “sliding scale” approach it applies to preliminary injunctions--that
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is, balancing the elements of the preliminary injunction test, so that a stronger showing of one
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element may offset a weaker showing of another--survives Winter and continues to be valid.
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Alliance for Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 622 F.3d 1045, 1050 (9th Cir. 2010). “In other words,
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‘serious questions going to the merits,’ and a hardship balance that tips sharply toward the
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plaintiff can support issuance of an injunction, assuming the other two elements of the Winter
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test are also met.” Id.
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In cases brought by prisoners involving conditions of confinement, any preliminary
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injunction “must be narrowly drawn, extend no further than necessary to correct the harm the
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court finds requires preliminary relief, and be the least intrusive means necessary to correct the
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harm.” 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(2).
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In resolving an earlier filed motion for a preliminary injunction, the court determined that
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plaintiff had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of his claim that defendants’ refusal
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to prescribe him sleep aid medication amounted to deliberate indifference. See Dckt. Nos. 53 at
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9, 10 (“plaintiff has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits [and] it is not likely
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that plaintiff will be able to demonstrate more than a difference of opinion concerning the
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appropriate medical treatment for his insomnia.”); Dckt. No. 62. Additionally, the court
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informed plaintiff that his general disagreement with the treatment he received is not enough to
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establish deliberate indifference. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976); Jackson v.
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McIntosh, 90 F.3d 330, 331 (9th Cir. 1996); Hutchinson v. United States, 838 F.2d 390, 394 (9th
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Cir. 1988). Additionally, evidence that medical caregivers disagreed as to the need to pursue one
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course of treatment over another is also insufficient, by itself, to establish deliberate indifference.
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Jackson, 90 F.3d at 332. Rather, plaintiff must show that the course chosen by the defendants
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was medically unacceptable under the circumstances. Jackson, 90 F.3d at 332.
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Again, plaintiff fails to demonstrate that he is likely to prevail on the merits, as he has not
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offered evidence demonstrating that defendants’ choice of treatment for plaintiff is “medically
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unacceptable under the circumstances . . . and that [defendants’] chose this course in conscious
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disregard of an excessive risk to plaintiff's health.” Jackson, 90 F.3d at 332. Thus, plaintiff has
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not shown that his preferred course of treatment amounts to more than a difference in opinion as
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to the nature and extent of plaintiff’s condition and the methodology of treatment. See Sanchez
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v. Vild, 891 F.2d 240, 242 (9th Cir. 1989) (a difference in opinion between medical personnel
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does not amount to deliberate indifference). For this reason, plaintiff’s motions must be denied.
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Plaintiff’s motions must also be denied to the extent that he seeks injunctive relief based
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on claims arising out of events entirely distinct from his Eighth Amendment claim against
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defendants. Those claims are properly the subject of another lawsuit and cannot be cannot be
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adjudicated in this action, where they cannot be properly exhausted through the administrative
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appeals. See McKinney v. Carey, 311 F.3d 1198, 1199-1201 (9th Cir. 2002) (per curiam) and
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Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 F.3d 1002, 1004-07 (9th Cir. 2010) (together holding that claims must
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be exhausted prior to the filing of the original or supplemental complaint); Jones v. Felker, No.
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CIV S-08-0096 KJM EFB P, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13730, at *11-15 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 11, 2011);
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2) (multiple defendants may be joined in an action only where the suit
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regards “the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences” or “any
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question of law or fact common to all defendants”).
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Through his numerous motions, plaintiff also asks that the court order non-parties to
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act. However, the court cannot issue an order against individuals who are not parties to a suit
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pending before it. See Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 112 (1969).
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See also Zepeda v. United States Immigration Service, 753 F.2d 719, 727 (9th Cir. 1985) (“A
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federal court may issue an injunction if it has personal jurisdiction over the parties and subject
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matter jurisdiction over the claim; it may not attempt to determine the rights of persons not
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before the court.”).
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Additionally, plaintiff speculates that he will irreparably harmed in the absence of a
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change in his housing status, but “[s]peculative injury does not constitute irreparable injury to
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warrant granting a preliminary injunction.” Caribbean Marine Servs. Co., v. Baldrige, 844 F.2d
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668, 674 (9th Cir. 1988). Moreover, inmates do not have a constitutional right to be housed at a
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particular facility or institution or to be transferred, or not transferred, from one facility or
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institution to another. Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 244-48 (1983); Johnson v. Moore,
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948 F.2d 517, 519 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam).
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary
injunction (Dckt. Nos. 58, 63, 71, 72, 77, 81, 85, 87-1, 91, 99) be denied.
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These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge
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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen days
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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.” Failure to file objections
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within the specified time may waive the right to appeal the District Court’s order. Turner v.
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Duncan, 158 F.3d 449, 455 (9th Cir. 1998); Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
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DATED: July 31, 2012.
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