Bradford v. Platt

Filing 13

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 08/29/12 ordering plaintiff's amended complaint is dismissed. Plaintiff is granted 30 days from the date of service of this order to file a second amended complaint. (Plummer, M)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DARRELL BRADFORD,

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Plaintiff,

Defendant.

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ORDER

vs.

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No. 2:12-cv-1532 CKD P

S. PLATT,

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with an action

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filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. By order filed August 2, 2012, plaintiff’s complaint was

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dismissed with leave to file an amended complaint. Plaintiff has now filed an amended

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complaint.

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The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief

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against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised

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claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be

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granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28

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U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2).

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In order to avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain

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more than “naked assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements

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of a cause of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-557 (2007). In other

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

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statements do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). Furthermore, a

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claim upon which the court can grant relief has facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570.

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“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to

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draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 129

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S. Ct. at 1949. When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be

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granted, the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200

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(2007), and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Scheuer v.

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Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974).

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Plaintiff alleges that in October 2011, he was informed by medical staff at

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Pleasant Valley State Prison that he had contracted “valley fever.” He subsequently became very

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ill. The only defendant identified by plaintiff is “Classification Staff Representative S. Platt.”1 It

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appears defendant Platt worked at High Desert State Prison when plaintiff was transferred from

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there to Pleasant Valley and that plaintiff blames his contracting “valley fever” on the persons

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who transferred plaintiff from High Desert to Pleasant Valley. However, plaintiff fails to allege

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facts from which a reasonable inference could be drawn that it was Platt that transferred plaintiff

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to Pleasant Valley. Therefore, he pleads no facts suggesting Platt caused plaintiff any injury.

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In light of the foregoing, plaintiff’s amended complaint will be dismissed. The

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court will give plaintiff one final opportunity to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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Plaintiff is reminded that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment

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imposes on prison officials, among other things, a duty to “take reasonable measures to guarantee

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Plaintiff names “Doe” defendants as well.
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the safety of the inmates.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1991) (quoting Hudson v.

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Palmer, 468 U.S. 517, 526-27 (1984)). To state a claim for failure to adequately protect an

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inmate under the Eighth Amendment, plaintiff must allege facts from which a reasonable

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inference can be drawn that a prison official exposed plaintiff to a “substantial risk of serious

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harm,” while displaying “deliberate indifference” to that risk. Id. at 834. So, for plaintiff to state

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a claim against defendant Platt, he would have to allege: 1) Platt was the one that transferred

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plaintiff to Pleasant Valley; 2) when Platt did so, Platt subjected plaintiff to a substantial risk of

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serious harm to which Platt was indifferent; and 3) the transfer caused plaintiff injury.

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Also, plaintiff is again informed that the court cannot refer to a prior pleading in

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order to make plaintiff’s second amended complaint complete. Local Rule 220 requires that an

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amended complaint be complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. This is

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because, as a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v.

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Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files a second amended complaint, the

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original pleading no longer serves any function in the case. Therefore, in a second amended

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complaint, as in an original complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant must

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be sufficiently alleged.

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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed; and

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2. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file a

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second amended complaint that complies with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act, the

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice; the second amended complaint

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must bear the docket number assigned this case and must be labeled “Second Amended

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Complaint”; plaintiff must file an original and two copies of the second amended complaint;

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failure to file a second amended complaint in accordance with this order will result in dismissal.

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Dated: August 29, 2012

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_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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