O'Neal v. Amah et al
Filing
37
FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 3/25/2016 RECOMMENDING that defendants' 29 motion to revoke plaintiff's ifp status be granted; plaintiff's ifp status be revoked; and plaintiff be ordered to pay the $400.00 filing fee within 30 days from any order by the district court adopting these findings and recommendations. Referred to Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr.; Objections due within 14 days. (Yin, K)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
GLENN DAVID O’NEAL,
12
Plaintiff,
13
14
v.
No. 2:14-cv-1597 GEB KJN P
FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPLAIN AMAH, et al.,
15
Defendants.
16
17
18
I. Introduction
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to
19
42 U.S.C. § 1983, and was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
20
§ 1915 on July 18, 2014. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant
21
to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). As noted in this court’s screening order, plaintiff’s amended complaint
22
states potentially cognizable claims against defendants Amah and Howard. (ECF No. 26.)
23
Defendants filed an answer. (ECF No. 28.0
24
All defendants have moved to revoke plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status on the grounds
25
that plaintiff previously filed at least three actions or appeals that constitute strikes under 28
26
U.S.C. § 1915(g), and plaintiff was not in imminent danger of physical injury at the time he filed
27
this action. In his opposition, plaintiff contends that his complaint was filed prior to the third
28
dismissal relied upon by defendants; it is unclear whether all the dismissals count as strikes; and
1
1
he was and still is in imminent danger of serious physical injury because he has not received a
2
religious diet meal since August 19, 2015. Plaintiff concedes he sustained a strike in Case No.
3
1:12-cv-1299 RRB, but argues that the other dismissals are “only permissible, not mandatory
4
strikes.” (ECF No. 35 at 2.) Plaintiff argues that because he originally filed the complaint on
5
April 28, 2014, in Case No. 2:13-cv-1054 KJN, this action is not barred because it was filed prior
6
to the alleged three strikes.
7
In reply, defendants counter that the three dismissals upon which they rely occurred on
8
February 14, 2013, August 6, 2013, and June 21, 2013, prior to the July 7, 2014 filing of the
9
instant case; thus plaintiff had sustained the strikes prior to filing the instant action. Defendants
10
argue that plaintiff has identified no physical injury that he was in danger of suffering at the time
11
of the instant filing.
12
As set forth more fully below, the court finds that plaintiff has suffered three prior
13
dismissals that constitute strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); thus, defendants’ motion to revoke
14
plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status is granted, and plaintiff must pay the filing fee in full to
15
proceed with this action.
16
II. Legal Standards
17
Title 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) is part of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”). The
18
PLRA was intended to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, and its main purpose was to address the
19
overwhelming number of prisoner lawsuits. Cano v. Taylor, 739 F.3d 1214, 1219 (9th Cir. 2014).
20
Title 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) reads:
21
22
23
24
In no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action or appeal a judgment
in a civil action or proceeding under this section if the prisoner has,
on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any
facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of the United States
that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or
fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the
prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
25
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). As the Supreme Court has stated, this “three strikes rule” was part of “a
26
variety of reforms designed to filter out the bad claims filed by prisoners and facilitate
27
consideration of the good.” Coleman v. Tollefson, 135 S. Ct. 1759, 1762 (2015) (quoting Jones
28
v. Block, 549 U.S. 199, 204 (2007)). If a prisoner has “three strikes” under § 1915(g), the
2
1
prisoner is barred from proceeding in forma pauperis unless he meets the exception for imminent
2
danger of serious physical injury. See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1052 (9th Cir.
3
2007). The Ninth Circuit has held that the complaint of a “three-strikes” prisoner must plausibly
4
allege that the prisoner was faced with imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time his
5
complaint was filed. See Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1189 (9th Cir. 2014); Cervantes,
6
493 F.3d at 1055.
7
In forma pauperis status may be acquired and lost during the course of litigation.
8
Stehouwer v. Hennessey, 841 F.Supp. 316, 321 (N.D. Cal., 1994), vacated on other grounds by
9
Olivares v. Marshall, 59 F.3d 109 (9th Cir. 1995). The plain language of the statute makes clear
10
that a prisoner is precluded from bringing a civil action or an appeal in forma pauperis if the
11
prisoner has brought three frivolous actions or appeals (or any combination thereof totaling
12
three). See Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1178 (9th Cir. 1999). Title 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g)
13
should be used to deny a prisoner’s in forma pauperis status only upon a determination that each
14
action reviewed as a potential strike is carefully evaluated to determine that it was dismissed as
15
frivolous, malicious or for failure to state a claim. Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th
16
Cir. 2005). Defendants have the burden to “produce documentary evidence that allows the
17
district court to conclude that the plaintiff has filed at least three prior actions . . . dismissed
18
because they were ‘frivolous, malicious or fail[ed] to state a claim.’” Id. at 1120 (quoting
19
§ 1915(g)). To determine whether a dismissal qualifies as a strike, a “reviewing court looks to the
20
dismissing court’s action and the reasons underlying it.” Knapp v. Hogan, 738 F.3d 1106, 1109
21
(9th Cir. 2013) (citing King, 398 F.3d at 1121), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 57 (2014).1
22
Once defendants meet their initial burden, it is plaintiff’s burden to explain why a prior
23
dismissal should not count as a strike. King, 398 F.3d at 1120. If the plaintiff fails to meet that
24
burden, plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status should be revoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). King,
25
398 F.3d at 1120.
26
////
27
28
1
Plaintiff’s argument that certain dismissals cannot count as strikes because the court did not
expressly “deem” the dismissal to be a strike is unavailing in light of Knapp and King.
3
1
III. Plaintiff’s Prior Actions
2
The court agrees with defendants that on two prior occasions, plaintiff has brought actions
3
while incarcerated that were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim upon
4
which relief may be granted. See O’Neal v. Dep’t of Children’s Services, 13-0176 UA (MAN)
5
(C.D. Cal.) (frivolous, malicious or fails to state a claim); and O’Neal v. Reovan, 13-55523 (9th
6
Cir.) (appeal found to be frivolous), see Coleman v. Tollefson, 135 S. Ct. 1759, 1761 (2015) (a
7
dismissal that is on appeal counts as a strike during the pendency of the appeal).2 (ECF No. 30 at
8
4, 42.)
9
Defendants also contend that the dismissal of plaintiff’s case O’Neal v. Solis, 1:12-cv-
10
1299 RRB (E.D. Cal.), should also be counted as a § 1915(g) strike. Defendants provided a copy
11
of the district court’s screening order and order dismissing the complaint. (ECF No. 30 at 10-40.)
12
Defendants argue that the
13
district court, in its screening order, dismissed some claims for
failure to state a claim, some claims for failure to exhaust, and some
claims on both grounds. The court allowed one claim against two
defendants to proceed. Plaintiff moved for reconsideration of the
screening order. In evaluating Plaintiff’s motion, the district court
determined that Plaintiff had failed to exhaust his claim against the
two remaining defendants, and it dismissed the case, noting that the
dismissal was also based on a failure to state a claim (see Footnote
6 of the decision) and explicitly stating that the dismissal counted as
a strike under § 1915(g) (see Page 4 of the decision).
14
15
16
17
18
19
(ECF Nos. 29-1 at 4, 30 at 26-33; 37-40.) Plaintiff appears to concede that he sustained a strike
20
in this case. (ECF No. 35 at 2.) But plaintiff then argues that the other dismissals are only
21
permissible, not mandatory strikes. (Id.)3 However, the two other cases cited by defendants were
22
dismissed as frivolous and failure to state a claim, both clearly-identified, unambiguous reasons
23
24
25
26
27
28
2
Defendants’ request for judicial notice is granted. (ECF No. 30.) A court may take judicial
notice of court records. See, e.g., Bennett v. Medtronic, Inc., 285 F.3d 801, 803 n.2 (9th Cir.
2002) (“[W]e may take notice of proceedings in other courts, both within and without the federal
judicial system, if those proceedings have a direct relation to matters at issue”) (internal quotation
omitted).
3
Plaintiff also references his case O’Neal v. Peterson, 13-cv-1054 KJM KJN (E.D. Cal.), but this
case was not dismissed. Rather, defendants were granted summary judgment on June 2, 2015.
Id. (ECF No. 44.) Such dismissal does not constitute a strike under § 1915(g).
4
1
under § 1915(g). (ECF No. 30 at 4, 42.) However, the language in Solis, 1:12-cv-1299 RRB, is
2
not as clear. Thus, despite plaintiff’s apparent concession, and liberally construing plaintiff’s
3
argument, the court has reviewed both the screening order and the dismissal order entered in
4
Solis, 1:12-cv-1299 RRB. In the initial screening order, the district found that plaintiff had
5
“failed to plead facts sufficient to warrant the granting of the relief requested, or any relief at all”
6
as to plaintiff’s claims V, VI, and VII, which were then dismissed with prejudice, and noted that
7
if plaintiff had not exhausted his administrative remedies, the court would issue a revised order.
8
Solis, 1:12-cv-1299 RRB, (ECF No. 30 at 30, 33). Upon reconsideration, in the final dismissal
9
order, the district court again dismissed plaintiff’s claims V, VI, and VII, with prejudice, and
10
specifically ordered that the dismissal be counted as a strike under § 1915(g). Solis, 1:12-cv-1299
11
RRB (ECF No. 30 at 40.) In addition, the district court also found that any appeal plaintiff might
12
file would be “frivolous or taken in bad faith,” and revoked plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status.
13
Solis, 1:12-cv-1299 RRB (ECF No. 30 at 39-40).
14
In Louis Butler O’Neal v. Price, 531 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2008), the Ninth Circuit held that
15
“when a district court disposes of an in forma pauperis complaint ‘on the grounds that [the claim]
16
is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,’ such a
17
complaint is ‘dismissed’ for purposes of § 1915(g) even if the district court styles such dismissal
18
as denial of the prisoner’s application to file the action without prepayment of the full filing fee.”
19
Id. at 1153 (alteration in original). The court also rejected the prisoner’s claim that a civil rights
20
case did not constitute a strike because it had not been dismissed for one of the reasons set forth
21
in § 1915(g). Price, 531 F.3d at 1156. In addressing whether the prisoner had sustained a strike
22
in Louis Butler O’Neal v. Parriott, No. 99-8370 (C.D. Cal.), where the district court dismissed the
23
complaint both for failure to exhaust and for failure “to state a substantive claim for the alleged
24
deprivation of his medicine,” the Ninth Circuit found that it was “clear from the magistrate
25
judge’s reasoning (which was adopted by the district court) that he considered [the prisoner’s]
26
failure to state a claim to be a fully sufficient condition for his recommendation for a dismissal
27
with prejudice.” Thus, on appeal, the Ninth Circuit found that the dismissal of Parriott was also a
28
strike under § 1915(g). Price, 531 F.3d at 1156.
5
1
Here, just as in Parriott, the reasoning of the district court in Solis is clear. In Solis, the
2
district court found that plaintiff failed to state sufficient factual allegations in support of his
3
claims V, VI, VII, and dismissed them with prejudice, and then ordered that his finding be
4
counted as a strike under § 1915(g). Thus, the dismissal of Solis, 1:12-cv-1299 RRB, also counts
5
as a strike under § 1915(g).
6
IV. Imminent Danger
7
Because plaintiff has filed three cases that constitute strikes under § 1915(g), he is
8
precluded from proceeding in forma pauperis in this action unless he can demonstrate he was
9
“under imminent danger of serious physical injury.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). “[T]he availability of
10
the [imminent danger] exception turns on the conditions a prisoner faced at the time the complaint
11
was filed, not at some earlier or later time.” Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1053 (9th Cir.
12
2007). The court reviewed plaintiff’s amended complaint, and plaintiff does not allege facts
13
demonstrating an imminent danger of serous physical injury. (ECF No. 25, passim.) In his
14
opposition, plaintiff claims that he has not received a religious diet meal since August 19, 2015,
15
and that the denial of a religious diet places him in imminent danger of serious physical injury.
16
(ECF No. 35 at 1.) However, at the time plaintiff filed his amended complaint, he was housed at
17
California State Prison, Folsom, and alleged that defendants at High Desert State Prison had
18
withheld his religious diet for two months in 2012. Plaintiff is now housed at California State
19
Prison in Corcoran. Thus, plaintiff fails to allege facts identifying the physical injury he was in
20
danger of suffering at the time he filed this action. Thus, plaintiff fails to demonstrate that he is at
21
risk of an imminent danger of serious physical injury.
22
V. Conclusion
23
Because plaintiff has sustained three strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and failed to
24
allege facts suggesting he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time he filed
25
the instant pleading, defendants’ motion should be granted, and plaintiff should be required to
26
submit the appropriate filing fee in order to proceed with this action. Plaintiff is cautioned that
27
failure to pay the filing fee will result in a recommendation that this action be granted.
28
////
6
1
In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that:
2
1. Defendants’ motion to revoke plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status (ECF No. 29) be
3
granted;
4
2. Plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status (ECF No. 4) be revoked; and
5
3. Plaintiff be ordered to pay the $400.00 filing fee within thirty days from any order by
6
the district court adopting these findings and recommendations.
7
These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge
8
assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen days
9
after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written
10
objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned
11
“Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any response to the
12
objections shall be filed and served within fourteen days after service of the objections. The
13
parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may waive the right to
14
appeal the District Court’s order. Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
15
Dated: March 25, 2016
16
17
18
/onea1597.mtd.1915g
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
7
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?