Jamison v. YC Parmia Insurance Group et al
Filing
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ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 8/26/2014 GRANTING plaintiff's 2 request to proceed IFP; plaintiff shall pay the $350.00 filing fee in accordance with the concurrent CDCR order; plaintiff's complaint is DISMISSED; within 30 days, plaintiff shall complete and return the Notice of Amendment with the required documents.(Yin, K)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JEREMY JAMISON,
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Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER
YC PARMIA INSURANCE GROUP, et
al.,
Defendants.
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No. 2:14-cv-1710 GEB KJN P
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to
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42 U.S.C. § 1983 and has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
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§ 636(b)(1).
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Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted.
Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§
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1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By this order, plaintiff will be assessed an initial partial filing fee in
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accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct
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the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and
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forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated to make monthly
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payments of twenty percent of the preceding month’s income credited to plaintiff’s trust account.
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These payments will be forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time
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the amount in plaintiff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(b)(2).
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The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a
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governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The
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court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally
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“frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek
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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2).
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A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.
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Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th
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Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous when it is based on an
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indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke,
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490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully
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pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th
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Cir. 1989), superseded by statute as stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130-31 (9th Cir.
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2000) (“a judge may dismiss [in forma pauperis] claims which are based on indisputably
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meritless legal theories or whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.”); Franklin, 745 F.2d at
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1227.
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Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘a short and plain
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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the
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defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Bell Atlantic
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Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)).
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In order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, a complaint must contain more than “a
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formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;” it must contain factual allegations
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sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. at 555.
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However, “[s]pecific facts are not necessary; the statement [of facts] need only ‘give the
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defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v.
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Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (quoting Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. at 555, citations and internal
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quotations marks omitted). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as
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true the allegations of the complaint in question, Erickson, 551 U.S. at 93, and construe the
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pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236
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(1974), overruled on other grounds, Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 (1984).
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The Civil Rights Act under which this action was filed provides as follows:
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Every person who, under color of [state law] . . . subjects, or causes
to be subjected, any citizen of the United States . . . to the
deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the
Constitution . . . shall be liable to the party injured in an action at
law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
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42 U.S.C. § 1983. The statute requires that there be an actual connection or link between the
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actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See
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Monell v. Department of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978) (“Congress did not intend § 1983
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liability to attach where . . . causation [is] absent.”); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976) (no
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affirmative link between the incidents of police misconduct and the adoption of any plan or policy
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demonstrating their authorization or approval of such misconduct). “A person ‘subjects’ another
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to the deprivation of a constitutional right, within the meaning of § 1983, if he does an
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affirmative act, participates in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is
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legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy,
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588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978).
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Moreover, supervisory personnel are generally not liable under § 1983 for the actions of
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their employees under a theory of respondeat superior and, therefore, when a named defendant
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holds a supervisorial position, the causal link between him and the claimed constitutional
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violation must be specifically alleged. See Fayle v. Stapley, 607 F.2d 858, 862 (9th Cir. 1979)
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(no liability where there is no allegation of personal participation); Mosher v. Saalfeld, 589 F.2d
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438, 441 (9th Cir. 1978) (no liability where there is no evidence of personal participation), cert.
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denied, 442 U.S. 941 (1979). Vague and conclusory allegations concerning the involvement of
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official personnel in civil rights violations are not sufficient. See Ivey v. Board of Regents, 673
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F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982) (complaint devoid of specific factual allegations of personal
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participation is insufficient).
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Plaintiff alleges that while he was being transported by van from Deuel Vocational
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Institution (“DVI”) to the Yolo County Jail, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Officers did not use seat
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belts to buckle plaintiff up, nor was the van equipped with any safety belts. During this transport,
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plaintiff alleges the officer was driving 80 miles an hour and collided with a big rig on the
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interstate. Plaintiff sustained neck and back injuries, as well as “permanent left leg deadness.”
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(ECF No. 1 at 3.)
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It appears plaintiff may state a cognizable Eighth Amendment violation. However,
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plaintiff did not sign or date the complaint. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
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requires that all pleadings be signed by pro se litigants. Accordingly, plaintiff’s complaint is
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dismissed with leave to file a signed amended complaint.
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In addition, plaintiff appended various copies of pages from law books. (ECF No. 1 at 4-
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9.) Plaintiff is advised that he is not required to cite case law or other legal authorities, but rather
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should focus on the factual allegations supporting his contentions that the defendants violated his
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constitutional rights.
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Finally, plaintiff is reminded that he must include charging allegations as to each named
defendant.
The Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment imposes on prison
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officials, among other things, a duty to “take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the
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inmates.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1991) (quoting Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S.
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517, 526-27 (1984)). To properly allege an Eighth Amendment claim for failure to protect, the
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inmate must assert that he was incarcerated under conditions posing a “substantial risk of serious
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harm,” and that a prison official displayed “deliberate indifference” to that risk. Id. at 834. A
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prison official displays deliberate indifference when he is “both aware of facts from which the
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inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the
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inference.” Id. at 837.
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In any amended complaint, plaintiff must specifically identify the acts or omissions that
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plaintiff contends constitute deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s safety in violation of the Eighth
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Amendment. In other words, plaintiff must allege facts demonstrating that each named defendant
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was aware that plaintiff’s safety was at risk.
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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. Plaintiff’s request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted.
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2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. Plaintiff
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is assessed an initial partial filing fee in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(b)(1). All fees shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order to the
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Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed concurrently
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herewith.
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3. Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed.
4. Within thirty days from the date of this order, plaintiff shall complete the attached
Notice of Amendment and submit the following documents to the court:
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a. The completed Notice of Amendment; and
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b. An original and one copy of the signed Amended Complaint.
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Plaintiff’s amended complaint shall comply 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 amended complaint must
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also bear the docket number assigned to this case and must be labeled “Amended Complaint.”
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Failure to file an amended complaint in accordance with this order may result in the dismissal of
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this action.
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Dated: August 26, 2014
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/jami1710.14
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JEREMY JAMISON,
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No. 2:14-cv-1710 TLN KJN P
Plaintiff,
v.
NOTICE OF AMENDMENT
YC PARMIA INSURANCE GROUP, et
al.,
Defendants.
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Plaintiff hereby submits the following document in compliance with the court's order
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filed______________.
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Signed Amended Complaint
DATED:
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________________________________
Plaintiff
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