Cole vs Knipp, et al

Filing 44

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 4/27/15 ORDERING that the amended complaint (ECF No. 42 ) is dismissed for failure to comply with Rule 8 and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, and the Clerk is directed to close the case. CASE CLOSED. (Dillon, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JEFFREY COLE,

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No. 2:14-cv-1898-EFB P
Plaintiff,

v.
KNIPP, Warden, et al.,

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ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT
WITHOUT FURTHER LEAVE TO AMEND
PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915A

Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983.1 After a dismissal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, he has filed an amended

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complaint.

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Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek

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

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§ 1915A(a). The court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion

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of the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which

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relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such

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relief.” Id. § 1915A(b).

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This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1) and is before the undersigned pursuant to plaintiff’s consent. See E.D. Cal. Local
Rules, Appx. A, at (k)(4).
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A pro se plaintiff, like other litigants, must satisfy the pleading requirements of Rule 8(a)

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of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 8(a)(2) “requires a complaint to include a short and

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plain 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 Atl. Corp. v.

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Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 554, 562-563 (2007) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957)).

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While the complaint must comply with the “short and plaint statement” requirements of Rule 8,

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its allegations must also include the specificity required by Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556

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U.S. 662, 679 (2009).

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To avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than “naked

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assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of

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action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555-557. In other words, “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of

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a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at

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678.

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Furthermore, a claim upon which the court can grant relief must have facial plausibility.

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Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual

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content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the

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misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. When considering whether a complaint states a

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claim upon which relief can be granted, the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v.

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Pardus, 551 U.S. 89 (2007), and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the

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plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974).

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In response to the court’s initial screening order, which warned plaintiff that the court is

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not a repository for his evidence, he filed a 129-page document. Three of those pages are

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handwritten and purport to be an “amended complaint.” The remaining pages consist of

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miscellaneous exhibits. On one of the handwritten pages, plaintiff includes a case caption

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identifying “Mule Creek Warden Knipp, et, al.” as defendants. On another page, he includes a

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case caption identifying “Warden W. Muniz(A)” as the defendant. In the body of the complaint,

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plaintiff complains about being improperly identified as a sex offender and an adverse transfer

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that exacerbated a skin condition. The complaint does not include a request for relief.
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The initial screening order instructed plaintiff to include in an amended complaint a

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caption with the names of all defendants, and to clearly set forth the claims and allegations

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against each defendant. It also informed plaintiff that he must allege two essential elements to

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state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: (1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the

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United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting

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under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). The amended complaint

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fails to meet these basic pleading requirements and hardly provides any defendant with fair notice

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of the claim or claims against them. Although the complaint identifies both Knipp and Muniz as

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defendants, there are no allegations against either defendant, and certainly none establishing

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either defendant’s personal involvement in any constitutional deprivation. And despite the

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court’s admonishment, the amended complaint consists almost entirely of exhibits, which cannot

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be substituted in place of a properly pleaded complaint. The court also cautioned plaintiff that he

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may not join unrelated claims against different defendants in a single complaint. Nevertheless,

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plaintiff’s complaint complains about two events that have no apparent relation to each other, his

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classification as a sex offender and an adverse transfer that exacerbated a skin condition.

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Despite notice of the complaint’s deficiencies and an opportunity to amend, plaintiff is

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unable to comply with Rule 8 or state a proper claim for relief. Therefore, this action is

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dismissed without leave to amend. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2000)

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(“Under Ninth Circuit case law, district courts are only required to grant leave to amend if a

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complaint can possibly be saved. Courts are not required to grant leave to amend if a complaint

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lacks merit entirely.”); see also Doe v. United States, 58 F.3d 494, 497 (9th Cir. 1995) (“[A]

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district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made,

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unless it determines that the pleading could not be cured by the allegation of other facts.”).

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the amended complaint (ECF No. 42) is

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dismissed for failure to comply with Rule 8 and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may

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be granted, and the Clerk is directed to close the case.

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Dated: April 27, 2015.

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