Thomas v. McComber et al

Filing 17

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 04/28/15 ORDERING that the 13 Motion for Preliminary Injunction is DENIED without prejudice. (Benson, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JASON LATRELL THOMAS,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:14-cv-2995 KJN P

v.

ORDER

JEFF MCCOMBER, et al.,

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Defendants.

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I. Introduction
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff consented to proceed

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before the undersigned for all purposes. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Plaintiff’s motion for

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preliminary injunction is before the court. In the instant action, plaintiff claims that defendants at

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California State Prison, Sacramento (“CSP-SAC”), who worked in the Psychiatric Service Unit

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(“PSU”), discriminated against plaintiff by placing him on excessive restrictions and placing him

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in a Behavioral Incentive Program which treated him differently than other prisoners in the same

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custody class based on his mental illness. Plaintiff alleges that when he filed prison grievances

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and “civil actions,” defendants allegedly retaliated against him by placing him on illegal

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restriction, denying him mental health treatment, removing his EOP status, and transferring him

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out of the prison.

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Plaintiff claims that when he arrived at California State Prison, Corcoran, he “regressed

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and attempted suicide at least twice,” was hospitalized, returned to EOP status, and sent to the

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Department of Mental Health for “higher treatment.” (ECF No. 13 at 1.) Plaintiff claims that the

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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has only one PSU, which is at CSP-

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SAC, but that plaintiff has been endorsed for transfer to Pelican Bay State Prison, based on

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alleged threats of assault on CSP-SAC staff which plaintiff claims are untrue. Plaintiff contends

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that CSP-SAC has three different PSU units, 6 different blocks and 2 different yards, and their

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staff is trained to deal with inmates with mental illnesses, unlike Pelican Bay, which plaintiff

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contends has no PSU. Plaintiff seeks a court order requiring plaintiff to be housed at CSP-SAC

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once plaintiff has returned from the Department of State Hospitals, and enjoining defendants to

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stop “all forms of retaliation” once he is rehoused at CSP-SAC. (ECF No. 13 at 2.) For the

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reasons set forth below, plaintiff’s motion is denied.

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II. Standards

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The party requesting preliminary injunctive relief must show that “he is likely to succeed

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on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that

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the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Winter v.

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Natural Resources Defense Council, 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008); Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586 F.3d

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1109, 1127 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting Winter). The propriety of a request for injunctive relief

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hinges on a significant threat of irreparable injury that must be imminent in nature. Caribbean

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Marine Serv. Co. v. Baldridge, 844 F.2d 668, 674 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Alternatively, under the so-called sliding scale approach, as long as the plaintiff

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demonstrates the requisite likelihood of irreparable harm and can show that an injunction is in the

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public interest, a preliminary injunction may issue so long as serious questions going to the merits

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of the case are raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in plaintiff’s favor. Alliance for

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Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1131-36 (9th Cir. 2011) (concluding that the “serious

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questions” version of the sliding scale test for preliminary injunctions remains viable after

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Winter).

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The principal purpose of preliminary injunctive relief is to preserve the court’s power to

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render a meaningful decision after a trial on the merits. See 11A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur

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R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2947 (2d ed. 2010). As noted above, in addition to

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demonstrating that he will suffer irreparable harm if the court fails to grant the preliminary

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injunction, plaintiff must show a “fair chance of success on the merits” of his claim. Sports

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Form, Inc. v. United Press International, Inc., 686 F.2d 750, 754 (9th Cir. 1982) (internal citation

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omitted). Implicit in this required showing is that the relief awarded is only temporary and there

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will be a full hearing on the merits of the claims raised in the injunction when the action is

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brought to trial. In cases brought by prisoners involving conditions of confinement, any

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preliminary injunction “must be narrowly drawn, extend no further than necessary to correct the

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harm the court finds requires preliminary relief, and be the least intrusive means necessary to

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correct the harm.” 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(2).

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In addition, as a general rule this court is unable to issue an order against individuals who

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are not parties to a suit pending before it. Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395

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U.S. 100 (1969).

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III. Discussion

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Inmates do not have a constitutional right to be housed at a particular facility or institution

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or to be transferred, or not transferred, from one facility or institution to another. Olim v.

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Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 244-48 (1983); Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 224-25 (1976);

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Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517, 519 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam). Nor does an inmate have a

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constitutional right to any particular classification. Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78, 88 n.9

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(1976); Hernandez v. Johnston, 833 F.2d 1316, 1318 (9th Cir. 1987). Alleged deprivations of

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rights arising from prison officials’ housing and classification decisions do not give rise to a

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federal constitutional claim encompassed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Board of Regents v.

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Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569 (1972).

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Moreover, because plaintiff suffers from a mental illness, and has recently attempted

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suicide, absent evidence of the threat of irreparable injury, the court must defer to prison officials

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as to plaintiff’s appropriate housing at this time. Indeed, plaintiff confirmed that he was returned
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to EOP status and was sent to the Department of State Hospitals for “higher” treatment. Plaintiff

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further claims that while he was housed at CSP-Corcoran, he was put up for transfer to Pelican

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Bay State Prison, but prison records now reflect that plaintiff is presently housed at the California

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Health Care Facility (“CHCF”) in Stockton. It appears that plaintiff is receiving the appropriate

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mental health care, and plaintiff fails to demonstrate he is at risk of irreparable harm at this time.

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In addition, plaintiff’s claims alleging retaliation while housed at CSP-SAC are unrelated

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to his claim concerning a potential future transfer. Because the grounds of plaintiff’s request for

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transfer is unrelated to the merits of the instant action, e.g. whether defendants at CSP-SAC

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retaliated against plaintiff from 2010 to 2014 for conduct protected by the First Amendment, the

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court is unable to address plaintiff’s motion for transfer because such claim will not be heard on

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the merits in the instant action.

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Moreover, plaintiff seeks a court order to “stop all forms of retaliation” once he is
returned to CSP-SAC.
The jurisdiction of federal courts depends on the existence of a “case or controversy”

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under Article III of the Constitution. Public Utilities Com’n v. F.E.R.C., 100 F.3d 1451, 1458

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(9th Cir. 1996). A claim is considered moot if it has lost its character as a present, live

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controversy, and if no effective relief can be granted: “Where the question sought to be

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adjudicated has been mooted by developments subsequent to filing of the complaint, no

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justiciable controversy is presented.” Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95 (1968). Where injunctive

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relief is involved, questions of mootness are determined in light of the present circumstances.

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Mitchell v. Dupnik, 75 F .3d 517, 528 (9th Cir. 1996).

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Because plaintiff is not presently housed at CSP-SAC, his request that defendants “stop all

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forms of retaliation” is moot and speculative. A preliminary injunction becomes moot if a

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prisoner is transferred. Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1053 n.5 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing

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Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517, 510 (9th Cir. 1991) (per curiam)); Holt v. Stockman, 2012 WL

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259938, *6 (E.D. Cal. Jan.25, 2012) (a prisoner’s claim for injunctive relief is rendered moot

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when he is transferred from the institution whose employees he seeks to enjoin from harming

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him). Plaintiff is not presently housed at CSP-SAC, and it is unclear if or when he may be housed
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there again. The court cannot grant injunctive relief based on generalized speculation about what

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may happen in the future.

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For all of the above reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion (ECF No.

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13) is denied without prejudice.

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Dated: April 28, 2015

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/thom2995.pi

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