Grant v. Briggs

Filing 9

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 5/14/2015 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 with leave to file an amended complaint within 30 days. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TRAVARE M. GRANT,

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No. 2:15-cv-0864 CKD P

Plaintiff,

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v.

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R. L. BRIGGS,

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ORDER

Defendant.

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I. Introduction

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983 and has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. This

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proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 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.

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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 separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the

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initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court.

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Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding

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month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments will be forwarded by

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the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff’s account

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exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).

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II. Screening

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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 where 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); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 sets forth general rules of notice pleading in the federal courts. See

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Swierkiewicz v. Sorema, 534 U.S. 506 (2002). Complaints are required to set a forth (1) the

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grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction rests, (2) a short and plain statement of the claim

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showing entitlement to relief; and (3) a demand for the relief plaintiff seeks. Rule 8 requires only

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“sufficient allegations to put defendants fairly on notice of the claims against them.” McKeever

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v. Block, 932 F.2d 795, 798 (9th Cir. 1991). Even if the factual elements of the cause of action

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are present, but are scattered throughout the complaint and are not organized into a “short and

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plain statement of the claim,” dismissal for failure to satisfy Rule 8(a)(2) is proper. McHenry v.

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Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 1996).

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Here, plaintiff’s complaint does not meet the Rule 8 requirement of a short and plain

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statement of the claim showing entitlement to relief. Moreover, plaintiff’s claim appears to be

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based on an “indisputably meritless legal theory.” See Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327. He alleges that
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defendant Briggs, the “CDCR Chief of Inmate Appeals,” violated his federal constitutional rights

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by failing to recognize that plaintiff’s Playstation 2 was on the list of approved inmate property

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and wrongly confiscated. (ECF No. 1 at 3).

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There are several problems with this claim. First, there are no constitutional requirements

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regarding how a grievance system is operated. See Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 860 (9th

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Cir. 2003) (holding that prisoner’s claimed loss of a liberty interest in the processing of his

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appeals does not violate due process because prisoners lack a separate constitutional entitlement

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to a specific prison grievance system). Thus, a plaintiff may not impose liability on defendants

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simply because they played a role in processing plaintiff’s inmate appeals.

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Second, insofar as plaintiff’s claim is based on state administrative regulations concerning

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inmates’ personal property, it is not actionable under § 1983. Cornejo v. County of San Diego,

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504 F.3d 853, 855 n. 3 (9th Cir. 2007) (“[A] claim for violation of state law is not cognizable

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under § 1983.”)

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Third, plaintiff’s claim fails to meet the threshold of an Eighth Amendment challenge,

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which requires a prisoner to show, among other things, that a prison official’s act or omission

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results “in the denial of the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities.” Farmer v. Brennan,

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511 U.S. 825, 834 (1994).

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For these reasons, plaintiff’s complaint will be dismissed and he will be granted one

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opportunity to amend. In an amended complaint plaintiff should not raise many unrelated claims,

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but rather focus on a few specific claims and describe the actions of the individual defendants.

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If plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, plaintiff must demonstrate how the conditions

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complained of have resulted in a deprivation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights. See Ellis v.

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Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). Also, the complaint must allege in specific terms how

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each named defendant is involved. There can be no liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 unless there

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is some affirmative link or connection between a defendant’s actions and the claimed deprivation.

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Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980);

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Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). Furthermore, vague and conclusory

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allegations of official participation in civil rights violations are not sufficient. Ivey v. Board of
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Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).
In addition, plaintiff is informed that the court cannot refer to a prior pleading in order to

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

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complaint be complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. This is because, as a

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general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375

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F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an amended complaint, the original pleading no

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longer serves any function in the case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original

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complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently alleged.

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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 (ECF No. 2) is granted.

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2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. All fees

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shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order to the Director of the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed concurrently herewith.

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3. Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed; and

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4. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an amended

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complaint that complies with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act, the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice; the amended complaint must bear the docket number

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assigned this case and must be labeled “Amended Complaint”; plaintiff must file an original and

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two copies of the amended complaint; failure to file an amended complaint in accordance with

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this order will result in dismissal of this action.

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Dated: May 14, 2015

_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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