Dotson v. Hilton
Filing
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ORDER, FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 3/28/2019 ORDERING the Clerk to randomly assign a district judge to this action and RECOMMENDING defendants' 30 motion for summary judgment be granted and this case be closed. Assigned and referred to Judge Kimberly J. Mueller; Objections to F&R due within 14 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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ERNEST DOTSON,
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No. 2:16-cv-2391 AC P
Plaintiff,
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v.
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J. HILTON, et al.,
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ORDER and
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Defendants.
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Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, brings this civil rights
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action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The case was referred to the United States Magistrate Judge
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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302. Before the court is defendants’ motion
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for summary judgment, ECF No. 30.
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I.
Background
This case was commenced on October 6, 2016, ECF No. 1, and proceeds on the Second
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Amended Complaint, ECF No. 17. The claims arise from plaintiff’s assault by other inmates
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during a prison riot on October 30, 2015 at California State Prison – Solano. On August 10,
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2017, the undersigned found that the Second Amended Complaint stated cognizable claims
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against correctional officers Hilton, Conception, and Jacquinot for failure to protect in violation
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of plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights. ECF No. 19. The court found that the SAC did not state
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cognizable claims against additional defendants Romo, Kett, Perez or Arguinzoni. Plaintiff was
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given the option to proceed against Hilton, Conception, and Jacquinot alone, or to amend his
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complaint to attempt to cure his claims against the other four defendants. Id. Plaintiff did not file
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an amended complaint, thus abandoning all claims against Romo, Kett, Perez and Arguinzoni.
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Defendants Hilton, Conception, and Jacquinot filed the instant motion for summary
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judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, on June 29, 2018. ECF No. 30.
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Plaintiff failed to file an opposition to the motion. As a result, on August 29, 2018, defense
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counsel filed a declaration in lieu of a reply. ECF No. 32. The declaration effectively requested
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that the court deem plaintiff’s failure to oppose the summary judgment motion a waiver of any
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opposition to a grant of the motion. See ECF No. 32 at 2.
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On December 6, 2018, plaintiff filed a motion for a thirty-day extension of time to file a
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response to defendants’ motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 33. The motion was granted,
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despite its untimeliness, on December 14, 2018. ECF No. 34. More than thirty days have passed,
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and plaintiff has yet to file an opposition to the pending motion for summary judgment or file
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another request for an extension of time to do so. Accordingly, the motion for summary
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judgment is hereby deemed to be unopposed. See Local Rule 230(l).
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II.
Legal Standards for Summary Judgment
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Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party “shows that there is no genuine
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dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.
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Civ. P. 56(a).
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Under summary judgment practice, “[t]he moving party initially bears the burden of
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proving the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” In re Oracle Corp. Sec. Litig., 627 F.3d
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376, 387 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986)). The moving
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party may accomplish this by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including
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depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations
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(including those made for purposes of the motion only), admission, interrogatory answers, or
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other materials” or by showing that such materials “do not establish the absence or presence of a
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genuine dispute, or that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the
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fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A), (B). “Where the non-moving party bears the burden of proof
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at trial, the moving party need only prove that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-
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moving party’s case.” Oracle Corp., 627 F.3d at 387 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325); see also
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(B). Indeed, summary judgment should be entered, “after adequate time
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for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish
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the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the
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burden of proof at trial.” See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322. “[A] complete failure of proof
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concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts
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immaterial.” Id. at 323. In such a circumstance, summary judgment should be granted, “so long
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as whatever is before the district court demonstrates that the standard for entry of summary
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judgment, as set forth in Rule 56(c), is satisfied.” Id.
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If the moving party meets its initial responsibility, the burden then shifts to the opposing
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party to establish that a genuine issue as to any material fact actually does exist. See Matsushita
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Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87 (1986). In attempting to establish
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the existence of this factual dispute, the opposing party may not rely upon the allegations or
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denials of its pleadings but is required to tender evidence of specific facts in the form of
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affidavits, and/or admissible discovery material, in support of its contention that the dispute
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exists. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586 n.11. The opposing party must
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demonstrate that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact “that might affect the outcome of the
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suit under the governing law,” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986); T.W.
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Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir. 1987), and that the
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dispute is genuine, i.e., “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the
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nonmoving party,” Anderson, 447 U.S. at 248.
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In the endeavor to establish the existence of a factual dispute, the opposing party need not
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establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor. It is sufficient that “‘the claimed
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factual dispute be shown to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties’ differing versions of the
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truth at trial.’” T.W. Elec. Serv., 809 F.2d at 630 (quoting First Nat’l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities
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Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89 (1968). Thus, the “purpose of summary judgment is to pierce the
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pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.”
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Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
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“In evaluating the evidence to determine whether there is a genuine issue of fact,” the
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court draws “all inferences supported by the evidence in favor of the non-moving party.” Walls
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v. Cent. Costa Cnty. Transit Auth., 653 F.3d 963, 966 (9th Cir. 2011). It is the opposing party’s
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obligation to produce a factual predicate from which the inference may be drawn. See Richards
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v. Nielsen Freight Lines, 810 F.2d 898, 902 (9th Cir. 1987). Finally, to demonstrate a genuine
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issue, the opposing party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt
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as to the material facts.” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586 (citations omitted). “Where the record
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taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no
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‘genuine issue for trial.’” Id. at 587 (quoting First Nat’l Bank, 391 U.S. at 289).
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On June 29, 2018, defendants served plaintiff with notice of the requirements for opposing
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a motion pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. ECF No. 30-1. See
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Klingele v. Eikenberry, 849 F.2d 409, 411 (9th Cir. 1988); Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952, 960
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(9th Cir. 1998) (movant may provide notice) (en banc), cert. denied, 527 U.S. 1035 (1999).
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III.
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Undisputed Facts
Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts, ECF No. 30-3, accurately summarizes the
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proffered evidence and is adopted in full due to plaintiff’s failure to oppose the motion. It is
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incorporated here by reference.
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IV.
Discussion
The undisputed facts demonstrate that defendants were correctional officer who responded
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to the riot on October 30, 2015. None of them were aware of any risk to plaintiff’s safety before
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the riot began. Each acted in response to the emergency in accordance with their training and
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applicable policies, out of a desire to prevent injury to inmates and staff. Specifically, each
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defendant announced an alarm as soon as he identified circumstances warranting an alarm.
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Plaintiff was stabbed by other inmates while lying on the ground immediately following the
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alarms. Defendants point to the absence of evidence supporting a rational inference that
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defendants acted with deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s safety. They seek summary judgment
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on this basis, and on their assertion of qualified immunity.
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Defendants’ showing satisfies their initial burden as the moving party. In order to proceed
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on a failure to protect claim, plaintiff must identify evidence that would support the inference that
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defendants knew of and disregarded an excessive risk to his safety. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511
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U.S. 825, 837 (1994). The duty to protect a prisoner from serious harm requires that prison
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officials take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety and wellbeing of the prisoner. Id. at
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832-33. The evidentiary record here shows that defendants took reasonable measures to protect
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the safety of inmates on Yard A as soon as they became aware of the risk. There is no evidence
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from which a rational trier of fact could find that the defendants knew in advance of a specific
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risk to plaintiff, or that they knew in advance that violence was imminent, or that they disregarded
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the likelihood of injury to inmates once the riot started. Accordingly, defendants have accurately
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identified a complete failure of proof on deliberate indifference, which is an essential element of
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plaintiff’s claim. See Hearns v. Terhune, 413 F.3d 1036, 1040 (9th Cir. 2005) (failure to protect
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violates Eighth Amendment only when defendants act with a sufficiently culpable state of mind,
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e.g. deliberate indifference).
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The burden therefore shifts to plaintiff to identify evidence establishing a genuine issue as
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to this material fact. See Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87. Plaintiff’s failure to oppose the motion
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means that he has failed to meet this burden. Defendants are therefore entitled to judgment in
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their favor.
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CONCLUSION
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall randomly assign a district judge
to this action.
For the reasons explained above, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that Defendants’
motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 30) be GRANTED and this case closed.
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These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge
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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen days
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after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written
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objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned
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“Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any response to the
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objections shall be served and filed within fourteen days after service of the objections. The
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parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may waive the right to
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appeal the District Court’s order. Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
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DATED: March 28, 2019
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