Hoeft v. Ballon
Filing
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ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 1/5/17: Plaintiff's motion 11 is granted. The Clerk of Court is directed to change the nature of suit code to a civil rights action and assign a District Judge to this action. The scheduling order 5 is vacated. Plaintiff's complaint is dismissed. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an amended complaint. (Kaminski, H)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MONICA HOEFT,
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Plaintiff,
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No. 2:16-cv-2615 CKD PS
v.
ORDER
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY, et al.,
Defendants.
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Plaintiff is proceeding in this action pro se and in forma pauperis. This action was
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initially opened as a social security action. Plaintiff has requested that the case be redesignated
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because she contends that this is a civil rights action. The case will therefore be redesignated.
The federal in forma pauperis statute authorizes federal courts to dismiss a case if the
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action is legally “frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,
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or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(e)(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.
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In order to avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than
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“naked assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause
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of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-557 (2007). In other words,
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“[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory
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statements do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). Furthermore, a claim
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upon which the court can grant relief has facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A
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claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw
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the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 129 S. Ct.
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at 1949. When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted,
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the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007),
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and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416
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U.S. 232, 236 (1974).
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The court finds the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint so vague and conclusory that it is
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unable to determine whether the current action is frivolous or fails to state a claim for relief. The
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court has determined that the 131 page complaint does not contain a short and plain statement as
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required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although the Federal Rules adopt a flexible pleading policy,
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a complaint must give fair notice and state the elements of the claim plainly and succinctly. Jones
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v. Community Redev. Agency, 733 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir. 1984). Plaintiff must allege with at
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least some degree of particularity overt acts which defendants engaged in that support plaintiff’s
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claim. Id. Because plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2),
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the complaint must be dismissed. The court will, however, grant leave to file an amended
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complaint.
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If plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, plaintiff must set forth the jurisdictional
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grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction depends. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a).
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Further, plaintiff must demonstrate how the conduct complained of has resulted in a deprivation
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of plaintiff’s federal rights. See Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980).
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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); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362
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(1976). “A person ‘subjects’ another to the deprivation of a constitutional right, within the
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meaning of § 1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates in another's affirmative acts or
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omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which
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complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy, 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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Mosher v. Saalfeld, 589 F.2d 438, 441 (9th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 941 (1979). Vague
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and conclusory allegations concerning the involvement of official personnel in civil rights
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violations are not sufficient. See Ivey v. Board of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).
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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 15-220 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
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original complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently
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alleged.
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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 11) is granted. The Clerk of Court is directed to change
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the nature of suit code to a civil rights action and assign a District Judge to this action;
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2. The scheduling order (ECF No. 5) is vacated;
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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 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the
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Local Rules of Practice; the amended complaint must bear the docket number assigned this case
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and must be labeled “Amended Complaint”; plaintiff must file an original and two copies of the
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amended complaint; failure to file an amended complaint in accordance with this order will result
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in a recommendation that this action be dismissed.
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Dated: January 5, 2017
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CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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