Mullins v. Chatfield et al.
Filing
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ORDER, FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes on 3/5/2018 DIRECTING the Clerk to randomly assign a district judge and RECOMMENDING this action be dismissed without prejudice. Assigned and referred to Judge Troy L. Nunley; 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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EDWARD JULIUS MULLINS,
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Plaintiff,
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No. 2:17-cv-0036 DB P
v.
ORDER AND FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
KATY CHATFIELD, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with a civil rights action
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under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff has consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge. On
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October 25, 2017, the court screened the complaint and dismissed the action without prejudice
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because it was clear from the face of the complaint that plaintiff did not exhaust administrative
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remedies prior to filing suit. (ECF No. 19.)
Following the dismissal, plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration (ECF No. 23) and a
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notice of appeal (ECF No. 24). By order dated February 28, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of
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Appeals vacated the judgment and remanded this matter for further proceedings based on its
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recent holding in Williams v. King, 875 F.3d 500, 503-04 (9th Cir. 2017).1 (ECF No. 27.) The
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court has re-screened the complaint and reviewed the amended complaints and the motion for
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The court held that a Magistrate Judge does not have jurisdiction to dismiss a case unless all of
the parties have consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.
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reconsideration. Based on the foregoing, the court will direct the clerk to assign a district judge
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and recommend to the assigned district judge that this case be dismissed without prejudice for
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failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
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BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff filed his original complaint here on January 9, 2017. (ECF No. 1.) He identified
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three defendants Katy Chatfield, Joe Lizarraga, and Scott Kernan. Plaintiff complained that
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defendant Correctional Officer Chatfield authored rules violation reports against him in retaliation
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for a staff complaint plaintiff filed against another correctional officer. Since then, plaintiff has
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filed two additional complaints in this case. (ECF Nos. 7, 17.) In addition to Chatfield, Lizarraga
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and current CDCR Director Allison, plaintiff adds claims against defendants Allen, Knight, and
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Johnson for the denial of his appeals regarding the rules violations.
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SCREENING
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Legal Standards
The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a
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governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. §
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1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims
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that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be
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granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28
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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. Neitzke
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v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th Cir.
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1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an indisputably
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meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 490 U.S. at
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327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully pleaded, has an
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arguable legal and factual basis. See Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227.
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Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘a short and plain
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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 Atlantic
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Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)).
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However, in order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more
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than “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;” it must contain factual
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allegations sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic, 550
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U.S. at 555. In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the
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allegations of the complaint in question, Hospital Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hospital Trustees, 425 U.S.
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738, 740 (1976), construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all
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doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969).
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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. Dept. of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1987); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976). “A
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person ‘subjects’ another to the deprivation of a constitutional right, within the meaning of §
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1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates in another’s affirmative acts or omits to perform
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an act which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.”
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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 their
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employees under a theory of respondeat superior and, therefore, when a named defendant holds a
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supervisorial position, the causal link between him and the claimed constitutional violation must
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be specifically alleged. See Fayle v. Stapley, 607 F.2d 858, 862 (9th Cir. 1979); Mosher v.
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Saalfeld, 589 F.2d 438, 441 (9th Cir. 1978). Vague and conclusory allegations concerning the
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involvement of official personnel in civil rights violations are not sufficient. See Ivey v. Board of
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Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).
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II.
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
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Generally “a prisoner must exhaust his administrative remedies for the claims contained
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within his complaint before that complaint is tendered to the district court.” Rhodes v. Robinson,
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621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing McKinney v. Carey, 311 F.3d 1198, 1199 (9th Cir.
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2002) (per curium); and Vaden v. Summerhill, 449 F.3d 1047, 1050 (9th Cir. 2006); 42 U.S.C. §
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1997e(a). Recently, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that district courts are bound by
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the PLRA’s textual mandate requiring all inmates to exhaust administrative remedies before
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bringing an action in federal court. See Ross v. Blake, 136 S. Ct. 1850, 1856-57 (2016) (refuting
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a “special circumstance” exception to the rule of exhaustion).
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“Proper exhaustion demands compliance with an agency’s . . . critical procedural rules,”
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Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 90 (2006). Thus, “to properly exhaust administrative remedies,
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prisoners ‘must complete the administrative review process in accordance with the applicable
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procedural rules,’ [] rules that are defined . . . by the prison grievance system itself.” Jones v.
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Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 218 (2007) (quoting Woodford, 548 U.S. at 88).
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In California, an inmate may appeal “any policy, decision, action, condition, or omission . . .
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having a material adverse effect on upon his or her health, safety, or welfare.” Cal. Code Regs.
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tit. 15, § 3084.1(a). Inmates must complete three levels to exhaust the appeal process: (1) formal
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written appeal on CDCR Form 602; (2) second-level appeal to the institution head or designee;
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and (3) third-level appeal to the Director of the CDCR. Id. § 3084.7. The third level constitutes
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the decision of the Secretary of the CDCR and exhausts a prisoner’s administrative remedies. Id.
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§ 3084.7(d)(3).
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It is clear from plaintiff’s recitation of the facts that his appeals of defendant Chatfield’s three
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rules violation reports were not resolved until after January 9, 2017 when he filed this action. In
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his second amended complaint filed August 11, 2017, plaintiff states that he was found guilty by
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defendant Knight of the first rules violation, a charge of “overfamiliarity,” at a hearing held on
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January 23, 2017. (ECF No. 17 at 7.) Plaintiff appealed the guilty finding on February 3, 2017.
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(Id. at 9.) Plaintiff states defendant Allen held a hearing on February 11, 2017 and denied his
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appeal. (Id. at 9-10.)
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Plaintiff further states he filed an administrative grievance, appealing the other two rules
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violations, referred to as 128 counseling chronos, on January 9, 2017, the same day he filed the
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complaint. (Id. at 8.) It is clear that plaintiff had not fully exhausted administrative remedies
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through all three levels before he brought suit in this case, and the court must dismiss the
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complaint. See Booth v. Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 738 (2001) (A plaintiff is required to exhaust
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administrative remedies before a § 1983 claim may be entertained).
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Because plaintiff did not exhaust his administrative remedies prior to sending his complaint
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to this court, this court “must dismiss his suit without prejudice.” Vaden, 449 F.3d at 1051 (citing
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Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1120 (9th Cir. 2003)). If plaintiff wishes to pursue these
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claims, he must file a new action when, and if, he has exhausted his administrative remedies.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is directed to randomly
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assign a district judge.
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IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that this action be dismissed without prejudice.
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These findings and recommendations will be 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)(1). Within fourteen days
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after being served with these findings and recommendations, plaintiff may file written objections
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with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings
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and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the specified
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time may result in waiver of the right to appeal the district court’s order. Martinez v. Ylst, 951
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F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
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Dated: March 5, 2018
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DLB:12
DLB1/Orders/Prisoner-Civil Rights/mull0036.scrnF&R
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