(PC) Ford v. Newsom et al

Filing 19

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 4/26/2021 DISMISSING plaintiff's third amended complaint with leave to amend within 30 days. The Clerk shall send plaintiff a civil rights complaint form. Failure to comply with this order may result in dismissal of this action for the reasons stated herein. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LARRY FORD,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:20-cv-2087-EFB P

v.

ORDER

GAVIN NEWSOM, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel and in forma pauperis in an action

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brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. After three dismissals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A (ECF No.

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4, 15, & 17), he has filed a third amended complaint, ECF No. 18, which is before the court for

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screening.1

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Like the prior complaints, the third amended complaint concerns an accident on October

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15, 2019, when plaintiff was transported by van to a medical appointment. ECF No. 18 at 2. At

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the time of the accident the van was travelling at least 65 miles per hour. Id. at 6. Plaintiff, who

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was in “a hard metal cage[ ] without the benefit of seatbelts,” was thrown around the cage as the

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Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek
redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A(a). The court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion
of the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such
relief.” Id. § 1915A(b).
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van went up in the air. Id. at 5-6. Defendant correctional officers Cassol and Matthews were the

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transporting officers. Cassol, who was driving, allegedly ignored repeated requests from

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Matthews to slow down. Id. at 9. When plaintiff arrived at his previously-scheduled medical

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appointment, the nurse noticed plaintiff’s swollen forehead and sent him to the emergency room.

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Id. at 6. Plaintiff does not allege the extent of any injuries he sustained as a result of the accident.

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Once again, plaintiff’s complaint must be dismissed with leave to amend. The problem

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this time around is that the complaint fails to include a request for relief. A pro se plaintiff, like

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other litigants, must satisfy the pleading requirements of Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure. Rule 8(a)(2) “requires a complaint to include a short and plain statement of the claim

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showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the

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claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 554,

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562-563 (2007) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957)). Rule 8(a)(3) requires a complaint

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to contain a demand for judgment for the relief sought. In any fourth amended complaint,

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plaintiff must include a request for relief, such as monetary damages or specific injunctive relief.

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The court also notes that the complaint does not demonstrate any constitutional

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wrongdoing on the part of defendant Matthews, whose alleged involvement is limited to assisting

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plaintiff in boarding the van and encouraging Cassol to slow down during ride. See Spencer v.

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Knapheide Truck Equip. Co., 183 F.3d 902, 906 (8th Cir. 1999) (use of transportation vehicles

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“without safety restraints” does not itself expose prisoners to an obvious and “substantial risk of

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serious harm”); Jabbar v. Fischer, 683 F.3d 54, 57 (2d Cir. 2012) (failure to provide seatbelts in a

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prison vehicle “does not, standing alone, violate the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendments”).

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Based on the foregoing, plaintiff’s third amended complaint is dismissed, with leave to
amend, for failure to comply with Rule 8.

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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:

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1. The Clerk shall send to plaintiff a form civil rights complaint for prisoners.

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2. Plaintiff’s third amended complaint (ECF No. 18) is DISMISSED with leave to

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amend within 30 days from the date of service of this order; and
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3. Failure to comply with this order may result in dismissal of this action for the
reasons stated herein.
DATED: April 26, 2021.

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