(PS) Butler v. Klein

Filing 4

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Sean C. Riordan on 8/28/24 GRANTING 2 Motion to Proceed IFP. Plaintiff shall have 30 days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint. (Salmeron, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES LEONARD BUTLER,

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No. 2:23-cv-02855-DJC-SCR

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

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W. GREGORY KLEIN, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff is proceeding pro se in this action. This matter was accordingly referred to the

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undersigned by operation of Local Rule 302(c)(21). Plaintiff filed a request for leave to proceed

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in forma pauperis (“IFP”) and submitted the affidavit required by that statute. See 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a)(1). The motion to proceed IFP will be granted. However, in screening Plaintiff’s

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complaint, as required by Section 1915(a)(2), the Court concludes that the complaint does not

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allege facts establishing federal jurisdiction. Plaintiff will be granted leave to amend the

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complaint.
I. SCREENING

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A.

Legal Standard

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The federal IFP statute requires federal courts to dismiss a case if the action is legally

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“frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).
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Courts review the complaint that initiates the case to perform this screening function. They are

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guided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which are available online at

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www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure.

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Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the complaint must contain (1) a “short and

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plain statement” of the basis for federal jurisdiction (that is, the reason the case is filed in this

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court, rather than in a state court), (2) a short and plain statement showing that plaintiff is entitled

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to relief (that is, who harmed the plaintiff, and in what way), and (3) a demand for the relief

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sought. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Plaintiff’s claims must be set forth simply, concisely and directly.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(d)(1). Forms are available to help pro se plaintiffs organize their complaint in

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the proper way. They are available at the Clerk’s Office, 501 I Street, 4th Floor (Rm. 4-200),

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Sacramento, CA 95814, or online at www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms.

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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). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the

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Court will (1) accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they

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are clearly baseless or fanciful, (2) construe those allegations in the light most favorable to the

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plaintiff, and (3) resolve all doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. See Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327; Von

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Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 960 (9th Cir. 2010), cert.

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denied, 564 U.S. 1037 (2011).

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The Court applies the same rules of construction in determining whether the complaint

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states a claim on which relief can be granted. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (court

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must accept the allegations as true); Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974) (court must

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construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff). Pro se pleadings are held to a

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less stringent standard than those drafted by lawyers. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520

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(1972). However, the court need not accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable

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inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact. Western Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618,

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624 (9th Cir. 1981). A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action does not suffice

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to state a claim. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-57 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

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556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
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To state a claim on which relief may be granted, the plaintiff must allege enough facts “to

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state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has

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facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the

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reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at

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678.  A pro se litigant is entitled to notice of the deficiencies in the complaint and an opportunity

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to amend, unless the complaint’s deficiencies could not be cured by amendment. See Noll v.

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Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded on other grounds by statute as stated in

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Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir.2000)) (en banc).

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B.

The Complaint

Plaintiff’s complaint names seven defendants, several of which appear to be attorneys as

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Plaintiff lists their state bar number. ECF No. 1 at 8. Plaintiff states he is seeking

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“$15,089,853.50 payable in Specie.” Id. Plaintiff appears to complain of a state court proceeding

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where he was ordered to appear and where an affidavit was sealed over his objection. Id. He

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complains of the actions of two state court judges (Defendants Anderson and Kellegrew) and the

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clerk of the court (Defendant Galkin). Id. Plaintiff requests investigation of the state court case

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and prosecution of all “wrongdoers.” Id. at 9.

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C.

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The Complaint does not sufficiently plead a basis for federal jurisdiction. Plaintiff states

Analysis

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the basis is diversity of citizenship, but then does not plead the citizenship of the Defendants.

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ECF No. 1 at 8. Plaintiff pleads that he is a citizen of California, and the alleged address of each

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Defendant is in California, thus it appears diversity of citizenship is lacking. See Caterpillar Inc.

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v. Lewis, 519 U.S. 61, 68 (1996) (diversity jurisdiction requires “complete diversity of

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citizenship” where “the citizenship of each plaintiff is diverse from the citizenship of each

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defendant.”).

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The complaint thus does not comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(1)-(2) as it

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does not contain a “short and plain” statement setting forth the grounds for federal jurisdiction, or

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a short and plaint statement showing Plaintiff’s entitlement to relief. The exact nature of what

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happened to Plaintiff is unclear from the complaint, other than he complains of a proceeding in
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state court and the sealing of an affidavit. Plaintiff names seven Defendants, but only appears to

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make allegations against three—the two judges and clerk of court. The Court cannot tell from

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examining the complaint what legal wrong was done to Plaintiff, by whom and when, or how any

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alleged harm is connected to the relief Plaintiff seeks.

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Accordingly, the complaint does not establish this Court’s jurisdiction, does not comply

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with Rule 8, and fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. Rather than recommending

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dismissal of the action, the undersigned will provide Plaintiff an opportunity to amend the

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complaint to allege a proper basis for jurisdiction and facts supporting a cognizable cause of

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action.

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II. AMENDING THE COMPLAINT

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If Plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, the amended complaint must allege facts

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establishing the existence of federal jurisdiction. In addition, it must contain a short and plain

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statement of Plaintiff’s claims. The allegations of the complaint must be set forth in sequentially

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numbered paragraphs, with each paragraph number being one greater than the one before, each

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paragraph having its own number, and no paragraph number being repeated anywhere in the

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complaint. Each paragraph should be limited “to a single set of circumstances” where

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possible. Rule 10(b). As noted above, forms are available to help plaintiffs organize their

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complaint in the proper way. They are available at the Clerk’s Office, 501 I Street, 4th Floor (Rm.

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4-200), Sacramento, CA 95814, or online at www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms.

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The amended complaint must not force the Court and the defendants to guess at what is

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being alleged against whom. See McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177-80 (9th Cir. 1996)

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(affirming dismissal of a complaint where the district court was “literally guessing as to what

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facts support the legal claims being asserted against certain defendants”). The amended

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complaint must not require the Court to spend its time “preparing the ‘short and plain statement’

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which Rule 8 obligated plaintiffs to submit.” Id. at 1180. The amended complaint must not

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require the court and defendants to prepare lengthy outlines “to determine who is being sued for

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what.” Id. at 1179.

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Also, the amended complaint must not refer to a prior pleading in order to make Plaintiff’s

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amended complaint complete. An amended complaint must be complete in itself without

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reference to any prior pleading. Local Rule 220. This is because, as a general rule, an amended

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complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Pacific Bell Tel. Co. v. Linkline

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Communications, Inc., 555 U.S. 438, 456 n.4 (2009) (“[n]ormally, an amended complaint

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supersedes the original complaint”) (citing 6 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice &

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Procedure § 1476, pp. 556-57 (2d ed. 1990)). 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.
As Plaintiff has named as defendants some state defendants, he may have intended to

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pursue an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. A claim under § 1983 requires a plaintiff to allege that

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defendants acting under color of state law deprived the plaintiff of a right secured by the

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Constitution or federal statutes. Benavidez v. County of San Diego, 993 F.3d 1134, 1144 (9th Cir.

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2021). If Plaintiff intends to pursue a claim under §1983 against state judges for their conduct in

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a state court proceeding, Plaintiff should bear in mind that: “Judges are absolutely immune from

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damage actions for judicial acts taken within the jurisdiction of their courts… . A judge loses

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absolute immunity only when [the judge] acts in the clear absence of all jurisdiction or performs

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an act that is not judicial in nature.” Schucker v. Rockwood, 846 F.2d 1202, 1204 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Further, “[c]ourt clerks have absolute quasi-judicial immunity from damages for civil rights

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violations when they perform tasks that are an integral part of the judicial process.” Acres

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Bonusing, Inc v. Marston, 17 F.4th 901, 916 (9th Cir. 2021).

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III. CONCLUSION

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is GRANTED;

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2. Plaintiff shall have 30 days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint

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that addresses the defects set forth above. The amended complaint must include a

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sufficient jurisdictional statement and comply with Rule 8. If Plaintiff fails to timely
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comply with this order, the undersigned may recommend that this action be dismissed.

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3. Alternatively, if plaintiff no longer wishes to pursue this action plaintiff may file a notice

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of voluntary dismissal of this action pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure.

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SO ORDERED.
DATED: August 28, 2024

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