(PC) Perry v. Sacramento County, et al.
Filing
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ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis M. Cota on 1/28/2025 ORDERING that Plaintiff may file a second amended complaint within 30 days of the date of service of this order. (Deputy Clerk HAH)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DAVID PERRY,
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Plaintiff,
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No. 2:24-CV-0883-DJC-DMC-P
v.
ORDER
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to
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42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s first amended complaint, ECF No. 12.
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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief
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against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915A(a). This provision also applies if the plaintiff was incarcerated at the time the action was
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initiated even if the litigant was subsequently released from custody. See Olivas v. Nevada ex rel.
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Dep’t of Corr., 856 F.3d 1281, 1282 (9th Cir. 2017). The Court must dismiss a complaint or
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portion thereof if it: (1) is frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can
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be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See
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28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2).
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Moreover, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that complaints contain a
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“. . . short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R.
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Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This means that claims must be stated simply, concisely, and directly. See
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McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996) (referring to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(e)(1)).
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These rules are satisfied if the complaint gives the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff’s claim
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and the grounds upon which it rests. See Kimes v. Stone, 84 F.3d 1121, 1129 (9th Cir. 1996).
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Because Plaintiff must allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts by specific
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defendants which support the claims, vague and conclusory allegations fail to satisfy this
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standard. Additionally, it is impossible for the Court to conduct the screening required by law
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when the allegations are vague and conclusory.
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I. PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS
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Plaintiff David Perry names the following as defendants: (1) Amies, Correctional
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Officer at the Rio Consumnes Correctional Center (RCCC), (2) Shandrew, Correctional Officer at
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RCCC, (3) Adams, Correctional Officer at RCCC; (4) Coppenhagen, Correctional Officer, at
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RCCC (5) Blevins, Correctional Officer at RCCC, and (6) Sacramento County. See ECF No. 13,
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pgs. 2-3. Plaintiff contends Defendants used excessive force in Plaintiff’s arrest on July 6, 2022,
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at the Rio Consumnes Correctional Center. See id. at 3. Plaintiff claims the use of excessive force
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left him with a broken nose, blacked eyes, bruises, abrasions, lumps all over Plaintiff’s head,
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headaches and dizziness possibly from a concussion, back pain, numbness in Plaintiff’s fingers
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and inability to use hands for several days after, as well as nerve damage to Plaintiff’s right index
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finger. See id. Plaintiff also claims emotional distress and mental suffering. See id.
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In Plaintiff’s first claim, Plaintiff names the following defendants: (1) Amies, (2)
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Shandrew, (3) Adams, and (4) Sacramento County. See id. at 5. Plaintiff alleges use of excessive
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force violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to substantive due process. See id. Plaintiff asserts
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that on July 6, 2022, these defendants used excessive force during an arrest at the Joseph
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Klevernagel Facility (JKF). See id. Plaintiff contends that while Plaintiff was held down by other
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deputies, these defendants unlawfully and with malice aforethought battered Plaintiff by means of
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force likely to produce great bodily injury. See id. Plaintiff claims these defendants were aware of
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their use of excessive force and intentionally left out any mention of the violence they inflicted on
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Plaintiff after the arrest when submitting their report #1027966604. See id. at 6. Plaintiff
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additionally claims these defendants conspired and came up with the strawman argument that
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Plaintiff was resisting arrest. See id. Plaintiff asserts the arrest was over, however, and Defendant
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Amies and Shandrew continued to repeatedly batter Plaintiff after he was already restrained and
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handcuffed by other deputies. See id. Plaintiff claims CCTV JKF2 and CCTV JKF3 video
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coverage shows this at 14:51 and 14:53 hours respectively. See id.
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Plaintiff asserts the deputies then took Plaintiff into circulation, where Defendant
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Amies and Shandrew continued to assault Plaintiff while he was held down by deputies Marcum,
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Vang and Blevins. See id. Plaintiff claims this is shown on CCTV JKF circulation 2 at 14:53
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hours, yet these facts were left out of their falsified report #1027966604. See id. Plaintiff
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contends they battered him until they got tired, at which point he thought they were going to
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murder him. See id. Plaintiff alleges the deputies then hogtied Plaintiff, lifted, and threw him to
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the ground in the JKF holding tank #1. See id. Plaintiff asserts the deputies then made sure the
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cuffs were on as tight as possible, causing Plaintiff’s hands and arms to go numb from loss of
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circulation. See id. Plaintiff claims the use of excessive force left him with a broken nose, blacked
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eyes, bruises, abrasions, lumps all over Plaintiff’s head, headaches and dizziness possibly from a
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concussion, back pain, numbness in Plaintiff’s fingers and inability to use hands for several days
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after, as well as nerve damage to Plaintiff’s right index finger. See id. Plaintiff also claims
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emotional distress and mental suffering. See id.
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Next, Plaintiff contends that, after several hours, the deputies then took Plaintiff
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from JKF holding tank #1 to the Christopher Boone Facility (CBF) cell 107. See id. at 7. Plaintiff
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alleges Defendants Adams, Coppenhagen, and others threw Plaintiff to the ground, stepped on
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Plaintiff’s back, and made a mockery of Plaintiff’s rights while saying “stop resisting” as an
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excuse to inflict further violence on Plaintiff. See id. Plaintiff asserts Defendant Coppenhagen
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bound Plaintiff’s foot and nearly broke it while trying to make Plaintiff’s toes touch his heel. See
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id. Plaintiff further asserts Defendant Adams was on Plaintiff’s back while holding Plaintiff’s arm
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in an armbar and telling Plaintiff to place his arm under his body. See id.
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Plaintiff claims that, after a few more hours, nurse Alex came by and referred
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Plaintiff to the hospital after seeing his injuries. See id. Plaintiff asserts that this is when
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Defendant Adams placed the cuffs on Plaintiff’s legs so tightly that Plaintiff could not walk. See
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id. at 8. Plaintiff contends that Defendant Adams refused to loosen the cuffs and claimed that
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Plaintiff was refusing to go to the hospital for medical treatment. See id. Plaintiff asserts that this
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coercion was the reason Plaintiff was not properly treated. See id.
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Plaintiff further alleges conduct that followed the July 6 incident was part of the
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“code of silence” to cover up injuries Plaintiff sustained and shield deputies’ misconduct. See id.
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Plaintiff alleges that on August 24, 2022, Plaintiff received the discovery from the incident report
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#10279666-03 Docket #22 FE 102257, in which Plaintiff had been charged with one count P.C.
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69 for resisting executive officers, aggravated assault, and two counts of P.C. 243(c) for battery
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against a police officer. See id. at 9. Plaintiff contends every deputy’s statement corroborating the
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incident intentionally left out the part about Defendants Amies and Shandrew repeatedly kneeing
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and kicking of Plaintiff’s head while Plaintiff was already cuffed and held down by deputies. See
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id. Plaintiff asserts this customary “code of silence” substantiates the County’s unwritten policy
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the violence and misconduct of other deputies and further proves a failure to intervene. See id.
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Plaintiff further alleges this intentional decision to leave out the violence inflicted on Plaintiff in
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the JKF circulation, proved they knew it violated Plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment right to
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substantive due process when they used the excessive force. See id at 11.
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In Plaintiff’s second claim, Plaintiff sues Defendant Adams in his individual and
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official capacities for deliberately denying Plaintiff’s medical needs following the physical
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violence he sustained on July 6, 2022. See id. at 3-4. Plaintiff recites his prior claim against
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Defendant Adams regarding how Defendant Adams placed the cuffs on Plaintiff’s legs so tightly
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that Plaintiff could not walk and refused to loosen them. See id. at 12. Plaintiff again contends
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that Defendant Adams used Plaintiff’s inability to walk as an excuse to deny Plaintiff medical
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treatment. See id.
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In Plaintiff’s third claim, Plaintiff alleges Defendant Coppenhagen and Blevins
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violated Plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment right to substantive due process by failing to
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intervene. See id. at 13. Plaintiff sues both Defendant Coppenhagen and Blevins in their
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individual and official capacity. See id. at 14. Plaintiff claims Defendant Coppenhagen failed to
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stop Defendant Adams’s use of excessive force while he was standing on Plaintiff’s back and
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placing Plaintiff in armbars while telling Plaintiff to put his hands under his body. See id. Plaintiff
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additionally claims Defendant Coppenhagen used excessive force on Plaintiff during a cell
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extraction in which Plaintiff did not resist and tried to break Plaintiff’s foot, which resulted in
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unbearable pain. See id.
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Plaintiff claims Defendant Blevins failed to stop the other deputies use of
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excessive force at the JKF on July 6, 2022. See id. Plaintiff additionally alleges Defendant
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Blevins intentionally did not repport the excessive force inflicted on Plaintiff during the arrest or
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the violence that followed the arrest. See id. Plaintiff asserts Defendant Blevins knew the arrest
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was over and Plaintiff continued to be battered but chose to turn a blind eye. See id.
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II. DISCUSSION
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The Court finds that the allegations in Plaintiff's first amended complaint are
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sufficient to state potentially cognizable claims against all defendants – except Defendant
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Sacramento County –arising from the alleges use of excessive force and failure to provide
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medical care on July 6, 2022. As to Defendant Sacramento County, Plaintiff's allegations are
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insufficient to proceed.
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Municipalities and other local government units are among those “persons” to whom §
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1983 liability applies. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690 (1978). Counties
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and municipal government officials are also “persons” for purposes of § 1983. See id. at 691; see
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also Thompson v. City of Los Angeles, 885 F.2d 1439, 1443 (9th Cir. 1989). A local
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government unit, however, may not be held responsible for the acts of its employees or officials
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under a respondeat superior theory of liability. See Bd. of County Comm’rs v. Brown, 520 U.S.
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397, 403 (1997). Thus, municipal liability must rest on the actions of the municipality, and not of
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the actions of its employees or officers. See id. To assert municipal liability, therefore, the
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plaintiff must allege that the constitutional deprivation complained of resulted from a policy or
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custom of the municipality. See id.
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Here, Plaintiff's first amended compliant contains no allegations specific to
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Defendant Sacramento County, let alone allegations of the implementation of a municipal
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custom, policy, or practice which resulted in violations of Plaintiff's rights on July 6, 2022.
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Plaintiff will be provided an opportunity to amend.
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III. CONCLUSION
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Because it is possible that the deficiencies identified in this order may be cured by
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amending the complaint, Plaintiff is entitled to leave to amend. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d
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1122, 1126, 1131 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). Plaintiff is informed that, as a general rule, an
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amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258,
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1262 (9th Cir. 1992). Therefore, if Plaintiff amends the complaint, the Court cannot refer to the
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prior pleading in order to make Plaintiff's amended complaint complete. See Local Rule 220. An
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amended complaint must be complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. See id.
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If Plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, Plaintiff must demonstrate how the
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conditions complained of have resulted in a deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. See
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Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). The complaint must allege in specific terms how
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each named defendant is involved and must set forth some affirmative link or connection between
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each defendant’s actions and the claimed deprivation. See May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167
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(9th Cir. 1980); Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978).
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Because the complaint appears to otherwise state cognizable claims, if no amended
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complaint is filed within the time allowed therefor, the Court will issue findings and
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recommendations that the claims identified herein as defective be dismissed, as well as such
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further orders as are necessary for service of process as to the cognizable claims.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff may file a second amended
complaint within 30 days of the date of service of this order.
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Dated: January 28, 2025
____________________________________
DENNIS M. COTA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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