(PS) Storman v. County of Sacramento et al
Filing
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ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Sean C. Riordan on 1/27/2025 ORDERING the Court will defer ruling on 2 Motion to Proceed IFP until plaintiff resubmits in legible format within 30 days. The Court will also defer ruling on 3 Request for Accommodations until he has submitted an amended complaint within 30 days. The Clerk shall provide blank copies of a pro se complaint and application to proceed IFP. (Deputy Clerk KEZ)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MICHAEL D. STORMAN,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
No. 2:24-cv-03658-TLN-SCR
ORDER
COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, et al.
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff is proceeding pro se in this action, which was referred to the undersigned
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pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(21). Plaintiff has filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma
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pauperis (“IFP”) and has submitted the affidavit required by that statute. See 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(a)(1). The Court will defer ruling on the motion because portions of it are illegible.
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Plaintiff’s complaint is also almost entirely illegible. ECF No. 1. Accordingly, the Court will
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allow Plaintiff to file an amended complaint that is legible and Plaintiff shall also resubmit his
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motion to proceed in forma pauperis.
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). In
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reviewing the complaint, the Court is guided by the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the complaint must contain (1) a “short
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and 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).
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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. Erickson, 551 U.S. at 94. However, the
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court need not accept as true legal conclusions, even if cast as factual allegations. See Moss v.
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U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). A formulaic recitation of the elements of
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a cause of action does not suffice to state a claim. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,
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555-57 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 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 Akhtar v.
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Mesa, 698 F.3d 1202, 1213 (9th Cir. 2012).
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B.
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Plaintiff’s complaint is largely illegible. At page four, where Plaintiff is to assert the basis
The Complaint
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for jurisdiction, most of the handwriting is illegible, and it appears to say “gross negligence,”
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which would not be a basis for federal question jurisdiction. ECF No. 1 at 4. The factual
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“statement of claim” section is indecipherable. ECF No. 1 at 5. Plaintiff attaches to his
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complaint a one-page typed document, which appears to be an excerpt from medical records.
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ECF No. 1 at 7. The relevance to whatever claim he is attempting to assert in the complaint is
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unclear. The typed note discusses “elder abuse” and states that Plaintiff’s “land lady” has yelled
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at him for spilling coffee and has been verbally abusive in other instances.
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C.
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The primary deficiency with Plaintiff’s complaint is that it is illegible. A court cannot
Analysis
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perform its screening function under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 if the complaint is illegible. See Ramirez
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v. Perez, 2022 WL 21827691 (E.D. Cal. 2022). Local Rule 130(b) also requires that documents
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submitted for filing be legible. The largely illegible complaint does not set forth a basis for
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federal jurisdiction and fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The complaint
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also does not comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 and does not put Defendants on
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notice of the claims against them. See Case v. Waddington, 2007 WL 1140282 (W.D. Wash.
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2007) (dismissing action as it “cannot proceed without a legible complaint” and noting it would
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prejudice Ds who “would not receive sufficient notice as to the allegations brought against
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them”).
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The Court is aware that Plaintiff’s complaint mentions in the typed attachment “spilling
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coffee due to his tremor.” ECF No. 1 at 7. The undersigned recognizes that is possible that
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Plaintiff’s handwriting difficulties are due to the tremor. Plaintiff has also filed a request for
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reasonable accommodation, which appears to request pro bono counsel. ECF No. 3. However,
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the Court cannot evaluate the appropriateness of appointing counsel without having a legible
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complaint. The Court notes that Plaintiff is a frequent litigant who has filed more than 30 actions
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in this Court over the years. Plaintiff in December 2024, filed Storman v. Arrowhead Housing,
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24-cv-03658-DJC-AC and Storman v. Xfinity, 24-cv-03753-DJC-CSK. While the complaints in
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both those actions are difficult to read, they are more decipherable than the instant complaint. It
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thus appears that Plaintiff can submit documents that are clear enough to read.
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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the court “shall dismiss” a case if it determines the
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action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a
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defendant immune from such relief. The complaint, as currently drafted and largely illegible,
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does not set forth a basis for federal jurisdiction and fails to state a claim upon which relief can be
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granted.
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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
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(Rm. 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 should contain specific allegations as to the actions of each named defendant.
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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. The amended complaint must also be legible. See Local Rule 130(b); Williams v.
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Prudhel, 2023 WL 2374130 (E.D. Cal. 2023) (“If plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, the
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amended complaint must be legible.”).
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III. CONCLUSION
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. The Court will defer ruling on Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No.
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2) until Plaintiff has resubmitted it in a legible format. Plaintiff shall resubmit the
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motion within 30 days of the date of this order. The Court will also defer ruling on
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Plaintiff’s request for accommodation (ECF No. 3) until he has submitted an amended
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complaint.
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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. Plaintiff must comply with
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Local Rule 130(b) which requires documents “be presented by typewriting, printing,
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photographic or offset reproduction, or other clearly legible process, without erasures or
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interlining that materially defaces the document, and shall appear on one side of each
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sheet only.” (emphasis added). If Plaintiff fails to timely comply with this order, the
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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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4. The Clerk of the Court shall provide Plaintiff blank copies of a pro se complaint and
application to proceed in forma pauperis.
SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 27, 2025.
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