Chadwick v. Wright

Filing 13

ORDER of Dismissal with Leave to Amend. Signed by Judge Nandor J. Vadas on 12/16/2016. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(njvlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/16/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EUREKA DIVISON

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RYAN CURTIS CHADWICK,

Case No. 16-cv-3659-NJV (PR)

Plaintiff,
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ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE
TO AMEND

v.
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POLICE OFFICER WRIGHT,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendant.
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Plaintiff, a former detainee, has filed a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983. The court dismissed his amended complaint with leave to amend and plaintiff has filed a

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second amended complaint. (Doc. 11.)

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DISCUSSION

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Standard of Review

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Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek

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redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. §

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1915A(a). In its review the court must identify any cognizable claims, and dismiss any claims

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which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. at 1915A(b)(1),(2). Pro se

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pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th

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Cir. 1990).

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the
claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the

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statement need only “‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the grounds

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upon which it rests.’”” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations omitted). Although

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in order to state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff's

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obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels and

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conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . .

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Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell

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Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must

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proffer “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. The United

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States Supreme Court has recently explained the “plausible on its face” standard of Twombly:
“While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their

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veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Ashcroft

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v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009).

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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1)

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that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the

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alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins,

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487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).

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Legal Claims

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Plaintiff states that he was arrested in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

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A claim of unlawful arrest is cognizable under § 1983 for violation of the Fourth

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Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure if the allegation is that the

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arrest was without probable cause or other justification. See Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 555-

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558 (1967); see, e.g. Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d 896, 918-919 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc)

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(allegations that special prosecutor ordered or otherwise procured arrests and arrests were without

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probable cause enough to state a § 1983 claim of unlawful arrest against special prosecutor);

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Conner v. Heiman, 672 F.3d 1126, 1132 (9th Cir. 2012) (reversing denial of qualified immunity

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when there was “no question” that officers had probable cause to believe that plaintiff had

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committed the actus reus of theft, even though reasonable people could draw different conclusions
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based on plaintiff's behavior). A claim of bad faith in making an arrest may also be a cause of

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action under § 1983 as an illegal and unconstitutional arrest. See Bretz v. Kelman, 773 F.2d 1026,

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1031 (9th Cir. 1985) (en banc).

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In order to recover damages for an allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment,

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or for other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence

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invalid, a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been reversed

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on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to

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make such determination, or called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas

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corpus. Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-487 (1994). A claim for damages bearing that
relationship to a conviction or sentence that has not been so invalidated is not cognizable under §

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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1983. Id. at 487.

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In Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 393 (2007), the Court held that the “Heck rule for

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deferred accrual is called into play only when there exists ‘a conviction or sentence that has not

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been ... invalidated,’ that is to say, an ‘outstanding criminal judgment.’” Id. at 391-93 (quoting

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Heck, 512 U.S. at 486-87). The Heck rule delays accrual only if there is an existing conviction on

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the date the statute of limitations begins to run, which in the case of wrongful arrest or wrongful

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imprisonment claims is when the plaintiff's confinement is no longer without legal process, but

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rather becomes a confinement pursuant to legal process – that is, for example, when he or she is

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bound over by a magistrate or arraigned on charges. Id. at 389-90. The Court stated that the

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contention that “an action which would impugn an anticipated future conviction cannot be brought

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until that conviction occurs and is set aside” goes “well beyond Heck” and rejected it. Id. at 393

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(italics in original). Although the Court was only considering when the statute of limitations

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began running on a false arrest/false imprisonment claim, the discussion quoted suggests that Heck

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does not apply if there is no extant conviction – for instance, if plaintiff has only been arrested or

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charged.

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If a plaintiff files a § 1983 false arrest claim before he or she is convicted, or files any other

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claim related to rulings that likely will be made in a pending or anticipated criminal trial, it is

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within the power of the district court, and accords with common practice, to stay the civil action
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until the criminal case or the likelihood of a criminal case is ended. Id. at 393-94. If the plaintiff

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is then convicted, and if the stayed civil suit would impugn that conviction, Heck requires

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dismissal; otherwise, the case may proceed. Id. at 394.

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In the original complaint, plaintiff stated that defendant violated the Fourth Amendment in

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arresting him on May 22, 2016. However, it was not clear if there was an ongoing prosecution

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against plaintiff or if the charges had been dropped. Plaintiff also did not specify on what charges

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he was arrested. The court dismissed the complaint with leave to amend to provide more

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information concerning the arrest and the current status of the prosecution against Plaintiff. (Doc.

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7.) Plaintiff was informed that an amended complaint completely replaces the original complaint,
therefore he must include in it all the claims he wishes to present and he may not incorporate

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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material from the original complaint by reference.

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On September 26, 2016, Plaintiff filed a short letter stating that he was charged with being

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under the influence of controlled substance, but the charge was not prosecuted. (Doc. 9.) The

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court entered an order on November 9, 2016, holding that to the extent this was an amended

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complaint, it was dismissed with leave to amend to file a second amended complaint containing all

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the allegations of the original complaint and the letter. (Doc. 10.) The court informed Plaintiff

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that he may wish to provide more information concerning the arrest and declination to prosecute.

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The court assumed that while plaintiff was still in custody, it was not due to this arrest.

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Plaintiff has filed a second amended complaint and an updated address stating that he will

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shortly be released from custody. (Doc. 11.) However, the second amended complaint is also a

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brief one page letter that includes new information but again fails to repeat the information and

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allegations of the prior complaints. It also fails to include the names of any defendants. Plaintiff

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currently presents his allegations in three separate pleadings. The second amended complaint will

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be dismissed with leave to amend and file a third amended complaint. Plaintiff must file a

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formal complaint similar to his original complaint and include all information in one filing.

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He must identify the defendants by name and describe how his constitutional rights were

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violated.

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CONCLUSION

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1. The second amended complaint is DISMISSED with leave to amend in accordance

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with the standards set forth above. The third amended complaint must be filed within twenty-

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eight (28) days of the date this order is filed and must include the caption and civil case number

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used in this order and the words THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT on the first page. Because

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an amended complaint completely replaces the original complaint, plaintiff must include in

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it all the claims he wishes to present. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.

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1992). He may not incorporate material from the original complaint by reference. Failure to

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amend within the designated time will result in the dismissal of this case.
2. The clerk shall send a plaintiff a black civil rights complaint.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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3. It is the plaintiff's responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep the court

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informed of any change of address by filing a separate paper with the clerk headed “Notice of

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Change of Address,” and must comply with the court's orders in a timely fashion. Failure to do so

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may result in the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 41(b).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 16, 2016
________________________
NANDOR J. VADAS
United States Magistrate Judge

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