Ortiz v. Cate et al
Filing
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ORDER Dismissing Case with Leave to Amend. Signed by Judge William Alsup on 06/30/11. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service)(rbe, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/1/2011)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JAMAL DANWELL ORTIZ,
NO. C 11-2380 WHA (PR)
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Plaintiff,
ORDER DISMISSING CASE WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND
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v.
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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MATTHEW L. CATE; D. FOSTION;
D. STARK; G.D. LEWIS; P.T. SMITH;
CRUISE; R. BELL; M.J. NIMROD;
DR. GLINES; V. COMPELLO;
OFFICER TRIMM; OFFICER
CARDENAS,
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Defendants.
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INTRODUCTION
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Plaintiff, an inmate at Pelican Bay State Prison proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights
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action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. He has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis in a
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separate matter. Based upon a review of the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915A, it is
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dismissed with leave to amend.
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DISCUSSION
A.
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
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se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699
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(9th Cir. 1990).
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only "a short and plain statement of the
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, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007) (citations omitted).
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Although in order to state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a
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plaintiff's obligation to provide the 'grounds of his 'entitle[ment] to relief' requires more than
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labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not
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do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative
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level." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1964-65 (2007) (citations omitted). A
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complaint must proffer "enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face." Id.
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For the Northern District of California
claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." "Specific facts are not necessary; the
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United States District Court
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at 1974.
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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements:
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(1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2)
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that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law.
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West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).
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B.
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LEGAL CLAIMS
The complaint contains a substantial number of improperly joined claims. "A party
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asserting a claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party claim may join, as independent or
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alternative claims, as many claims as it has against an opposing party." Fed. R. Civ. P. 18(a).
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The rules are somewhat different when, as here, there are multiple parties. Multiple parties may
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be joined as defendants in one action only "if any right to relief is asserted against them jointly,
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severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence,
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or series of transactions or occurrences; and any question of law or fact common to all
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defendants will arise in the action." Id. at 20(a)(2).
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The upshot of these rules is that “multiple claims against a single party are fine, but
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Claim A against Defendant 1 should not be joined with unrelated Claim B against Defendant
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2.” George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). "Unrelated claims against different
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defendants belong in different suits." Ibid.
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The complaint is over a hundred pages long and has more than a hundred more pages of
different prison officials: that window coverings and a jumpsuit required for his committing
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indecent exposure constitutes cruel and unusual punishment; that the imposition of these
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measures for more than 180 days violates liberty interest protected by due process; that prison
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officials have denied his inmate appeals violates his First Amendment rights; that prison
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psychologists interfered his first amendment rights to file administrative appeals and due
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process rights to a fair and impartial hearing; that he has been denied adequate access to the law
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library by unnamed officials; that he has suffered retaliation for mailing a letter to the Prison
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Law Office and filing complaints against staff; that he has been subject to sexual harassment;
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For the Northern District of California
exhibits. The following is a sample of the wide range of claims plaintiff asserts against twelve
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United States District Court
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that he has received inadequate dental care; that unspecified prison officials have engaged in a
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“code of silence” in which they fail to report misconduct when they witness it; that he has not
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received adequate psychological care for his exhibitionism.
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As alleged, these claims against multiple parties do not arise out of the same
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transaction, occurrence or series of occurrences, and do not involve a common question of law
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or fact. The complaint is simply a recitation of seemingly all the things that people have
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plaintiff has found objectionable since his arrival at Pelican Bay State Prison. "A buckshot
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complaint that would be rejected if filed by a free person – say, a suit complaining that A
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defrauded plaintiff, B defamed him, C punched him, D failed to pay a debt, and E infringed his
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copyright, all in different transactions – should be rejected if filed by a prisoner." Ibid.
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Accordingly, the Court finds the defendants improperly joined.
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Although a court may strike individual claims that are not properly joined, the Court
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cannot here determine which of the many claims Plaintiff may wish to keep and which he wants
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to omit. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. Thus, instead of dismissing certain claims and defendants, the
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Court now dismisses the amended complaint with leave to file an amended complaint. The
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amended complaint must comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 18 and 20 concerning
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joinder of claims and defendants, and if it does not then this action will be dismissed.
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CONCLUSION
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1. The complaint is DISMISSED with leave to amend, as indicated above, within thirty
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days from the date of this order. The amended complaint must include the caption and civil
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case number used in this order (No. C 11-2380 WHA (PR)) and the words AMENDED
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COMPLAINT on the first page. Because an amended complaint completely replaces the
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original complaint, plaintiff must include in it all the claims he wishes to present. See Ferdik v.
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Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992). He may not incorporate material from the
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original complaint by reference. Failure to amend within the designated time and in accordance
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with this order will result in the dismissal of these claims.
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2. It is the plaintiff's responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep the court
informed of any change of address by filing with the clerk a separate paper headed “Notice of
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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Change of Address.” Papers intended to be filed in this case should be addressed to the clerk
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and not to the undersigned. Petitioner also must comply with the Court's orders in a timely
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fashion. Failure to do so may result in the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute
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pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: June
30
, 2011.
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WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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G:\PRO-SE\WHA\CR.11\ORTIZ2380.LTA.wpd
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