Woods v. Ayers

Filing 5

ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. Signed by Judge JEFFREY S. WHITE on 12/21/11. (jjoS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/21/2011)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EARNEST C. WOODS, II,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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ROBERT AYERS, et al.,
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Defendants.
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No. C 11-4730 JSW (PR)
ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND

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INTRODUCTION
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Plaintiff, a California prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this rights action pursuant
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to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis in a
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separate order. The Court now reviews the complaint and dismisses with leave to
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amend.
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DISCUSSION
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I.

Standard of Review

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Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners
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seek redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.
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28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss any portion
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of the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon
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which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune
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from such relief.” Id. § 1915A(b). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed.
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Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only "a short and plain statement
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of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." "Specific facts are not

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necessary; the statement need only '"give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim

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is and the grounds upon which it rests."'" Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200

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(2007) (citations omitted). Although in order to state a claim a complaint “does not need

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detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff's obligation to provide the 'grounds of his

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'entitle[ment] to relief' requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic

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recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . . Factual allegations must

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be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Bell Atlantic Corp. v.

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Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1964-65 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must proffer

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"enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face." Id. at 1974. Pro se

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pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696,

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699 (9th Cir. 1990).
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements:

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

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(2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state

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law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).

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II.

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Legal Claims
Plaintiff sets forth two claims for relief. (See Complaint at 9.) His first claims is

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that prison officials violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for

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exercising his right to file inmate grievances. (Id.) His second claim is that prison

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officials have violated his Eighth Amendment rights by being deliberately indifferent to

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his medical needs. (Id. at 9-10.)

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The complaint contains a number of deficiencies that must be cured by

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amendment. First, Plaintiff has not indicated where any of the Defendants are located.

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Because he is proceeding in forma pauperis, he is relying on the United States Marshal

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to serve the complaint upon Defendants. The Marshal cannot do so unless Plaintiff

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provides the correct current location of all Defendants he wishes to sue. Plaintiff must

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do so in his amended complaint.

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It is also unclear which Defendants Plaintiff wants to sue for retaliation, and

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which specific acts were allegedly retaliatory. In his first “claim for relief,” he names

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only that Defendant Robert Ayers, the Warden, whom he alleges retaliated against him

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by implementing an unconstitutional policy. (Complaint at 9.) In the factual background

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section of the complaint, however, he alleges that a number of Defendants were placed

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him administrative segregation and disciplined him to retaliate against him for filing

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grievances. Plaintiff also alleges that officials once only gave him 10 minutes to eat, and

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delayed delivery of books he ordered; although it is not clear if these latter actions are

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claimed to be retaliatory. As Plaintiff does not name any Defendants in his retaliation

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claim other than Ayers, it is not clear which Defendants he means to bring a retaliation

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claim against. It is also not clear whether Plaintiff is claiming only that the allegedly

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false disciplinary findings and administrative segregation placement were retaliatory, or

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that there were other retaliatory acts as well. In order to proceed, Plaintiff must amend

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his complaint to clearly name for each claim for relief which Defendants he wants to sue

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on that particular claim. He must also clearly state in his amended complaint what

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action(s) he is alleging were retaliatory.

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It is also unclear which Defendants Plaintiff is suing on his second claim, for

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improper medical care. In his “claim for relief,” he states that “Defendants” interfered

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with his medical needs by transferring him to the Secured Housing Unit (“SHU”).

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(Complaint at 9.) In the factual background, Plaintiff alleges that he was receiving

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medical care when he was transferred to the SHU at Corcoran. He alleges that

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Defendants Teresa Schwartz, Eric Arnold and Vern Curry signed a memorandum that led

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to the transfer. However, it is unclear whether these are the only three Defendants he

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wishes to sue on his medical claim because the “claim for relief” does not identify the

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Defendants he claims are liable. Plaintiff must amend complaint to clearly identify

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which Defendants he claims are liable on his second claim.

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In identifying which Defendants he wants to sue on which claims, Plaintiff must
keep in mind that liability may be imposed on an individual defendant under 42 U.S.C. §

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1983 if Plaintiff can show that the defendant proximately caused the deprivation of his

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rights. Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988). Thus, he must only name as

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Defendants individuals against that were “personally involved in the deprivation of his

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civil rights." Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998).
CONCLUSION

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1. The complaint is DISMISSED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. Plaintiff shall

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file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days from the date of this order that cures

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all of the deficiencies discussed above. The amendment must include the caption and

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civil case number used in this order and the words “COURT-ORDERED FIRST

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AMENDED COMPLAINT” and the case number for this case (No. C 11-4730 JSW

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(PR)) on the first page. Because an amended complaint completely replaces the original

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complaint, see Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992), Plaintiff may not

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incorporate material from the original or amended complaints by reference. Failure to

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amend within the designated time and in accordance with this order will result in the

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dismissal of this action.

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2. It is Plaintiff's responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep the

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Court informed of any change of address and must comply with the Court's orders in a

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timely fashion. Failure to do so may result in the dismissal of this action under Federal

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Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: December 21, 2011

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JEFFREY S. WHITE
United States District Judge

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EARNEST CASSELL WOODS II,

Case Number: CV11-04730 JSW

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Plaintiff,

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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v.

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ROBERT AYERS et al,

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Defendant.

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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District
Court, Northern District of California.
That on December 21, 2011, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing
said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by
depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office
delivery receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

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Earnest C. Woods D 58091
P.O. Box 689
Soledad, CA 95696

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Dated: December 21, 2011

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Richard W. Wieking, Clerk
By: Jennifer Ottolini, Deputy Clerk