Wallace v. Ducart
Filing
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ORDER OF SERVICE. Signed by Magistrate Judge Jaccqueline Scott Corley on 10/31/2016. (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/31/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GEORGE ELLIS WALLACE,
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Plaintiff,
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ORDER OF SERVICE
v.
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C. E. DUCART,
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Defendant.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
Case No.16-cv-03798-JSC
INTRODUCTION
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Plaintiff, a California prisoner, filed this pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. §
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1983 against officials at Pelican Bay State Prison.1 Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma
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pauperis is granted in a separate order. For the reasons explained below, the complaint is ordered
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served upon Defendant Ducart.
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). The Court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion of
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the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief
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may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.” Id.
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§ 1915A(b). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901
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F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the
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claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the
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Plaintiff consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
636(c). (ECF No. 1 at 4.)
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statement need only give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the grounds upon
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which it rests.” Erickson v. Pardus, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 2200 (2007) (citations omitted). Although to
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state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s obligation to
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provide the grounds of his entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a
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formulaic 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. Twombly,
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127 S. Ct. 1955, 1964-65 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must proffer “enough facts to
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state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 1974.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a
right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged
violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S.
42, 48 (1988).
LEGAL CLAIMS
Plaintiff alleges that prison officials at PBSP fired him from his job, verbally harassed him,
moved him to a different part of the prison, and threatened to harm him based upon his religious
beliefs. Such allegations, when liberally construed, state a cognizable claim for the violation of
his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religious beliefs.
Plaintiff names C.E. Ducart, the PBSP Warden, as a Defendant, and he indicates that he
needs additional time to obtain the names of the other prison officials responsible for these
actions. When he obtains their names, he may include them in an amended complaint. The
amended complaint must include the caption and civil case number used in this order (No. C 163798 JSC (PR)) and the words “COURT-ORDERED FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT” on the
first page. As the amended complaint will completely replace the original complaint, see Ferdik v.
Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992), Plaintiff must include all claims and Defendants --including those from the original complaint --- in the amended complaint, and he may not
incorporate material from the original complaint by reference.
Plaintiff names Governor Brown as a Defendant, but makes no allegations against him. He
is not liable simply because he is a superior of prison officials who allegedly violated Plaintiff’s
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rights. See Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989) (under no circumstances is there
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respondeat superior liability under Section 1983). Accordingly, the complaint is dismissed as to
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Defendant Brown.
CONCLUSION
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1.
The claims against Defendant Edmund G. Brown are DISMISSED.
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2.
The Clerk shall issue a summons and Magistrate Judge jurisdiction consent form
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and the United States Marshal shall serve, without prepayment of fees, the summons, Magistrate
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Judge jurisdiction consent form, a copy of the complaint with attachments, and a copy of this
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order on Warden C. E. Ducart at the Pelican Bay State Prison.
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The Clerk shall also mail a courtesy copy of the Magistrate Judge jurisdiction consent
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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form, the complaint with all attachments and a copy of this order to the California Attorney
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General’s Office.
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3.
Defendant shall complete and file the Magistrate Judge jurisdiction consent form
within the deadline provided on the form. He shall also file an answer in accordance with the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
43.
To expedite the resolution of this case:
a. No later than 91 days from the date this order is issued, Defendant shall file a
motion for summary judgment or other dispositive motion. The motion shall be supported by
adequate factual documentation and shall conform in all respects to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 56, and shall include as exhibits all records and incident reports stemming from the
events at issue. If Defendant is of the opinion that this case cannot be resolved by summary
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judgment, he shall so inform the Court prior to the date the summary judgment motion is due. All
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papers filed with the Court shall be promptly served on Plaintiff.
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b. At the time the dispositive motion is served, Defendants shall also serve, on a
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separate paper, the appropriate notice required by Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952, 953-954 (9th
Cir. 1998) (en banc). See Woods v. Carey, 684 F.3d 934, 940-941 (9th Cir. 2012).
c. Plaintiff's opposition to the dispositive motion, if any, shall be filed with the
Court and served upon Defendant no later than 28 days from the date the motion is filed. Plaintiff
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must read the attached page headed “NOTICE -- WARNING,” which is provided to him pursuant
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to Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952, 953-954 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc).
d. Defendant shall file a reply brief no later than 14 days after the opposition is
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filed.
e. The motion shall be deemed submitted as of the date the reply brief is due. No
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hearing will be held on the motion unless the Court so orders at a later date.
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All communications by Plaintiff with the Court must be served on Defendant or
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their counsel once counsel has been designated, by mailing a true copy of the document to
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Defendant or his counsel.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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6.
Discovery may be taken in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
No further Court order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(a)(2) is required before the
parties may conduct discovery.
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It is Plaintiff's responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep the Court
informed of any change of address by filing a separate paper with the clerk headed “Notice of
Change of Address.” He also must comply with the Court's orders in a timely fashion. Failure to
do so may result in the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 41(b). Reasonable requests for an extension of a deadline will be allowed upon a
showing of good cause if the request is filed prior to the deadline.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 31, 2016
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JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge
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NOTICE -- WARNING (SUMMARY JUDGMENT)
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If Defendants move for summary judgment, they are seeking to have your case dismissed.
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A motion for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will, if
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granted, end your case.
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Rule 56 tells you what you must do in order to oppose a motion for summary judgment.
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Generally, summary judgment must be granted when there is no genuine issue of material fact--
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that is, if there is no real dispute about any fact that would affect the result of your case, the party
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who asked for summary judgment is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, which will end your
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case. When a party you are suing makes a motion for summary judgment that is properly
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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supported by declarations (or other sworn testimony), you cannot simply rely on what your
complaint says. Instead, you must set out specific facts in declarations, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, or authenticated documents, as provided in Rule 56(e), that contradict the facts
shown in Defendant's declarations and documents and show that there is a genuine issue of
material fact for trial. If you do not submit your own evidence in opposition, summary judgment,
if appropriate, may be entered against you. If summary judgment is granted, your case will be
dismissed and there will be no trial.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GEORGE ELLIS WALLACE,
Case No. 16-cv-03798-JSC
Plaintiff,
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v.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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C. E. DUCART,
Defendant.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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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 October 31, 2016, 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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George Ellis Wallace ID: Prisoner Id AF8343
Pelican Bay State Prison
P.O. Box 7500
Crescent City, CA 95532
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Dated: October 31, 2016
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Susan Y. Soong
Clerk, United States District Court
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By:________________________
Ada Means, Deputy Clerk to the
Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
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