Johnson v. CTF Soledad State Prison et al

Filing 12

ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH FURTHER LEAVE TO AMEND. Signed by Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James on 6/22/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(rmm2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/22/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CEDRIC CHESTER JOHNSON,
Plaintiff,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 16-cv-05548-MEJ (PR)
ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH
FURTHER LEAVE TO AMEND

v.
CTF SOLEDAD STATE PRISON, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a prisoner of the State of California currently incarcerated at the Correctional

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Training Facility at Soledad (CTF), filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983,

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complaining of inadequate medical care at that facility. In its December 5, 2016 initial review

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order, the Court understood plaintiff to be alleging an Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference

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claim based on allegations that he fell and injured himself after defendants refused his request for

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a “vision impaired test.” After determining that the allegations failed to show that defendants

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were aware that they would be subjecting plaintiff to an excessive risk to his health, the Court

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dismissed the complaint with leave to amend. Plaintiff then filed an amended complaint. On

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March 29, 2017, the Court dismissed the amended complaint for failure to correct the deficiencies

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identified in the original complaint.

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On April 19, 2017, plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration clarifying that his

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complaints alleged that defendants refused to give him a “vision impaired vest,” not a “vision

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impaired test.” On May 9, 2017, the Court granted the motion for reconsideration and reopened

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the action. The amended complaint is again before the Court for review.

DISCUSSION

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A.

Standard of Review

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A federal court must engage in a preliminary screening of any case in which a prisoner

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seeks redress from a governmental entity, or from an officer or an employee of a governmental

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entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review, the Court must identify any cognizable claims, and

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dismiss any claims which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be

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granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(b) (1), (2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

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Dep’t, 901 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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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Specific facts are not

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necessary; the statement need only ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the

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

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“[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more

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than 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 level.”

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

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

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violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S.

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42, 48 (1988).

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B.

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Legal Claims
Deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical needs violates the Eighth

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Amendment. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976); Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051,

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1057 (9th Cir. 2004). A defendant violates the Eighth Amendment only when two requirements

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are met: (1) the deprivation alleged is, objectively, sufficiently serious, and (2) the official is,

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subjectively, deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s health or safety. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511

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U.S. 825, 834 (1994). In the medical care context, the prisoner first must identify an objectively

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serious medical need. See Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1122 (9th Cir. 2012) (serious

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medical need exists if “failure to treat a prisoner’s condition could result in further significant

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injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.”) Second, the prisoner must allege that

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the defendant acted with the requisite mental state of deliberate indifference to a risk to the

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prisoner’s health. Under the Eighth Amendment standard applicable to prisoner claims, a

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defendant is deliberately indifferent if he knows that a prisoner faces a substantial risk of serious

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harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable steps to abate it. Farmer, 511 U.S. at

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837. The defendant must not only “be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn
that a substantial risk of serious harm exists,” but he “must also draw the inference.” Id. A claim

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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of medical malpractice or mere negligence is insufficient to make out a violation of the Eighth

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Amendment. See Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1060-61.

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Here, plaintiff has adequately alleged a serious medical need, i.e., vision impairment.

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However, nothing in the amended complaint or attached exhibits shows that plaintiff received

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treatment that was “medically unacceptable under the circumstances” and that defendants

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embarked on a course of treatment “in conscious disregard of an excessive risk to [plaintiff’s]

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health.” See Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1058. The Court cannot discern what facts plaintiff is basing

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his claims on. Plaintiff’s allegations fail to state clearly what happened, when it happened, what

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each defendant did, and how those actions or inactions rise to the level of a federal constitutional

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violation. In his amended complaint, plaintiff provides a summary of his inmate appeals from

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2016 and attaches his appeal record as exhibits. The Court will not read through exhibits to piece

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together a claim for a plaintiff who has not pled one. The lack of detail prevents the Court from

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determining which claims deserve a response and from whom, and also prevents individual

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defendants from framing a response to the complaint.

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Because it appears that plaintiff may be able to correct these deficiencies, the Court will

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grant plaintiff another opportunity to plead his claim(s), if he can do so in good faith, by filing a

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second amended complaint (SAC). In his SAC, plaintiff must specifically identify what each

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named defendant did or did not do in order to state a claim with regard to each separate claim.

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Sweeping conclusory allegations will not suffice. Plaintiff should not refer to the defendants as a

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group (e.g., “the defendants”); rather, he should identify each involved defendant by name and

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link each of them to his claim(s) by explaining what each involved defendant did or failed to do

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that caused a violation of his rights. See Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Plaintiff is cautioned that there is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983, i.e. no liability

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under the theory that one is responsible for the actions or omissions of an employee. Liability

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under § 1983 arises only upon a showing of personal participation by the defendant. Taylor v.

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List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989).
CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby orders as follows:

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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1.

Plaintiff’s amended complaint is DISMISSED with further leave to amend.

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2.

If plaintiff can cure the pleading deficiencies described above, he shall file an SAC

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within thirty days from the date this order is filed. The SAC must include the caption and civil

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case number used in this order (C 16-5548 MEJ (PR)) and the words SECOND AMENDED

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COMPLAINT on the first page. The SAC must indicate which specific, named defendant(s) was

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involved in each cause of action, what each defendant did, what effect this had on plaintiff and

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what right plaintiff alleges was violated. Plaintiff must also provide dates and locations for the

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alleged incidents. Plaintiff may not incorporate material from the prior complaints by reference.

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If plaintiff files an SAC, he must allege, in good faith, facts - not merely conclusions of law - that

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demonstrate that he is entitled to relief under the applicable federal statutes. Failure to file an

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SAC within thirty days and in accordance with this order will result in the dismissal of this

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case without prejudice.

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3.

Plaintiff is advised that an amended complaint supersedes the prior complaints.

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“[A] plaintiff waives all causes of action alleged in the original complaint which are not alleged in

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the amended complaint.” London v. Coopers & Lybrand, 644 F.2d 811, 814 (9th Cir. 1981).

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Defendants not named in an amended complaint are no longer defendants. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet,

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963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992).

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4.

It is the plaintiff’s responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep the

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

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

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

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Civil Procedure 41(b).
The Clerk shall include a copy of the court’s form complaint with a copy of this order to

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plaintiff.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

June 22, 2017

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge