Johnson v. CTF Soledad State Prison et al

Filing 14

ORDER DISMISSING CASE. Signed by Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James on 9/28/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(rmm2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/28/2017)

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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

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. On June 22, 2017 the Court re-reviewed the amended complaint and dismissed it with

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further leave to amend to show how each defendant involved treated him in a way that was

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medically unacceptable under the circumstances and was undertaken in conscious disregard of an

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excessive risk of plaintiff’s health. Plaintiff has filed a second amended complaint (SAC), which

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is now before the Court for review.1
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.
§ 1915A(b) (1), (2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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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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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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Plaintiff consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
636(c). Dkt. 1 at 4. With his SAC, plaintiff filed a form declining such jurisdiction. Dkt. 13 at 4.
A party must show “extraordinary circumstances” for withdrawing consent. 28 U.S.C. §
636(c)(4). Plaintiff did not provide any reason for withdrawing his consent, let alone show
extraordinary circumstances.

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B.

Legal Claims
The SAC fails to cure the deficiencies identified in the Court’s orders of dismissal with

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leave to amend. The SAC is substantially similar to the first amended complaint, and plaintiff has

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failed to provide additional information. Most significantly, plaintiff fails to state clearly what

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happened, when it happened, what each defendant did, and how those actions or inactions rise to

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the level of a federal constitutional violation. As a result, he fails to allege that any defendant

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acted with the requisite mental state of deliberate indifference to a risk to plaintiff’s health, as

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required to state an Eighth Amendment claim. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834, 837

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(1994). As with the first amended complaint, plaintiff’s SAC provides a summary of his inmate

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appeals from 2016 and attaches his appeal record as exhibits. Plaintiff was previously cautioned

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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that the Court will not read through exhibits to piece together a claim for a plaintiff who has not

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pled one. Even in reviewing the attachments provided, however, the Court cannot make out a

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cognizable Eighth Amendment claim.
Accordingly, this case is DISMISSED because the SAC fails to state a cognizable claim

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for relief. Further leave to amend will not be granted because the Court already has explained to

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plaintiff the specific deficiencies in his pleading, and he has been unable or unwilling to correct

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them.

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The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 28, 2017

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MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge