Jackson v. California Correctional Health Care Services

Filing 6

ORDER OF DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Thelton E. Henderson on 1/3/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(tlS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/3/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANDRE JACKSON,

Case No.

16-cv-6410-TEH

Plaintiff,
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v.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

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CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONAL HEALTH
CARE SERVICES,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff, an inmate at Correctional Training Facility,

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filed this pro se civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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The original complaint was dismissed with leave to amend and

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Plaintiff has filed an amended complaint.

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I

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Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of

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cases in which prisoners seek redress from a governmental entity

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or officer or employee of a governmental entity.

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1915A(a).

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the complaint, or any portion of the complaint, if the complaint

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“is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which

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relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a

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defendant who is immune from such relief.”

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Pleadings filed by pro se litigants, however, must be liberally

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construed.

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Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t., 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir.

28 U.S.C. §

The Court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss

Id. § 1915A(b).

Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010);

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1990).
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must

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allege two essential elements:

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Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2)

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that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under

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the color of state law.

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(1) that a right secured by the

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

Plaintiff states that he was notified of a potential breach
regarding his personal health information.

A laptop computer

that may have included Plaintiff’s health information was stolen

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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out of a car of a prison health care worker.

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password protected but was not encrypted.

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damages and the identity of the health care worker who had the

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computer stolen.

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The computer was

Plaintiff seeks money

Plaintiff has failed to state a cognizable claim because he

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has failed to identify a right secured by the Constitution or

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laws of the United States that was violated.

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Plaintiff is asserting a violation of his health privacy; he is

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not entitled to relief.

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Accountability Act of `1996 (“HIPAA”), Pub. L. 104-191, 110 Stat.

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1936 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 42 U.S.C.)

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“provides for no private right of action.”

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Document Solutions, 499 F.3d 1078, 1080 (9th Cir. 2007); see,

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e.g., Seaton v. Mayberg, 610 F.3d 530, 533 (9th Cir. 2010)

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(citing Webb and dismissing prisoner's claim under HIPAA for

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disclosure of his medical records).

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potential release of his medical information due to theft

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violated his constitutionally-protected privacy rights fails to

To the extent

The Health Insurance Protability and

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Webb v. Smart

Plaintiff assertion that

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state a claim because “prisoners do not have a constitutionally

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protected expectation of privacy in prison treatment records when

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the state has a legitimate penological interest in access to

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them.”

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with leave to amend to address the legal standards set forth

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above.

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original complaint and Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a

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cognizable claim.

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futile this case is dismissed with prejudice.

Seaton, 610 F.3d at 534.

The amended complaint is substantially similar to the

Because allowing further amendment would be

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The complaint was dismissed

III
For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby orders as
follows:
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Plaintiff’s complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice for

failure to state a claim.

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2.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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The Clerk shall close this case.

Dated: 1/3/2017

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________________________
THELTON E. HENDERSON
United States District Judge

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G:\PRO-SE\TEH\CR.16\Jackson6410.dis.docx

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