Marroquin v. Cate

Filing 8

ORDER re 1 Complaint filed by Armando Antonio Marroquin Amended Complaint due by 3/7/2013.. Signed by Judge ARMSTRONG on 1/31/13. (lrc, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/5/2013)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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v.
MATTHEW CATE, Secretary of California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,

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Defendant.

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ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT
WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

Plaintiff,

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No. C 11-4535 SBA (PR)

ARMANDO ANTONIO MARROQUIN,

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Armando Antonio Marroquin, an inmate presently incarcerated at La Palma

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Correctional Center (LPCC) in Eloy, Arizona, has filed a pro se civil rights action under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983 alleging claims against Matthew Cate, the former Director of the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).1 The gravamen of Plaintiff’s

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complaint appears to be that the CDCR was deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s medical

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needs and safety by transferring him to a facility in Arizona. Plaintiff also alleges that he

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was discriminated against because his transfer was due to his illegal alien status. Finally,

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Plaintiff complains about his treatment at the LPCC.

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Plaintiff previously was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (Dkt. 7). The
Court now conducts a preliminary screening of the Complaint.

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BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff was previously incarcerated at an unspecified correctional facility located in

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California. On a date not specified in the pleadings, Plaintiff was transferred to the LPCC in

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On December 27, 2012, Jeffrey A. Beard was appointed as Secretary of the CDCR.

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Arizona. Although Plaintiff has a green card, the CDCR classified him as an illegal alien.

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On that basis, the CDCR allegedly transferred Plaintiff to Arizona. Though not entirely

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clear, Plaintiff appears to allege that after his transfer, he was deprived of reasonable

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accommodations for an unspecified disability, medical care, access to the courts and

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“indigent supplies,” and was subject to attacks by other inmates. These deprivations

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allegedly occurred at the LPCC.
Plaintiff seeks damages in the amount of $10,000 for each day he has been in Arizona

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and for unspecified injunctive relief.
DISCUSSION

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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A.

Legal Standard for Review of Complaint

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

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prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental

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entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The court must identify any cognizable claims, and dismiss

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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. Id. at

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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).

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

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a 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

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U.S. 42, 48 (1988). Liability may be imposed on an individual defendant under 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983 if the plaintiff can show that the defendant proximately caused the deprivation of a

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federally protected right. Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988); Harris v. City

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of Roseburg, 664 F.2d 1121, 1125 (9th Cir. 1981). A person deprives another of a

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constitutional right within the meaning of § 1983 if he performs an affirmative act,

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participates in another's affirmative act or omits to perform an act which he is legally

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required to do, that causes the deprivation of which the plaintiff complains. Leer, 844 F.2d at

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633. There is no liability under § 1983 solely because one is responsible for the actions or

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omissions of another. Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989); Ybarra v. Reno

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Thunderbird Mobile Home Village, 723 F.2d 675, 680-81 (9th Cir. 1984).

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B.

Proper Defendant
The only Defendant named in this action is Cate, the former Director of the CDCR.

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In order to hold Cate liable for constitutional deprivations, Plaintiff must allege facts

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affirmatively linking him to the violation. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371-72 (1976);

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Leer, 844 F.2d at 631. The mere fact that Cate may have at one time been in charge of the

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CDCR or possibly supervised the individuals responsible for a violation is not enough. A

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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defendant may only be held liable in a supervisory capacity if he “participated in or directed

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the violations, or knew of the violations and failed to act to prevent them.” Taylor, 880 F.2d

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at 1045. Because the Complaint fails to allege any facts linking Cate to any constitutional

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deprivation, Cate will be dismissed as a party from this action.
The Court will grant Plaintiff an opportunity to amend. In order to state a claim,

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Plaintiff must set forth sufficient facts showing that Cate (or some other identifiable

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individual) personally took some action or omitted to take legally-required action that

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violated Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. Merely alleging that Cate is responsible because he

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was formerly the Director of the CDCR is insufficient to state a cognizable claim against

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him.

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C.

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Legal Claims
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Transfer Claims
a.

Improper Transfer

Prisoners have no constitutional right to incarceration in a particular institution. Olim

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v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 244-48 (1983); Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 224-25

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(1976). A prisoner's liberty interests are sufficiently extinguished by his conviction that the

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state may generally confine or transfer him to any of its institutions, to prisons in another

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state or to federal prisons, without offending the Constitution. Rizzo v. Dawson, 778 F.2d

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527, 530 (9th Cir. 1985) (citing Meachum, 427 U.S. at 224-25) (intrastate prison transfer

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does not implicate Due Process Clause), and Olim, 461 U.S. at 244-48 (interstate prison

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transfer does not implicate Due Process Clause). "It is well settled that the decision where to

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house inmates is at the core of prison administrators' expertise." McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S.

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24, 39 (2002).

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Furthermore, transfers from one prison to another do not per se violate the Eighth
Amendment. Sisbarro v. Massachusetts State Penitentiary, 592 F.2d 1, 4-5 (1st Cir.), cert.

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denied, 444 U.S. 849 (1979). Loss of a prison job, assigning an inmate to a prison far from

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his family and friends, and the like, which result from interprison transfers, are not

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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constitutionally protected interests. Olim, 461 U.S. at 247 (1983) (prison transfers

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constitutional even where they involve “long distances and an ocean crossing”). Therefore,

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as a general matter, Plaintiff cannot state a constitutional claim based solely on the fact that

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he was transferred. As will be discussed in more detail below, to the extent that Plaintiff is

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complaining that he is being mistreated at the transferee facility, the proper venue for such a

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claim is in Arizona. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) (venue statute for federal claims).

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b.

Deliberate Indifference

Deliberate indifference to serious medical needs violates the Eighth Amendment’s

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proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104

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(1976). To establish a claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, the plaintiff

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must show (1) “a serious medical need by demonstrating that failure to treat a prisoner’s

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condition could result in further significant injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of

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pain,” and (2) that “the defendant’s response to the need was deliberately indifferent.” Jett v.

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Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotations and citations omitted).

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It is unclear whether Plaintiff is, in fact, asserting a deliberate indifference claim. He

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alleges that he was “cleared” of all medical problems by the CDCR so that he could be

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transferred. He then claims that while at the LPCC, he “was suffering of [sic] medical care

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and was denied supplies.” Compl. § 3. To the extent that Plaintiff is attempting allege that

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California prison personnel were deliberately indifferent, such a claim is insufficiently pled.

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No facts are alleged establishing that Plaintiff has a serious medical need. Nor has Plaintiff

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alleged any facts demonstrating how CDCR staff were deliberately indifferent to that need.

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To the extent Plaintiff is claiming that he received inadequate medical attention after his

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transfer, such claims are properly brought in an Arizona court. Therefore, Plaintiff’s claim

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for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs is dismissed. Plaintiff will be given leave

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to amend to correct these deficiencies.

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c.

Equal Protection

Plaintiff also may be attempting to state an equal protection claim. “The Equal

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment commands that no State shall ‘deny to any

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person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,’ which is essentially a direction

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that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike.” City of Cleburne v. Cleburne

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Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985). A plaintiff alleging denial of equal protection

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under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on race or other suspect classification must plead intentional

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unlawful discrimination or allege facts that are at least susceptible of an inference of

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discriminatory intent. Monteiro v. Tempe Union High School Dist., 158 F.3d 1022, 1026

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(9th Cir. 1998). To state a claim for relief, the plaintiff must allege that the defendant state

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actor acted at least in part because of plaintiff's membership in a protected class. Serrano v.

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Francis, 345 F.3d 1071, 1081-82 (9th Cir. 2003).

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Plaintiff avers that he was transferred to Arizona because he is an illegal alien.

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However, no facts are offered to support this conclusory assertion. Allegations made in a

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complaint must be both “sufficiently detailed to give fair notice to the opposing party of the

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nature of the claim so that the party may effectively defend against it” and “sufficiently

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plausible” such that “it is not unfair to require the opposing party to be subjected to the

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expense of discovery.” Starr v. Baca, 633 F.3d 1191, 1204 (9th Cir. 2011). “Threadbare

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recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not

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suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Here, there are no facts in the

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Complaint to support Plaintiff’s claim that his illegal alien status was the reason he was

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transferred. Plaintiff’s equal protection claim is therefore dismissed with leave to amend.
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Claims Based on Treatment at LPCC

In addition to the above, Plaintiff also appears to take issue with his treatment at the

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LPCC in Arizona. Venue for federal claims is proper in the district in which (1) any

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defendant resides, if all of the defendants reside in the same state, (2) the district in which a

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substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial

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part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) a judicial district in which

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any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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brought. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).
Plaintiff asserts that he presently is not being afforded reasonable accommodations for

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his disability, proper medical treatment or access to the courts, and that unidentified LPCC

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staff have sent other inmates to attack him. Setting aside Plaintiff’s failure to allege any facts

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to support these claims, the proper venue to present such claims is in Arizona, not the

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Northern District of California. Accordingly, all claims based on Plaintiff’s treatment at the

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LPCC are dismissed without prejudice to Plaintiff’s ability to present such claims to a court

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in Arizona. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406 (court may dismiss or transfer claims where venue is

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improper).
CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

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1.

All claims against Cate are DISMISSED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND.

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2.

Plaintiff’s claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs and denial

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of equal protection are DISMISSED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND, as directed above.
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All claims based upon improper treatment at the LPCC are DISMISSED

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WITHOUT PREJUDICE to Plaintiff’s ability to allege such claims in a complaint filed in an

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Arizona court.

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4.

The amended pleading must be in the Court's civil rights complaint form and

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must include the caption and civil case number used in this Order -- No. C 11-4535 SBA

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(PR) -- and the words AMENDED COMPLAINT on the first page. Failure to file a proper

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amended complaint within thirty (30) days of the filing date of this Order will result in

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the dismissal of this action.

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The Clerk of the Court shall provide Plaintiff with a blank civil rights

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complaint form.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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DATED: 1/31/13
SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG
United States District Judge

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ARMANDO A MARROQUIN,
Case Number: CV11-04535 SBA

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Plaintiff,

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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v.
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MATTHEW CATE et al,
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Defendant.
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United States District Court
For the 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 February 5, 2013, 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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Armando Antonio Marroquin T-86698
L.P.C.C - C.C.A.
5501 N. La Palma Road
Eloy, AZ 85131
Dated: February 5, 2013
Richard W. Wieking, Clerk
By: Lisa Clark, Deputy Clerk

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G:\PRO-SE\SBA\CR.11\Marroquin4535.Init Rev DWLA-KKF rev.wpd

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