Redhead et al v. Mercy Housing et al

Filing 32

Judicial Referral for Purpose of Determining Relationship of Cases re 4:16-cv-03254 PJH. Signed by Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton on 06/22/2016. (pjhlc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/22/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RON STEPHEN REDHEAD,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 16-cv-03254-PJH

Plaintiff,

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v.

ORDER OF REFERAL AS TO
WHETHER CASES ARE RELATED

MERCY HOUSING,
Defendant.

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In the course of reviewing plaintiff Ron Stephen Redhead’s application to proceed

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in forma pauperis, it has come to the attention of the court that this case may be related

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to an earlier field case, Redhead v. Mercy Housing et al., No. 4:16-cv-0941 YGR. Both

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cases are based on Redhead’s dispute with his neighbor Tim Giangiobbe at the

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Madonna Residence (which is owned by Mercy Housing), as well as the property

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manager Karen Zhou. In both complaints, Redhead alleges that Giangiobbe has put

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racist letters on his door and that Zhou has failed to stop this harassment and maintain a

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safe environment at the residence. Compare Complaint, No. 4:16-cv-0941 YGR, at p. 2–

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3 (Giangiobbe “le[ft] racist letters and notes on an African American in his place of

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residence”; Zhou “allow[ed] this” and “allowed [drug dealers] to roam freely”) with

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Complaint, No. 4:16-cv-3254 PJH, at p. 2–3 (Giangiobbe “has put racist and insulting
letters on my apartment door”; Zhou “has allowed and supported Tim Giangiobbe” and
“failed . . . to keep me and all residents safe”). Plaintiff’s recent motion to “consider
whether cases should be related” appears to acknowledge that the current filing relates to
the same dispute as the earlier case, although he filed said notice in this case and not the
lowest-numbered case as required by Local Rule 3-12(b). See Dkt. 4.

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Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the prior case without leave to amend on June

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6, 2013. See Order Granting Motions to Dismiss Without Leave to Amend, Dkt. 27, No.

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4:16-cv-0941 YGR. This case was filed one week later.

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Local Rule 3-12(c) provides that when “a Judge believes that a case pending

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before that Judge is related to another case, the Judge may refer the case to the Judge

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assigned to the lowest-numbered case with a request that the Judge assigned to the

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lowest-numbered case consider whether the cases are related.”

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Accordingly, pursuant to Local Rule 3-12(c), the court REFERS this action to the
Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for a determination of whether this action is related
to Redhead v. Mercy Housing et al., No. 4:16-cv-0941 YGR.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 22, 2016

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__________________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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