Williams v. Paramo et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying 74 Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction without Prejudice. Signed by Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz on 9/7/2017. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(mxn)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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LONNIE WILLIAMS,
CDCR #T-54378,
Case No.: 3:12-cv-00113-BTM-RBB
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTION
Plaintiff,
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vs.
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DANIEL PARAMO, et al.
Defendants.
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Lonnie Williams, Plaintiff, is a state inmate who currently resides at the California
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State Prison - Sacramento (“CSP”) located in Represa, California. When Plaintiff
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initially filed this action on January 12, 2012, she was incarcerated at the Richard J.
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Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”) but she was subsequently transferred to CSP in
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April of 2012. Plaintiff has been housed at CSP since April of 2012.
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3:12-cv-00113-BTM-RBB
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On August 21, 2017, Plaintiff filed a “Notice and Motion for Injunctive and
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Declaratory Relief.” (Doc. No. 74.) Defendants have filed an Opposition to this Motion.
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(Doc. No. 75.)
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I.
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Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Procedurally, a federal district court may issue emergency injunctive relief only if
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it has personal jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter jurisdiction over the
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lawsuit. See Murphy Bros., Inc. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526 U.S. 344, 350 (1999)
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(noting that one “becomes a party officially, and is required to take action in that
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capacity, only upon service of summons or other authority-asserting measure stating the
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time within which the party served must appear to defend.”). The court may not attempt
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to determine the rights of persons not before it. See, e.g., Hitchman Coal & Coke Co. v.
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Mitchell, 245 U.S. 229, 234-35 (1916); Zepeda v. INS, 753 F.2d 719, 727-28 (9th Cir.
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1983). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), an injunction binds only
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“the parties to the action,” their “officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys,”
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and “other persons who are in active concert or participation.” FED. R. CIV. P.
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65(d)(2)(A)-(C).
The matter before this Court involves Plaintiff’s allegations against various prison
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officials when she was housed at RJD prior to April of 2012. (See Compl., Doc. No. 1, at
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1-2.) However, in her current Motion, she claims that she is in “constant and continuing
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imminent dangers based on the defendants and CSP - Sacramento, and CDCR officials,
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DOJ, District Attorneys, etc.” (Pl.’s Mot., Doc. No. 74, at 2.) Plaintiff seeks injunctive
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relief in the form of “ordering the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to expunge and
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remove” a variety of documents from “Plaintiff’s criminal history reports.” (Id. at 6.)
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Plaintiff also seeks an order directing “Defendants and CDCR officials to discontinue all
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“R” suffix labelling and placements upon the Plaintiff in the Plaintiff’s central files.”
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(Id.)
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3:12-cv-00113-BTM-RBB
First, as Defendants note in their Opposition, the “California Department of
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Justice” and unnamed “CDCR officials” are not parties to this action. Defendants also
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maintain that two of the named Defendants in this action are retired and all are
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“affiliated” with RJD, not CSP. (Defs.’ Opp’n, Doc. No. 75, at 2.) The Court cannot
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grant Plaintiff injunctive relief because it has no personal jurisdiction over the California
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Department of Justice or unnamed CDCR officials at CSP. See FED. R. CIV. P. 65(a)(1),
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(d)(2); Murphy Bros., Inc., 526 U.S. at 350; Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727-28. A district court
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has no authority to grant relief in the form of a temporary restraining order or permanent
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injunction where it has no jurisdiction over the parties. Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co.,
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526 U.S. 574, 584 (1999) (“Personal jurisdiction, too, is an essential element of the
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jurisdiction of a district ... court, without which the court is powerless to proceed to an
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adjudication.”) (citation and internal quotation omitted).
Substantively, “‘[a] plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he
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is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the
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absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an
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injunction is in the public interest.” Glossip v. Gross, __ U.S. __, 135 S. Ct. 2726, 2736-
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37 (2015) (quoting Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20
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(2008)). “Under Winter, plaintiffs must establish that irreparable harm is likely, not just
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possible, in order to obtain a preliminary injunction.” Alliance for the Wild Rockies v.
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Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1131 (9th Cir. 2011).
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Plaintiff has been housed at CSP since April of 2012. Since that time, Plaintiff has
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filed twenty one (21) conditions of confinement actions in the Eastern District of
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California relating to various claims of harassment, threats, assaults and allegations of
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poisoning by CSP prison officials.1 A court “‘may take notice of proceedings in other
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courts, both within and without the federal judicial system, if those proceedings have a
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See PACER Case Locator, https://pcl.uscourts.gov/search (website last visited August 30, 2017.)
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direct relation to matters at issue.’” Bias v. Moynihan, 508 F.3d 1212, 1225 (9th Cir.
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2007) (quoting Bennett v. Medtronic, Inc., 285 F.3d 801, 803 n.2 (9th Cir. 2002)).
In the Motion before this Court, she claims that CSP “prison officials and inmates
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are constantly attacking Plaintiff with physical force, constant threats of harm.” (Pl.’s
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Mot. at 2.) If Plaintiff wishes to proceed on these claims, she should file a complaint in
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the Eastern District of California.
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II.
Conclusion and Order
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Good cause appearing, the Court:
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DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. No. 74) without
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prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 7, 2017
HON. BARRY TED. MOSKOWITZ
Chief District Judge
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3:12-cv-00113-BTM-RBB
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