Arellano v. Blahnik

Filing 179

ORDER Granting Motion for Summary Judgment RE: Punitive Damages [Doc. No. 169 ]. Signed by Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo on 3/30/2021. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(anh)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RAUL ARRELLANO,

Case No.: 16cv2412-CAB-MSB
Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT RE:
PUNITIVE DAMAGES [Doc. No. 169]

BLAHNIK,
Defendant.

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On October 29, 2020, Defendant Blahnik filed a motion for summary judgment re

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punitive damages. [Doc. No. 169.] On February 9, 2021, Plaintiff Arellano filed an

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opposition to the motion. [Doc. No. 177.] On February 19, 2021, Defendant filed a

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reply. [Doc. No. 178.] For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED.

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ALLEGATIONS IN COMPLAINT

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In his unverified Complaint1, Plaintiff alleges that once a week from August 2014,

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to September 22, 2014, he tried to go to the law library to ask the Librarian, Mr. Blahnik,

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to make copies of transcripts that the superior court was asking for, but Mr. Blahnik kept

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In his opposition, Plaintiff states: “I declare under penalty of perjury that everything stated on
Complaint, pleadings and motions are all true and correct as to my own personal knowledge.” [Doc.
No. 177 at 7.] Therefore, the Court will assume for purposes of this motion that the Complaint is
verified.
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allowing other inmates who arrived in line after Plaintiff to go first, or Mr. Blahnik told

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Plaintiff the copier was broken, even though Plaintiff saw Mr. Blahnik making copies for

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others. (Pl.’s Compl. p. 8:17-251 [Doc. No. 1].) Eventually, Plaintiff told Mr. Blahnik

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that he needed copies so that he could get sixty grounds for reversal reviewed, exhaust his

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state remedies, and finally get his conviction overturned, to which Mr. Blahnik replied

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that he would not help Plaintiff with anything because Plaintiff made him feel pressured

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by always insisting on trying to go to the library, and because he did not like the criminal

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charges for which Plaintiff was convicted. (Id. at 8:25-9:2, 13:11-16.)

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On September 22, 2014, Mr. Blahnik accepted from Plaintiff for copying

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approximately 500 pages of documents, including transcripts and original evidence such

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as affidavits. (Id. at 9:3-7.) Two or three days later, Plaintiff asked Mr. Blahnik what had

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happened to his original papers, and Mr. Blahnik told Plaintiff that he had lost them when

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he put them in for copying; then a few days later, when Plaintiff said he had filed a

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request form (a Form 22), Mr. Blahnik said he had made the copies and had given them

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to an inmate named Junior. (Id. at 9:8- 11.) Plaintiff alleges that he spoke with Junior,

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who claimed to know nothing about the papers. (Id. at 9:12-16.) When Plaintiff

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confronted Mr. Blahnik, Mr. Blahnik admitted that Junior never got Plaintiff’s papers, but

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that he, himself, intentionally threw the papers away because he did not like Plaintiff or

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the charges Plaintiff was in for, and he did not want to see people with Plaintiff’s type of

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criminal charges get out. (Id. at 9:17-23, 13:10-16.)

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MATERIAL FACTS SUBMITTED BY DEFENDANT

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In September 2014, Librarian Blahnik saw Plaintiff bring a large stack of papers to

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the prison’s law library to be copied. (Blahnik Decl. ¶ 2.) Mr. Blahnik oversaw an inmate

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worker take the pages from Plaintiff, and as per policy for large copy jobs at that time,

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tell Plaintiff to wait outside for the copies. (Id.) There was an area close to the library

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door where inmates could wait for their copies. (Id.) At that time, taking in copy jobs was

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normally done by an inmate worker. (Id. at ¶ 3.) As he was required to do, Mr. Blahnik

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personally skimmed through Plaintiff’s copies to ensure that they consisted of allowed
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legal work. (Id. at ¶ 4.) Then Mr. Blahnik personally supervised the inmate worker who

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made the copies of the documents that Plaintiff had brought in. (Id.)

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When the copies were complete, Mr. Blahnik handed a box containing the

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originals and the copies to an inmate worker, and directed that worker to provide the box

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to Plaintiff, who should have been waiting close by. (Id. at ¶ 5.) Mr. Blahnik saw this

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inmate worker exit the law library carrying the box of originals and copies for Plaintiff,

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but because Mr. Blahnik had to continue monitoring the other inmate workers and

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inmate-library users who were inside the library, Mr. Blahnik did not monitor this inmate

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worker to ensure that he physically handed the box of copies to Plaintiff. (Id.) At this

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time, Mr. Blahnik did not usually follow inmate workers outside to ensure that copies

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were given to inmates because Mr. Blahnik had to oversee the other inmate workers and

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inmate library users who were inside the library, and Mr. Blahnik was not aware of any

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issues with inmates not receiving their copies in such situations. (Id. at ¶ 6.)

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The next day when Plaintiff complained that he did not receive his copies, Mr.

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Blahnik went to Plaintiff’s cell where he saw thousands of pages of documents. (Id. at ¶

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7.) When Mr. Blahnik asked Plaintiff about the thousands of pages, Plaintiff claimed that

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those were not the same papers. (Id.) Mr. Blahnik has no knowledge regarding what

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happened to the allegedly lost originals and copies after he handed the box of them to the

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inmate worker to give to Plaintiff. (Id. at ¶ 8.)

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In 2014, Mr. Blahnik was not aware of Plaintiff’s conviction offenses. (Id. at ¶ 9.)

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On or after September 24, 2014, but before October 11, 2014, Plaintiff filed an

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Inmate Request Form 22, wherein he stated that he learned that the papers he submitted

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for copying on September 24, 2014 “all got lost,” making no accusations of wrongdoing

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besides simple loss of papers. (Pl.’s Form 22, attached as Ex. 1; Pl.’s Dep. pp. 78:15-

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79:24, attached as Ex. 2; Snyder Decl. ¶ 2.) In a notation dated December 23, 2014, on

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that same form wherein Plaintiff requested supervisory review, Plaintiff wrote that he

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“believe[d] the original paper got lost somewhere [i]n the mail,” making no accusations

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of wrongdoing besides simple loss in the mail. (Pl.’s Form 22, attached as Ex. 1; Pl.’s

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Dep. pp. 78:15- 79:24, attached as Ex. 2; Snyder Decl. ¶ 2.)

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Plaintiff submitted a prison grievance on a Form 602-A dated October 22, 2014,

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log no. RJD-B-14-4029, wherein he blamed Mr. Blahnik for losing his paperwork, but

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making no accusations of wrongdoing besides simple loss of papers. (Pl.’s Form 602-A,

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log. no. RJD-B-14-4029, dated 10/22/2014, attached as Ex. 3; Pl.’s Dep. pp. 82:9-85:11,

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attached as Ex. 2; Snyder Decl. ¶¶ 2- 3.) On November 22, 2014, grievance log no. RJD-

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B-14-4029 was rejected, and Plaintiff wrote notes at the bottom of the rejection letters

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stating that Mr. Blahnik had lost his paperwork, making no accusations of wrongdoing

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beyond simple loss of papers. (Four screening letters, dated 11/22/2014, attached as Ex.

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4; Pl.’s Dep. pp. 82:9-85:11, attached as Ex. 2; Snyder Decl. ¶¶ 2, 4.)

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On a grievance Plaintiff titled “Rewrite RJD-B-14-4029,” dated December 3, 2014,

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Plaintiff wrote that he wanted to be moved to B-yard because Mr. Blahnik lost his

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paperwork and that the inmate library workers “don’t like me, which am risking (sic) for

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them to loose (sic) my paperwork again,” making no accusations of wrongdoing beyond

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simple loss of papers by Blahnik, and implying that the inmate workers were the ones

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who lost his papers because they did not like him. (Rewrite Form 602, log. no. RJD-B-

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14-4029, dated 12/3/2014, attached as Ex. 5; Pl.’s Dep. pp. 82:9-85:11, attached as Ex. 2;

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Snyder Decl. ¶¶ 2, 5.)

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On December 24, 2014, the December 3, 2014 grievance was rejected, and

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Plaintiff wrote a note at the bottom of the rejection letter stating that Mr. Blahnik had lost

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his paperwork, making no accusations of wrongdoing beyond simple loss of papers. (Two

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screening letters, dated 12/24/2014, attached as Ex. 6; Pl.’s Dep. pp. 82:9-85:11, attached

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as Ex. 2; Snyder Decl. ¶¶ 2, 6.)

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DISCUSSION
A. Legal Standard.
Summary judgment in favor of a party is appropriate when there “is no genuine
dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Albino v. Baca (“Albino II”), 747 F.3d 1162, 1169 (9th Cir. 2014)

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(en banc) (“If there is a genuine dispute about material facts, summary judgment will not

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be granted.”). “A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must

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support the assertion by (A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including

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depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations,

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stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions,

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interrogatory answers, or other materials; or (B) showing that the materials cited do not

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establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot

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produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1).

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A party moving for summary judgment “bears the initial responsibility of

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informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of

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‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together

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with the affidavits, if any,’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue

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of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986), quoting Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 56(c). If the moving party moves for summary judgment on the basis that a

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material fact lacks any proof, the court must determine “whether a fair-minded jury could

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reasonably find for the [non-moving party].” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S.

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242, 252 (1986) (“The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the

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plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could

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reasonably find for the plaintiff.”). “[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential

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element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.”

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Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322. “[C]onclusory allegations unsupported by factual data” are not

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enough to rebut a summary judgment motion. Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th

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Cir. 1989) (citation omitted).

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B. Analysis.
Punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. §1983 are allowed only where a defendant’s

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“conduct is shown to be motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless

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or callous indifference to the federally protected rights of others.” Smith v. Wade, 461
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U.S. 30, 56 (1986). Here, the only evidence Plaintiff presents of evil motive or intent or

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reckless or callous indifference are two statements Plaintiff alleges were made by Mr.

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Blahnik:

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1. On or before September 22, 2014, Mr. Blahnik allegedly stated the reason he

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would not help Plaintiff make copies is because “he don’t like my type of charges

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is the reason why he won’t help me on Anything I need.” [Doc. No. 1 at 9, ll. 1-2.]

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2. On or about October 22, 2014, after filing a grievance, Plaintiff saw Mr. Blahnik

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and accused him of lying, to which Mr. Blahnik responded: “I should of never

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filed any grievance against him. And that Jr. never got my papers, he was the one

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who intentionally threw them away because he don’t like me or the charges I was

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charge for.” [Doc. No. 1 at 9, ll. 20-23.]

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All of these statements were allegedly made between September and October

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2014. Yet, starting in September 2014 and continuing through December, 2014, Plaintiff

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submitted at least six inmate request forms, grievances, or letters alleging that the papers

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he submitted for copying were lost by Mr. Blahnik, were lost in the mail, or perhaps were

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lost by the inmate workers, but he never made any accusations of evil intent or motive or

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recklessness or callous indifference by Mr. Blahnik.2 This is something every inmate

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would have included had it occurred, especially one with as much litigation experience as

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Plaintiff.3

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While generally at the summary judgment stage facts must be viewed in the light

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most favorable to the nonmoving party, when a party’s story is so blatantly contradicted

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by the record, so that no reasonable jury could believe it, a court should not adopt that

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version of the facts for purposes of ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Scott v.

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In his opposition, Plaintiff attempts to refute Defendant Blahnik’s statements by referencing allegations
in the Complaint and arguing that such allegations support punitive damages. [Doc. No. 177 at 1-4.]
However, Plaintiff never addresses the fact that he failed to include the alleged statements made by Mr.
Blahnik in the grievances, forms or letters submitted through December 2014.
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Plaintiff admitted in his deposition that he has filed approximately 14 lawsuits against prison officials
at his facility. [See Doc. No. 169-2 at 12:ll. 12-21.]
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Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380 (2007). Here, no reasonable jury would believe that Plaintiff,

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no stranger to filing grievances, would somehow omit the most damaging evidence of

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evil motive or intent from those grievances. Without those alleged statements by

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Blahnik, Plaintiff has presented no other evidence of evil motive or intent or reckless or

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callous indifference. Therefore, summary judgment as to punitive damages is warranted.

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CONCLUSION

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For the reasons set forth above, Defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to

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punitive damages is GRANTED, and Plaintiff’s request for punitive damages is stricken.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, prior to any other proceedings going forward,

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the parties shall participate in a mandatory settlement conference (“MSC”) before

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Magistrate Judge Berg. Defendant’s counsel shall contact the chambers of Magistrate

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Judge Berg within one week of this order to schedule the MSC and arrange for Plaintiff’s

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participation in the MSC.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 30, 2021

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