Garcia v. Escondido AAA Insurance

Filing 4

ORDER Granting 2 Motion to Proceed in Forma Pauperis; Dismissing Complaint Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); and Denying 3 Motion for Appointment of Counsel. The Court dismisses the complaint with prejudice. Signed by Judge Michael M. Anello on 5/9/2017. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(ag)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Case No.: 17cv629-MMA (WVG)

RICH RYAN GARCIA,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS;

Plaintiff,
v.

[Doc. No. 2]

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DISMISSING COMPLAINT
PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2)(B);

ESCONDIDO AAA INSURANCE,

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Defendant.

[Doc. No. 1]

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AND DENYING MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

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[Doc. No. 3]

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Plaintiff Rich Ryan Garcia, proceeding pro se, has filed the instant action against

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Defendant Escondido AAA Insurance. See Doc. No. 1. Plaintiff also moves for leave to

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proceed in this action in forma pauperis (“IFP”), and moves for appointment of counsel.

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See Doc. Nos. 2, 3.

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MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IFP
All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the
United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of
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17cv629-MMA (WVG)

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$400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). An action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to

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prepay the entire fee only if she is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

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1915(a). See Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). “To proceed in

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forma pauperis is a privilege not a right.” Smart v. Heinze, 347 F.2d 114, 116 (9th Cir.

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1965).

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A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v.

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E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 (1948). But “the same even-

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handed care must be employed to assure that federal funds are not squandered to

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underwrite, at public expense, either frivolous claims or the remonstrances of a suitor

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who is financially able, in whole or in material part, to pull his own oar.” Temple v.

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Ellerthorpe, 586 F. Supp. 848, 850 (D.R.I. 1984). Based on the information provided by

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Plaintiff, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP motion,

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solely for the purpose of sua sponte screening Plaintiff’s complaint.

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SCREENING PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(E)(2)(B)
When a plaintiff proceeds IFP, the complaint is subject to mandatory screening and

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the Court must order the sua sponte dismissal of any case it finds “frivolous, malicious,

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failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeking monetary relief from

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a defendant immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Calhoun v. Stahl, 254

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F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (“[T]he provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not

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limited to prisoners.”).

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“[W]hen determining whether a complaint states a claim, a court must accept as

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true all allegations of material fact and must construe those facts in the light most

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favorable to the plaintiff.” Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000). In

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addition, the Court has a duty to liberally construe a pro se plaintiff’s pleadings. See id.

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In giving liberal interpretation to a pro se complaint, however, the court may not “supply

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essential elements of claims that were not initially pled.” See Ivey v. Board of Regents of

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the University of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).

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Under the “notice pleading” standard of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a
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17cv629-MMA (WVG)

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plaintiff’s complaint must provide, in part, a “short and plain statement” of plaintiff’s

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claims showing entitlement to relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2); see also Paulsen v. CNF,

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Inc., 559 F.3d 1061, 1071 (9th Cir. 2009). A complaint should be dismissed for failure to

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state a claim if, taking all well-pleaded factual allegations as true, it does not contain

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“enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” See Coto Settlement

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v. Eisenberg, 593 F.3d 1031, 1034 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct.

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1937, 1949 (2009)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual

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content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable

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for the misconduct alleged.” Caviness v. Horizon Cmty. Learning Ctr., Inc., 590 F.3d

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806, 812 (9th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted).
The Court is not only allowed to, but is required to screen IFP complaints. See

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Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000); Ogunniyi v. Sw. Reg’l Maint.

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Ctr., No. 14CV2904 BEN (NLS), 2015 WL 10857499, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 30, 2015)

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(“The sua sponte screening is mandatory.”). “A trial court may dismiss a claim sua

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sponte under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). . . . Such dismissal may be made without notice

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where the claimant cannot possibly win relief.” Omar v. Sea-Land Serv., Inc., 813 F.2d

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986, 991 (9th Cir. 1987); see Wong v. Bell, 642 F.2d 359, 36162 (9th Cir. 1981).

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After thoroughly reviewing Plaintiff’s complaint and the accompanying exhibit,

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the Court concludes that Plaintiff fails to state any plausible claim upon which relief

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could be granted. Plaintiff alleges one cause of action for falsification of records and

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documents.1 See Doc. No. 1 at 2. Plaintiff alleges generally that Defendant created a

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false report2 claiming Plaintiff impersonated a Border Patrol Agent at the Escondido

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Plaintiff indicates on the Civil Cover Sheet that authorities “[h]eld me in SDJC, not able to bail
out!” Doc. No. 1-1. The body of Plaintiff’s complaint, however, is devoted to the alleged false report
and Plaintiff’s desire for Escondido AAA to be criminally charged. See Doc. No. 1.
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The Court notes that the report Plaintiff attaches to his IFP motion bears no caption or seal
identifying the author of such report. See Doc. No. 2 at 7. Additionally, the report contains several
hand-written notations that do not appear to have any meaning. See id.
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AAA office and “caus[ed] a rukus [sic].” Id. Plaintiff desires a “Federal Prosecutor . . .

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place charges against Escondido AAA.” Id. Plaintiff also seeks monetary and

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compensatory damages. Id.

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Even construing Plaintiff’s complaint liberally, Plaintiff attempts to state a claim

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against Defendant of a criminal nature. However, an individual may not bring criminal

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charges against another individual by filing a civil complaint in this Court. See Aldabe v.

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Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980) (noting that the relief sought under criminal

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statutes, “however, provide[s] no basis for civil liability.”). After careful review, the

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Court finds Plaintiff’s complaint is void of any plausible claim for relief. Because “it is

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absolutely clear that the deficiencies of the complaint could not be cured by amendment,”

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the Court DISMISSES the complaint with prejudice.3 Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d

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1221, 1228 n.9 (9th Cir. 1984) (citing Stanger v. City of Santa Cruz, 653 F.2d 1257,

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1257-58 (9th Cir. 1980)).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 9, 2017

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_____________________________
HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO
United States District Judge

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As such, the Court DENIES AS MOOT Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel.
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