Pete v. King County

Filing 6

ORDER DECLINING SERVICE AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida. (cc: plaintiff with amended 1983 prisoner civil rights complaint form)(ST)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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LARIS PETE,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER DECLINING SERVICE
AND GRANTING LEAVE TO
AMEND

v.

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KING COUNTY,

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CASE NO. C17-909-RAJ-BAT

Defendant.
Pro se plaintiff Laris Pete, who is currently confined at the King County Jail, has filed a

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28 U.S.C. § 1983 prisoner civil rights complaint. Dkt. 1-1. The Court declines to serve the

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complaint because it contains fatal deficiencies that, if not addressed, might lead to a

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recommendation of dismissal of the entire action for failure to state a claim upon which relief

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may be granted. However, because plaintiff is proceeding pro se, he is granted leave to file an

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amended complaint or to show cause why his claim should not be dismissed by July 21, 2017.

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Any amended complaint will operate as a complete substitute for all previously filed

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complaints; plaintiff’s previous complaint will not be considered.

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BACKGROUND

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Mr. Pete contends he was falsely accused of assault in the third degree and a felony

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violation of a no contact order. Dkt. 1-1. He contends he was accused of barricading himself,

ORDER DECLINING SERVICE AND
GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 1

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his children, and their mother in their mother’s apartment; and he was tear-gassed. Id. He seeks

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compensation for “being splashed all over the news,” for being tear-gassed and incarcerated, for

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having his children removed and placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, for losing

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his housing, for loss of wages, and for pain and suffering. Id.

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DISCUSSION

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To sustain a civil rights action under § 1983, a plaintiff must show (1) he suffered a

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violation of rights protected by the Constitution or created by federal statute, and (2) the

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violation was proximately caused by a person acting under color of state or federal law. See

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Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991).

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A.

King County as Defendant
Plaintiff has named King County as a defendant, but he fails to plead facts linking the

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county to any misconduct. If plaintiff intends to pursue a claim against King County, he must

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allege facts setting forth how the county’s employees or agents acted through an official custom,

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pattern or policy that permits deliberate indifference to, or violates, his civil rights or that King

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County ratified the unlawful conduct. Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436

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U.S. 658, 690-91 (1978).

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B.

Other Defendants

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Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim for relief under § 1983 because it fails to

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identify a single named individual. Therefore, any amended complaint must include short, plain

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statements telling the Court: (1) the constitutional right plaintiff believes was violated; (2) the

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name of the person who violated the right; (3) exactly what that individual did or failed to do; (4)

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how the action or inaction of that person is connected to the violation of his constitutional rights;

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and (5) what specific injury plaintiff suffered because of that person’s conduct. See Rizzo v.

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GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 2

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Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371–72 (1976) (emphasis added). Plaintiff must repeat this process for

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each person he names as a defendant, including any “John Doe” and “Jane Doe” defendants. If

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plaintiff fails to affirmatively link the conduct of each named defendant with the specific injury

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suffered by plaintiff, the claim against that defendant will be dismissed for failure to state a

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claim. Conclusory allegations that a defendant or a group of defendants have violated a

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constitutional right are not acceptable and will be dismissed.
Plaintiff is cautioned that any action brought pursuant to § 1983 must name as defendants

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only persons acting under color of state or federal law. Crumpton, 947 F.2d at 1420. Thus, to

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the extent plaintiff intends to sue any private media outlets, for example, his claims will also be

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dismissed.

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C.

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Challenge to Ongoing State Criminal Action
Plaintiff is further cautioned that he may not challenge the propriety of his underlying

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state criminal proceedings in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit. Federal courts will not intervene in a

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pending criminal proceeding absent extraordinary circumstances. See Younger v. Harris, 401

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U.S. 37, 45, 46 (1971). The Younger abstention doctrine requires that a district court dismiss a

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federal action if state proceedings are (1) ongoing, (2) implicate important state interests, and (3)

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afford the plaintiff an adequate opportunity to raise the federal issue. Columbia Basin Apartment

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Ass’n v. City of Pasco, 268 F.3d 791, 799 (9th Cir. 2001) (citation omitted). Plaintiff’s

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complaint suggests all of the Younger criteria are present here: the proceedings appear to be

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ongoing, involve a criminal prosecution that implicates important state interests, and there is

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nothing to indicate plaintiff cannot raise in his criminal case the same claims he raises here or

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that there is a danger of great and immediate irreparable harm. It therefore appears that this

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action would improperly interfere with the state criminal proceeding.

ORDER DECLINING SERVICE AND
GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 3

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D.

Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires inmates to exhaust all administrative

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remedies before bringing a § 1983 claim. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Griffin v. Arpaio, 557 F.3d

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1117, 1119 (9th Cir. 2009). To effectively exhaust his administrative remedies, an inmate must

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use all the formal steps of the prison grievance process. Id. Because the purpose of exhaustion

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is to give prison administrators a chance to resolve the issues, the inmate must exhaust each of

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his claims through grievances containing enough factual specificity to notify officials of the

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alleged harm. Id. at 1120.

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Plaintiff’s complaint fails to indicate whether a prisoner grievance procedure is available

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to him, and if so, whether he has filed any grievances before bringing this action in federal court.

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Thus, to the extent plaintiff raises claims against state actors at King County Jail, he is

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directed in his amended complaint to complete this section of the form and attach information

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regarding his attempts to exhaust the grievance process.

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CONCLUSION
The Court DECLINES to serve the complaint which as discussed above is deficient.

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The Court realizes Mr. Cress is proceeding pro se. Thus rather than simply dismissing the

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action, the Court grants him permission to show cause why his complaint should not be

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dismissed or to file an amended complaint to cure the above-mentioned deficiencies by July 21,

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2017. The amended complaint must carry the same case number as this one. If no amended

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complaint is timely filed, the Court will recommend that this matter be dismissed under 28

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U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

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ORDER DECLINING SERVICE AND
GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 4

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DATED this 23rd day of June, 2017.

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A

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BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
United States Magistrate Judge

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