Smith v. Phillips et al

Filing 5

ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND by Hon. Mary Alice Theiler. (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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ROBERT H. SMITH,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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Case No. C17-1457-TSZ-MAT

ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE
COMPLAINT AND GRANTING
LEAVE TO AMEND

RYAN W. PHILLIPS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff Robert Smith is in federal custody and is currently confined at Federal Detention

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Center (FDC) SeaTac. He has submitted to this Court for filing a civil rights complaint under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. The Court, having reviewed plaintiff’s complaint, hereby finds and ORDERS as

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follows:

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(1)

Plaintiff alleges in his complaint that Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputies used

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excessive force against him, and issued repeated threats, in effectuating his arrest in July 2016.

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(See Dkt. 1-1 at 4-5.) Plaintiff also asserts that one deputy became physically aggressive while

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questioning him at the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office South Precinct following his arrest.

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(Id. at 6.) Plaintiff contends that the following individuals were either present or involved in the

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incidents in question: Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputies Ryan W. Phillips, Robert Cracchilo,
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT
AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 1

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Lee Malkow, J. Seth, and Brian Emery. (Dkt. 1-1 at 7.) Plaintiff requests that the deputies

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involved in this lawsuit be fired, and he seeks damages. (Id. at 8.)

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(2)

Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that in order for a

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pleading to state a claim for relief it must contain a short and plain statement of the grounds for

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the court’s jurisdiction, a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled

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to relief, and a demand for the relief sought. The statement of the claim must be sufficient to “give

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the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff’s claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.”

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Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957). The factual allegations of a complaint must be “enough

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to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.

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544, 555 (2007). In addition, a complaint must allege facts to state a claim for relief that is

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plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).

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In order to state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must show (1) that he

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

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

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See Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991). To satisfy the second prong, a

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plaintiff must allege facts showing how individually named defendants caused, or personally

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participated in causing, the harm alleged in the complaint. See Arnold v. IBM, 637 F.2d 1350,

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1355 (9th Cir. 1981).

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(3)

The Court declines to order that plaintiff's complaint be served on defendants

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because the complaint fails to meet the pleading requirements set forth above. Specifically,

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plaintiff fails to identify the constitutional rights that were violated by the conduct of each

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defendant, and he fails to set forth facts demonstrating that each defendant personally participated

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in causing the harm alleged in the complaint. Plaintiff also fails to make clear who the intended
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT
AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 2

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defendants are as he names different individuals in different sections of his complaint. (See Dkt.

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1-1 at 1, 2, 7.)

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In order to proceed with this action, plaintiff must clearly identify all intended defendants

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in both the caption of the complaint and in Part III of the complaint (Parties to this Complaint). In

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addition, plaintiff must include each intended defendant in his Statement of Claim, he must identify

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the constitutional right he believes was violated by each defendant, and he must set forth specific

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facts demonstrating that each defendant personally participated in causing him harm of federal

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constitutional dimension.
(4)

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Plaintiff may file an amended complaint curing the above noted deficiencies within

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thirty (30) days of the date on which this Order is signed. The amended complaint must carry the

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same case number as this one. If no amended complaint is timely filed, the Court will recommend

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that this action be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) for failure to state a claim upon

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which relief may be granted.

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Plaintiff is advised that an amended pleading operates as a complete substitute for an

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original pleading. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.) (citing Hal Roach

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Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990) (as amended),

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cert. denied, 506 U.S. 915 (1992). Thus, any amended complaint must clearly identify each

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defendant, the constitutional claim(s) asserted against each defendant, the specific facts which

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plaintiffs believe support each federal constitutional claim, and the specific relief requested.

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT
AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 3

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(5)

The Clerk is directed to send plaintiff the appropriate forms so that he may file an

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amended complaint. The Clerk is further directed to send copies of this Order to plaintiff and to

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the Honorable Thomas S. Zilly.

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DATED this 6th day of October, 2017.

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A

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Mary Alice Theiler
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT
AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND - 4