Gardner v. Stanislaus Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't
| Decision Date | 08 January 2019 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:17-cv-01369-DAD-JDP |
| Parties | JEREMY MICHAEL GARDNER, Plaintiff, v. STANISLAUS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT PLAINTIFF BE PERMITTED TO PROCEED ON COGNIZABLE CLAIM AND THAT NON-COGNIZABLE CLAIMS BE DISMISSED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND
Plaintiff Jeremy Michael Gardner is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff's complaint is before the court for screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The court finds that plaintiff has stated a cognizable excessive force claim against defendant Deputy P. Boles. The court will recommend that plaintiff's remaining claims be dismissed without prejudice and that he be granted leave to amend the complaint.
A district court is required to screen a prisoner's complaint seeking relief against a governmental entity, its officer, or its employee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any portion of a complaint that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A(b)(1), (2).
A complaint must contain a short and plain statement that plaintiff is entitled to relief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), and provide "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face," Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). The plausibility standard does not require detailed allegations, but legal conclusions do not suffice. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). If the allegations "do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct," the complaint states no claim. Id. at 679. The complaint need not identify "a precise legal theory." Kobold v. Good Samaritan Reg'l Med. Ctr., 832 F.3d 1024, 1038 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Skinner v. Switzer, 562 U.S. 521, 530 (2011)). Instead, what plaintiff must state is a "claim"—a set of "allegations that give rise to an enforceable right to relief." Nagrampa v. MailCoups, Inc., 469 F.3d 1257, 1264 n.2 (9th Cir. 2006) (en banc) (citations omitted).
The court must construe a pro se litigant's complaint liberally. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972) (per curiam). The court may dismiss a pro se litigant's complaint only "if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Hayes v. Idaho Corr. Ctr., 849 F.3d 1204, 1208 (9th Cir. 2017) (quoting Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2014)).
The court draws the following facts from plaintiff's verified complaint, ECF No. 1, and accepts them as true for purposes of screening. Plaintiff is incarcerated at the Public Safety Center ("PSC") in Modesto, California. Id. at 1. Plaintiff names the following individual custodial officers of PSC as defendants: Deputy P. Boles, Deputy Majusiak, and Facility Training Officer ("FTO") Flores. Id. at 2. Plaintiff also names an institutional defendant, the Stanislaus Sheriff's Custodial Division at PSC. Id. Plaintiff seeks to bring three claims relating to his confinement at PSC: (1) excessive force; (2) interference with his mail; and (3) deprivation of nutrition. Id. at 3-8.
Plaintiff alleges that on November 7, 2016, he had a dispute with an inmate two cells away from plaintiff's cell. Id. at 3. Two custodial officers, Deputy P. Boles and Deputy Majusiak, ultimately intervened. Id. Plaintiff's antagonist informed the officers that plaintiff's cell contained contraband, and the officers made plaintiff "cuff up" and exit his cell so that they could conduct a search. Id. Plaintiff complied and was "directed to the booking room, where [he] was seated in a chair." Id. C.O. Majusiak and F.T.O. Flores kept watch over plaintiff in the booking room while C.O. Boles searched plaintiff's cell. Id. When C.O. Boles returned to the booking room, he "immediately provok[ed plaintiff] into argument by pointing his finger in [plaintiff's] face and calling [him] a 'liar.'" Id. Plaintiff then rose from his chair "to further [his] disagreement appropriately, and upon [his] arise, [he] made contact with C.O. Boles['s] chin with [his] head." Id. This contact was unintentional and resulted from C.O. Boles's close proximity to plaintiff. Id. at 3-4. Nonetheless, the correctional officers interpreted plaintiff's action as a "threat rather than [an] accident, and la[i]d hold of [plaintiff]." Id. at 4. C.O. Boles punched plaintiff with a "closed fist[] three times in the head and side of face." Id. The custodial officers "then threw [plaintiff] to the ground, where [he] cooperated in submission." Id. "Numerous" additional correctional officers then came to the booking room. Id. The officers decided to relocate plaintiff, and when they lifted him from the floor, "they used unnecessary means by pulling [him] up by [his] hair." Id. The officers then dragged plaintiff to "the facility medical location," where he was treated for his injuries. Id. Plaintiff did not mention to the treating nurse that he had been struck by a closed fist because he was still in shock. Id. While he was examined, an officer "stood on [plaintiff's] bare right root with [an] immense amount of his weight causing [a] hardly tolerable amount of pain." Id. Apparently related to the above-described incident, "[a] fictitious report was composed by Deputy Boles containing claims of false statements made by [plaintiff] in order to favor [the officers'] actions and misconduct." Id.
Plaintiff alleges that from February 6, 2017 to June 29, 2017, he did not receive answersto twenty-six letters, six of which pertained to legal issues. Id. at 5. Plaintiff suspects that "on more than one occasion" he has been the "victim of mail prejudice[] due to intentional negligence by the Custodial Staff/Officers, during their distribution and fo[r]warding duties." Id. In May 2017, plaintiff alleges that his "suspicion was affirmed of such negligence when [he] rec[ei]ved mail addressed to another inmate." Id. Also in May, an inmate named Mathew Benak approached plaintiff and informed him that Benak had received plaintiff's mail consisting of medical documents. Id. Benak also informed plaintiff that when Benak "advised the officer distributing the mail of his error, the officer responded by calling [plaintiff] a negative name (Asshole), and that he was aware of his intentional misguidance and by refusing to recollect the mail in order to correct the situation, he left the mail in Mathew Benak's possession." Id. Plaintiff has "illuminated the situation numer[]ous times on many levels and [is] without satisfactory resolution." Id. at 5-6.
Plaintiff alleges the following claim against the "Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department Custodial Division, Nutrition Administrator and those of it[]s employ." Id. at 7. Plaintiff alleges that he frequently receives "meal tr[a]y[]s that have not been properly filled to their intended capacities." Id. As an example, he describes the supper placed in his cell on August 2, 2017: "I anticipated amongst my return to my one[-]man cell finding an adequately proportioned tr[a]y, however, to my disappointment I found the designated compartment reserved for vegetables (pea[]s) was only 1/5 full—obvious[ly] not to be the intended measurement carefully calculated by the dietitian." Id. Plaintiff further alleges that "on numerous occasions" he has been given "misproportioned meals, and declared a need for exchange for a properly measured course" only to be denied. Id. He has complained to the "kitchen staff" to no avail. Id. "The inadequate tr[a]y[]s continued to be misproportioned and in tantamount need of correction for it is no small matter when one's nutritional health is in the balance." Id. Plaintiff has "documentation of [medical] attention that had arose from the negligence." Id. Plaintiff finally alleges that "a dietitian has carefully calculated the meal[]s to meet a standard guideline in requirement[]s vital for human consumption, however that is not what was being produced and provided by industry."Id.
Section 1983 allows a private citizen to sue for the deprivation of a right secured by federal law. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Manuel v. City of Joliet, Ill., 137 S. Ct. 911, 916 (2017). To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that a person, while acting under color of state law, personally participated in the deprivation of a right secured by federal law. See Soo Park v. Thompson, 851 F.3d 910, 918 (9th Cir. 2017). A defendant personally participates in a deprivation "if he does an affirmative act, participates in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made." Atayde v. Napa State Hosp., 255 F. Supp. 3d 978, 988 (E.D. Cal. 2017) (quoting Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d 896, 915 (9th Cir. 2012)). Vague and conclusory allegations of personal involvement in an alleged deprivation do not suffice. Id.
A governmental entity may be found liable under § 1983 but not "solely because it employs a tortfeasor—or, in other words, a municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory." Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U. S. 658, 691 (1978). However, a governmental entity can be liable under § 1983 when an injury is inflicted by the "execution of a government's policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent policy." Id. at 694.
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