Osvaldo R Gonzalez v. M Libatique et al

Filing 5

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND by Magistrate Judge Suzanne H. Segal; Plaintiffs Complaint is dismissed with leave to amend. If Plaintiff still wishes to pursue this action, he is granted thirty (30) days from the date of this Memorandum and Order (October 9, 2011) within which to file a First Amended Complaint. See order for further details. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Rights Complaint, # 2 Notice of Dismissal) (jy)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 OSVALDO R. GONZALEZ, 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. 14 M. LIBATIQUE, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) NO. CV 11-6876-ABC (SS) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND 17 18 I. 19 INTRODUCTION 20 21 On July 6, 2011, plaintiff Osvaldo R. Gonzalez (“Plaintiff”), a 22 California state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights 23 complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (the “Complaint”) against various 24 defendants. For the reasons stated below, the Complaint is dismissed 25 with leave to amend.1 26 27 28 1 Magistrate Judges may dismiss a complaint with leave to amend without approval of the district judge. See McKeever v. Block, 932 F.2d 795, 798 (9th Cir. 1991). 1 Congress mandates that district courts perform an initial screening 2 of complaints in civil actions where a prisoner seeks redress from a 3 governmental entity or employee. 4 dismiss such a complaint, or any portions thereof, before service of 5 process 6 malicious, (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, 7 or (3) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such 8 relief. 9 1122, 1126-27 & n.7 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). if it concludes that 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). the complaint (1) is This Court may frivolous or 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1-2); see also Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 10 11 II. 12 ALLEGATIONS OF THE COMPLAINT 13 14 Plaintiff alleges that the following six named defendants violated 15 his civil rights: (1) Parole Agent Mark Libatique, badge no. 5749 16 (“Agent Libatique”); (2) California Department of Corrections and 17 Rehabilitation Secretary, Matthew Cate (“Secretary Cate”); (3) Hearing 18 Officer, R. Wagner(“Officer Wagner”); (4) Los Angeles County Sheriff, 19 Leroy Baca (“Sheriff Baca”); (5) Parole Agent T. White, badge no. 5749- 20 DAPO (“Agent White”); and (6) Parole Agent Tranisha Tate, badge no. 4404 21 (“Agent Tate”) (collectively, “Defendants”). 22 Plaintiff 23 capacities. is suing Defendants in their (Complaint at 3-3a). individual and official (Id.). 24 25 Although Plaintiff’s allegations are unclear, the Complaint appears 26 to allege five interrelated claims arising from Plaintiff’s arrest 27 stemming from a parole violation. 28 alleges that his “first amendment rights to petition the governmen [sic] (Complaint at 5). 2 First, Plaintiff 1 for redress of habeas corpus and grievances, lawsuit” were violated. 2 (Id.). 3 access the courts, file lawsuit and habeas petition” have been violated. 4 (Id.). 5 equal protection under the law” have been violated. 6 Plaintiff 7 amendment–retaliation threats if testify at parole hearing” have been 8 violated. 9 rights–retaliation and threats of retaliation if he participate [sic] 10 Second, Plaintiff alleges that his “first amendment rights to Third, Plaintiff claims his “fourteenth amendment rights to alleges (Id.). that his “rights under (Id.). the Fourth, fourteenth Fifth, Plaintiff alleges his “first amendment in parole hearing” have been violated. (Id.). 11 12 Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Agent Libatique, Agent Tate, 13 Agent White, Secretary Cate, and Officer Wagner authorized Plaintiff’s 14 arrest and placed Plaintiff in county jail. 15 that at the time of his arrest he was in possession of several legal 16 documents pertaining to a pending civil rights case Plaintiff had filed 17 in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 18 among those papers was “a rough appellate brief that the [P]laintiff was 19 working on, potential exhibits and other important documents” concerning 20 Plaintiff’s filed claim. 21 Agent Tate that he “needed those papers.” 22 Agent Tate reached inside Plaintiff’s duffel bag, grabbed a handful of 23 papers, and subsequently left them on her own desk. 24 then transported Plaintiff to the Los Angeles County Jail, where 25 Plaintiff alleges Defendants then deposited the rest of Plaintiff’s 26 papers, although it is unclear where the papers were left. 27 Plaintiff asserts he requested access to the above mentioned papers 28 “several times,” but was unsuccessful at obtaining his papers during the (Id. at 5a). 3 (Id.). (Id.). Plaintiff claims Plaintiff alleges that Plaintiff claims he notified (Id.). Plaintiff alleges (Id.). Defendants (Id.). 1 duration of his fifty-day stay at the Los Angeles County Jail before 2 being transferred to state prison. 3 “[h]e has been unable to find out what happened to that case, and his 4 papers.” (Id. at 5-5a). Plaintiff claims (Id. at 5a). 5 6 Plaintiff alleges Defendants Agent Libatique, Sheriff Baca, Agent 7 Tate, Secretary Cate, Officer Wagner, and Agent White “housed Plaintiff, 8 a State Prison Inmate, in the Los Angeles County Jail, knowing that 9 doing so would deprive him of access to habeas corpus and civil rights 10 forms. They also knew he would be deprived access to CDCR [California 11 Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] 602 and BPH [Board of 12 Parole Hearings] grievances and complaint forms.” 13 “these [D]efendants also knew that Plaintiff would be deprived of access 14 to the courts, and be subject to deprivation of law library, law books, 15 case law and copying services.” (Id.). Further, (Id.). 16 17 Plaintiff claims he was in the process of filing a habeas corpus 18 petition in state court “challenging the special conditions of parole” 19 which Plaintiff was accused of violating and which ultimately led to his 20 incarceration. 21 actions, he could not find the particular forms to file the above 22 mentioned habeas corpus petition. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges that, due to Defendants’ (Id.). 23 24 On June 3, 2011, Plaintiff claims he called Agent Libatique. 5b). After Plaintiff identified himself 25 at 26 Plaintiff alleges Agent Libatique “went ballistic, issuing several 27 threats and retaliatory actions.” 28 Libatique stated, “[y]ou better sign the wavier and take whatever the (Id.). 4 to Agent (Id. Libatique, Plaintiff alleges Agent 1 BPH [] offers you. I’m like a robot. If you make me go to the hearing, 2 I’m gonna [sic] make sure you get a year in prison.” 3 claims Agent Libatique’s actions violated Plaintiff’s rights under the 4 First Amendment, as well as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1985. (Id.). Plaintiff (Id.). 5 6 Plaintiff alleges the Defendants, “through and by their actions, 7 have violated Plaintiff’s constitutional rights to access to the courts, 8 to redress of 9 actions.” grievances, (Id.). retaliation and threats of retaliatory As a result of Defendants’ conduct, Plaintiff also 10 alleges Defendants “violated Plaintiff’s federally protected rights to 11 file habeas corpus, grievances, litigate pending case(s), and file this 12 case.” (Id.). 13 14 Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages in the amount of $10,000.00 15 against each Defendant as to Plaintiff’s first three claims. (Id. at 16 6). Plaintiff also seeks punitive damages against each Defendant in the 17 amount of $25,000.00 as to Plaintiff’s first three claims. 18 Plaintiff further seeks compensatory damages against Defendant Agent 19 Libatique, in the amount of $25,000.00 as to Plaintiff’s fourth and 20 fifth claims. 21 Defendant Agent Libatique, in the amount of $50,000.00 as to Plaintiff’s 22 fourth and fifth claims, as well as any relief “the Court deems just and 23 equitable.” (Id.). (Id.) Finally, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages against (Id.). 24 25 26 27 28 5 1 III. 2 DISCUSSION 3 4 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b), the Court must dismiss Plaintiff’s 5 Complaint due to defects in pleading. Pro se litigants in civil rights 6 cases, however, must be given leave to amend their complaints unless it 7 is absolutely clear that the deficiencies cannot be cured by amendment. 8 See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1128-29. Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiff 9 leave to amend, as indicated below. 10 11 A. To The Extent Plaintiff Is Attempting To State A Civil Rights 12 Claim Against Parole Agents For The Denial Of Parole, Such A Claim 13 Is Barred By The Heck Doctrine 14 15 Plaintiff names as defendants certain “parole agents” who 16 apparently were involved in proceedings that led to the revocation of 17 Plaintiff’s parole. 18 and California Department of Corrections Officials Libatique, Tate, 19 White, 20 incarceration at the Los Angeles County Jail. 21 Although Plaintiff’s allegations are confusing, it appears that he may 22 be complaining that parole officers engaged in civil rights violations 23 that led to Plaintiff’s parole revocation. 24 Because Plaintiff’s civil rights claim essentially attacks the outcome 25 of his parole proceeding, his action is barred by the doctrine announced 26 in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S. Ct. 2364, 129 L. Ed. 2d 383 27 (1994). and Wagner Specifically, Plaintiff claims that parole agents authorized Plaintiff’s 28 6 arrest and subsequent (Complaint at 5). (See Complaint at 5a-5b). 1 In Heck, the Supreme Court held: 2 3 [I]n order 4 unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other 5 harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a 6 conviction or sentence invalid, a § 1983 Plaintiff must prove 7 that the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct 8 appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a 9 state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or 10 called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ 11 of 12 relationship to a conviction or sentence that has not been so 13 invalided is not cognizable under § 1983. habeas to corpus. recover A damages claim for for damages an allegedly bearing that 14 15 Heck, 512 U.S. at 486-87 (emphasis in original) (footnote omitted). 16 17 Under Heck, a § 1983 complaint must be dismissed if judgment in 18 favor of the plaintiff would undermine the validity of his conviction 19 or sentence, unless the plaintiff can demonstrate that the conviction 20 or sentence has already been invalidated. 21 v. Waldron, 210 F.3d 1008, 1013 (9th Cir. 2000) (citing Heck). 22 Plaintiff contends that the revocation of his parole was based upon 23 “special conditions” which Plaintiff would have challenged in state 24 court had Plaintiff been able to access the proper forms. 25 at 5a). 26 parole, he cannot do so in a civil rights action. 27 Bail, 120 F.3d 1023, 1024 (9th Cir. 1997) (§ 1983 challenge to validity 28 of parole denial is barred by Heck). Id. at 487; see also Harvey Here, (Complaint To the extent Plaintiff wishes to challenge the revocation of 7 See Butterfield v. Accordingly, to the extent 1 Plaintiff is attempting to sue parole agents Libatique, Tate, White, and 2 Wagner for their conduct relating to the denial of parole, such claims 3 are barred. 4 5 6 B. To The Extent Plaintiff Is Attempting To State A Claim For Denial Of Access To The Courts, His Complaint Fails To State A Claim 7 8 Plaintiff alleges he was without access to CDCR and BPH grievance 9 forms, the courts, law libraries, legal documents and copying services. 10 (Complaint at 5). 11 not ends in themselves. 12 Plaintiff’s right to have a “reasonably adequate opportunity to present 13 claimed violations of constitutional rights to the courts,” i.e., have 14 access to the courts. 15 2174, 135 L. Ed. 2d 606 (1996) (quoting Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 16 825, 97 S. Ct. 1491, 52 L. Ed. 2d 72 (1977)). In other words, the 17 Constitution be 18 generalized research, but only that they be able to “present” their 19 grievances to the courts. 20 Donovan, 51 F.3d 894, 898 (9th Cir. 1995). does Access to the law library or to legal assistance are They are only relevant as they pertain to Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 350-51, 116 S. Ct. not require that prisoners able to conduct Lewis, 518 U.S. at 359; see also Cornett v. 21 22 “To have standing to assert a claim of denial of access to the 23 courts, an inmate must show ‘actual injury.’ 24 actual injury, the inmate must demonstrate that official acts or 25 omissions 26 claim.’” Phillips v. Hust, 477 F.3d 1070, 1076 (9th Cir. 2007) (quoting 27 Lewis, 518 U.S. at 351, 353; citations omitted), vacated on other 28 grounds, 129 S. Ct. 1036, 173 L. Ed. 2d 466 (2009). ‘hindered his efforts to 8 pursue In order to establish a [nonfrivolous] legal 1 In this case, Plaintiff has not shown that the periodic denial of 2 access to the library or to grievance forms infringed on his right to 3 an adequate opportunity to present his claims. 4 show how the alleged denial of access for a fifty day period caused any 5 injury. 6 denial of access to the law library, or legal forms has hindered his 7 efforts to pursue a legal claim. 8 right of access to the courts has not been violated. 9 dismissed with leave to amend. Plaintiff has failed to He has not shown an “actual injury” by demonstrating that the See Lewis, 518 U.S. at 351. Thus his This claim is 10 11 C. The Claims Against Officer Wagner, Sheriff Baca And Secretary Cate 12 Fail Because Plaintiff Has Failed To Show Personal Participation 13 In The Civil Rights Violations 14 15 The Complaint names as defendants Officer Wagner, Sheriff Baca and 16 Secretary Cate. (Complaint at 3-3a, 5-5a). However, Plaintiff’s 17 Statement of Claims does not include any specific allegations involving 18 these Defendants. Plaintiff must establish that Defendants had personal 19 involvement in the civil rights violations or that their action or 20 inaction caused the harm suffered. 21 WL 2988827 at *2 (9th Cir. July 25, 2011). Plaintiff has failed to make 22 any specific allegations concerning Officer Wagner’s role in Plaintiff’s 23 alleged deprivation of access to habeas corpus, civil rights forms, and 24 the courts. 25 of these Defendants personally participated in any constitutional 26 violation or caused the harm in some way, and must, therefore, be 27 dismissed with leave to amend. 28 \\ Starr v. Baca, F.3d , 2011 In addition, Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to show how any 9 1 D. Plaintiff’s Allegations Fail To State A Claim For Retaliation 2 3 Plaintiff alleges Agent Libatique issued several threats and 4 “retaliatory actions,” after Plaintiff called Agent Libatique and 5 identified himself on June 3, 2011. 6 Circuit has set forth the minimum pleading requirements for a § 1983 7 claim alleging that prison employees have retaliated against an inmate 8 for exercising a First Amendment right: (Complaint at 5b). The Ninth 9 10 Within the prison context, a viable claim of First Amendment 11 retaliation entails five basic elements: (1) An assertion 12 that a state actor took some adverse action against an inmate 13 (2) because of (3) that prisoner’s protected conduct, and 14 that such action (4) chilled the inmate’s exercise of his 15 First Amendment rights, and (5) the action did not reasonably 16 advance a legitimate correctional goal. 17 18 See Rhodes v. Robinson, 408 F.3d 559, 567-68 (9th Cir. 2005) (footnote 19 omitted). These criteria require that the prisoner establish a specific 20 link 21 constitutional right. 22 Cir. 1995). between the alleged retaliation and the exercise of a See Pratt v. Rowland, 65 F.3d 802, 807-08 (9th 23 24 The Court notes it is not clear from the present allegations that 25 Plaintiff truly engaged in protected conduct. 26 Prisoners’ Labor Union, Inc., 433 U.S. 119, 129, 132, 97 S. Ct. 2532, 27 L. Ed. 2d 629 (1977) (“In a prison context, an inmate does not retain 28 those First Amendment rights that are ‘inconsistent with his status as 10 See Jones v. N.C. 1 a prisoner or with the legitimate penological objectives of the 2 corrections system.’”). 3 protected conduct he engaged in that preceded the retaliatory conduct. 4 Regardless, Plaintiff has failed to allege that Defendants’ alleged 5 actions chilled the exercise of his First Amendment rights. Therefore, 6 this claim is dismissed. 7 correct the deficiencies noted above, if such correction is possible. Plaintiff fails to specifically identify the Again, Plaintiff is granted leave to amend to 8 9 E. Individual Defendants Are Immune From Suit In Their Official Capacity 10 11 12 In his Complaint, Plaintiff seeks to sue Defendants Agent 13 Libatique, Secretary Cate, Officer Wagner, Sheriff Baca, Agent White, 14 and Agent Tate in their official capacities. 15 These Defendants are immune from suit in their official capacities, 16 however. 17 Amendment bars civil rights suit against state officials in their 18 official capacities). As such, the “official capacity” allegations are 19 defective and must be dismissed. 20 this action, he may only sue these individual state actors under § 1983 21 in their individual capacities. (Complaint at 3-3a). Pena v. Gardner, 976 F.2d 469, 472 (9th Cir. 1992) (Eleventh If Plaintiff intends to proceed with 22 23 F. The Court Cautions Plaintiff That If Challenged, It Is Possible 24 That The Complaint Will Be Dismissed For Plaintiff’s Failure To 25 Exhaust 26 27 Plaintiff admits in the Complaint that Plaintiff has yet to file 28 a grievance concerning the facts at issue at the institution where the 11 1 events occurred. (Complaint at 2). Although Plaintiff claims there are 2 no grievance procedures available at the particular institution, this 3 allegation may be disproved by Defendants if such procedures do, in 4 fact, exist. 5 6 Plaintiff must exhaust available remedies before proceeding in 7 federal court. “The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 [(the ‘PLRA’)] 8 amended 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), which now requires a prisoner to exhaust 9 such administrative remedies as are available before suing over prison 10 conditions.” Booth v. Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 733-34, 121 S. Ct. 1819, 11 149 L. Ed. 2d 958 (2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). Exhaustion 12 of prison administrative procedures is mandated regardless of the relief 13 offered through such procedures. 14 does not satisfy the PLRA exhaustion requirement by filing an untimely 15 or otherwise procedurally defective administrative grievance or appeal. 16 Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 83-84, 126 S. Ct. 2378, 165 L. Ed. 2d 368 17 (2006). 18 boundary of proper exhaustion. 19 S. Ct. 910, 166 L. Ed. 2d 798 (2007). 20 his administrative remedies prior to filing suit. 21 311 F.3d 1198, 1199 (9th Cir. 2002) (per curiam). Id. at 741. Furthermore, a prisoner It is the prison’s requirements, not the PLRA, that define the Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 218, 127 A prisoner must exhaust all of McKinney v. Carey, 22 23 The PLRA exhaustion requirement is not jurisdictional, but rather 24 creates an affirmative defense that a defendant may raise in an 25 unenumerated Rule 12(b) motion. 26 Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1119 (9th Cir. 2003). 27 burden of raising and proving the absence of exhaustion. Wyatt, 315 28 F.3d that at 1119. Specifically, Jones, 549 U.S. at 216-17; Wyatt v. the 12 defendant The defendant bears the must show some 1 administrative relief remains available to the plaintiff “whether at 2 unexhausted levels of the grievance process or through awaiting the 3 results of the relief already granted as a result of that process.” 4 Brown v. Valoff, 422 F.3d 926, 936-37 (9th Cir. 2005). 5 has not exhausted administrative remedies on a claim, “the proper remedy 6 is dismissal of the claim without prejudice.” 7 Dismissal of the entire complaint is not required when a prisoner has 8 exhausted some, but not all, of the claims included in the complaint. 9 Jones, 549 U.S. at 222-24. When a prisoner Wyatt, 315 F.3d at 1120. 10 11 In California, state prisoners “may appeal any departmental 12 decision, action, condition, or policy which they can demonstrate as 13 having an adverse effect upon their welfare.” 14 § 3084.1(a). 15 administrative review. 16 an 17 describing the problem and the action requested. 18 15, § 3084.2(a). 19 resolution; (2) first formal level; (3) second formal level (conducted 20 by the institution head); and (4) third formal level (conducted by a 21 designated representative of the Director of the California Department 22 of Corrections and Rehabilitation under supervision of the Chief of 23 Inmate Appeals). informal Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, An informal complaint is a prerequisite to all further complaint, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 3084.2(b). a prisoner must submit a “CDC To lodge Form 602" Cal. Code Regs. tit. The levels of review are as follows: (1) informal Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 3084.1(a). 24 25 Again, the Court notes that Plaintiff admits he has failed to 26 exhaust administrative remedies. (Complaint at 2). 27 dismiss the Complaint at this time for Plaintiff’s admitted failure to 28 exhaust, but cautions Plaintiff that if Defendants are eventually served 13 The Court does not 1 with the Complaint and if Defendants respond by moving to dismiss for 2 Plaintiff’s failure to exhaust, it is possible the Complaint will be 3 dismissed at that time. 4 5 IV. 6 CONCLUSION 7 8 9 For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff’s Complaint is dismissed with leave to amend. If Plaintiff still wishes to pursue this action, 10 he is granted thirty (30) days from the date of this Memorandum and 11 Order within which to file a First Amended Complaint. 12 complaint, the Plaintiff shall cure the defects described above. 13 First Amended Complaint, if any, shall be complete in itself and shall 14 bear both the designation “First Amended Complaint” and the case number 15 assigned to this action. 16 original Complaint. 17 Defendants who are properly named in such a complaint, consistent with 18 the authorities discussed above. In any amended The It shall not refer in any manner to the Plaintiff shall limit his action only to those 19 20 In any amended complaint, Plaintiff should confine his allegations 21 to those operative facts supporting each of his claims. 22 advised that pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), all that 23 is required is a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that 24 the pleader is entitled to relief.” 25 to utilize the standard civil rights complaint form when filing any 26 amended complaint, a copy of which is attached. 27 complaint, Plaintiff should identify the nature of each separate legal 28 claim and make clear what specific factual allegations support his 14 Plaintiff is Plaintiff is strongly encouraged In any amended 1 claims. Plaintiff is strongly encouraged to keep his statements concise 2 and to omit irrelevant details. 3 cite case law or include legal argument. It is not necessary for Plaintiff to 4 5 Plaintiff is explicitly cautioned that failure to timely file a 6 First Amended Complaint, or failure to correct the deficiencies 7 described above, will result in a recommendation that this action be 8 dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute and obey Court orders 9 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Plaintiff is further 10 advised that if he no longer wishes to pursue this action, he may 11 voluntarily dismiss it by filing a Notice of Dismissal in accordance 12 with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1). 13 Dismissal is attached for Plaintiff’s convenience. A form Notice of 14 15 DATED: September 9, 2011 16 /S/ __________________________ SUZANNE H. SEGAL UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 15

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