(PS) Ingram v. City of Sacramento et al, No. 2:2012cv01898 - Document 3 (E.D. Cal. 2012)
Court Description: FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS, recommending plaintiff's 7/19/2012 2 Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis be denied; plaintiff's 1 Complaint be dismissed without leave to amend; and this action be closed, signed by Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd on 11/8/2012. These Findings and Recommendations are REFERRED to District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr.. Within 14 days after being served with these Findings and Recommendations, plaintiff may file written Objections with Court. (Marciel, M)
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(PS) Ingram v. City of Sacramento et al Doc. 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 CHADERICK A. INGRAM, 11 12 13 14 Plaintiff, vs. CITY OF SACRAMENTO, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Defendants. 15 16 No. 2:12-cv-1898 GEB DAD PS / Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, commenced this action on July 19, 2012, by filing a 17 complaint and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (Doc. Nos. 1 18 & 2.) This matter was referred to the undersigned in accordance with Local Rule 302(c)(21) and 19 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 Plaintiff’s in forma pauperis application makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. 21 § 1915(a)(1). However, a determination that a plaintiff qualifies financially for in forma pauperis 22 status does not complete the inquiry required by the statute. “‘A district court may deny leave to 23 proceed in forma pauperis at the outset if it appears from the face of the proposed complaint that 24 the action is frivolous or without merit.’” Minetti v. Port of Seattle, 152 F.3d 1113, 1115 (9th 25 Cir. 1998) (quoting Tripati v. First Nat. Bank & Trust, 821 F.2d 1368, 1370 (9th Cir. 1987)). See 26 also Smart v. Heinze, 347 F.2d 114, 116 (9th Cir. 1965) (“It is the duty of the District Court to 1 Dockets.Justia.com 1 examine any application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis to determine whether the 2 proposed proceeding has merit and if it appears that the proceeding is without merit, the court is 3 bound to deny a motion seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis.”) Moreover, the court must 4 dismiss an in forma pauperis case at any time if the allegation of poverty is found to be untrue or 5 if it is determined that the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief 6 may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against an immune defendant. See 28 U.S.C. § 7 1915(e)(2). A complaint is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis in law or in fact. 8 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 9 (9th Cir. 1984). Under this standard, a court must dismiss a complaint as frivolous where it is 10 based on an indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly 11 baseless. Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). 12 To state a claim on which relief may be granted, the plaintiff must allege “enough 13 facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 14 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). In considering whether a complaint states a cognizable claim, the court 15 accepts as true the material allegations in the complaint and construes the allegations in the light 16 most favorable to the plaintiff. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73 (1984); Hosp. Bldg. 17 Co. v. Trustees of Rex Hosp., 425 U.S. 738, 740 (1976); Love v. United States, 915 F.2d 1242, 18 1245 (9th Cir. 1989). Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by 19 lawyers. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). However, the court need not accept as 20 true conclusory allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact. Western 21 Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir. 1981). 22 The minimum requirements for a civil complaint in federal court are as follows: 23 A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief . . . shall contain (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction depends . . . , (2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and (3) a demand for judgment for the relief the pleader seeks. 24 25 26 Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). 2 1 Here, plaintiff’s complaint does not contain a short and plain statement of his 2 claim showing that he is entitled to relief. In this regard, plaintiff’s complaint consists of sixteen 3 pages of rambling, largely incoherent, vague allegations intermixed with references to federal 4 law. 5 For example, the complaint alleges the following: 6 Defendant’s stated above, willingly, knowingly, wrongfully, and unlawfully defamed Plaintiffs character after filing in forma pauperis application appropriately for attorney proceedings as the law requires, Defendants, Geico harassing Plaintiff behind a claim not being settled that had been open since April of 2012, who gets harassed by entities that move forward to do the right thing as the law requires being pulled over by the highway patrol for trying to settle his auto claim as the law requires through the use of defamation of character while using excessive force... 7 8 9 10 11 12 (Compl. (Doc. No. 1) at 3.) Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopt a flexible pleading policy, a 13 complaint must give the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff’s claims and must allege facts that 14 state the elements of each claim plainly and succinctly. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2); Jones v. 15 Community Redev. Agency, 733 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir. 1984). “A pleading that offers ‘labels 16 and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of cause of action will not do.’ Nor 17 does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertions’ devoid of ‘further factual 18 enhancements.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 19 555, 557). A plaintiff must allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts which the 20 defendants engaged in that support the plaintiff’s claims. Jones, 733 F.2d at 649. 21 Having reviewed plaintiff’s allegations, the undersigned will make a substantive 22 finding of frivolousness as to the complaint filed in this action. Although the allegations found 23 in plaintiff’s complaint are difficult to comprehend, they apparently concern a dispute between 24 plaintiff and his automotive insurance company. In any event, his allegations lack an arguable 25 basis in law, are indisputably meritless and are thus frivolous. See Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 325-27; 26 Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227-28. 3 1 2 Accordingly, for the reasons cited above, plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 3 The undersigned has carefully considered whether plaintiff may amend his 4 pleading to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. “Valid reasons for denying leave to 5 amend include undue delay, bad faith, prejudice, and futility.” California Architectural Bldg. 6 Prod. v. Franciscan Ceramics, 818 F.2d 1466, 1472 (9th Cir. 1988). See also Klamath-Lake 7 Pharm. Ass’n v. Klamath Med. Serv. Bureau, 701 F.2d 1276, 1293 (9th Cir. 1983) (holding that 8 while leave to amend shall be freely given, the court does not have to allow futile amendments). 9 In light of the obvious deficiencies of the complaint filed by plaintiff in this action as noted 10 above, the court finds that it would be futile to grant plaintiff leave to amend. 11 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 12 1. Plaintiff’s July 19, 2012 application to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. No. 2) 13 be denied; 14 15 2. Plaintiff’s July 19, 2012 complaint (Doc. No. 1) be dismissed without leave to amend; and 16 3. This action be closed. 17 These findings and recommendations will be submitted to the United States 18 District Judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within 19 fourteen (14) days after being served with these findings and recommendations, plaintiff may file 20 written objections with the court. A document containing objections should be titled “Objections 21 to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file 22 ///// 23 ///// 24 ///// 25 ///// 26 ///// 4 1 objections within the specified time may, under certain circumstances, waive the right to appeal 2 the District Court’s order. See Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991). 3 DATED: November 8, 2012. 4 5 6 7 DDAD:6 Ddad1\orders.pro se\ingram1898.ifpden.f&rs.wpd 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 5
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