(PC)Gelazela v. United States of America et al, No. 1:2022cv01539 - Document 18 (E.D. Cal. 2023)
Court Description: FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS Recommending that this Action be Dismissed, With Prejudice, signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 05/17/2023. Referred to Judge De Alba. Objections to F&R due within Twenty-One Days. (Maldonado, C)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARK A. GELAZELA, 12 13 Case No. 1:22-cv-01539-ADA-EPG (PC) Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDING THAT THIS ACTION BE DISMISSED, WITH PREJUDICE v. 14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., 15 Defendants. (ECF No. 14) OBJECTIONS, IF ANY, DUE WITHIN TWENTY-ONE DAYS 16 17 18 19 20 Mark Gelazela (“Plaintiff”) is a former prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this action. As background, on October 8, 2021, Plaintiff filed the complaint commencing Gelazela 21 v. United States of America (“Gelazela I”), E.D. CA, Case No. 1:21-cv-01499, ECF No. 1. 22 The Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint and found that it failed to comply with Federal Rules 23 of Civil Procedure 8(a). Id. at ECF No. 12. The Court granted Plaintiff leave to amend, id., 24 and Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint on December 10, 2021, id. at ECF No. 13. The 25 Court screened Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint and allowed certain claims relating to the 26 treatment he received (or failed to receive) for his knee to proceed past screening. Id. at ECF 27 Nos. 20 & 24. The Court also found that certain other claims were unrelated and severed them. 28 Id. Plaintiff was given thirty days from the date this case was opened “to file an amended 1 1 complaint that only includes Claims III, Claim IV, and Claim V.” Id. at ECF No. 24, p. 3 2 (emphasis added). Claim III was for violation of Plaintiff’s right to free exercise of religion, 3 Claim IV was for violation of Plaintiff’s right to access the courts, and Claim V was for 4 violation of Plaintiff’s right to due process. Id. at ECF No. 13, pgs. 16-19. 5 On December 19, 2022, Plaintiff filed his Second Amended Complaint in this action 6 (ECF No. 14), which is now before this Court for screening. The Court has reviewed 7 Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, and for the reasons described in this order, will 8 recommend that this action be dismissed, with prejudice. 9 10 Plaintiff has twenty-one days from the date of service of these findings and recommendations to file his objections. 11 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 12 As Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis (ECF No. 5), the Court may screen the 13 complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, 14 that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that 15 the action or appeal fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 16 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 17 A complaint is required to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing 18 that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are 19 not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 20 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 21 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). A plaintiff must set forth “sufficient 22 factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. 23 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting 24 this plausibility standard. Id. at 679. While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts 25 “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 26 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a 27 plaintiff’s legal conclusions are not accepted as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. 28 Pleadings of pro se plaintiffs “must be held to less stringent standards than formal 2 1 pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that 2 pro se complaints should continue to be liberally construed after Iqbal). SUMMARY OF PLAINTIFF’S SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT 3 II. 4 The incidents occurred at Mendota Federal Correctional Institute.1 5 Plaintiff was fully exonerated in court of any wrongdoing in his criminal case, but the 6 exoneration occurred after the verdict, so this did not prevent Plaintiff from being wrongfully 7 incarcerated pending appeal for a new trial under “rule 33.” 8 9 Defendant Acting Warden Lepe admitted to Plaintiff via email that Plaintiff’s first request for compassionate release in April of 2020 was “lost.” Plaintiff was asked to resubmit 10 the request three months later, which he did on July 13, 2020. This contributed to Plaintiff 11 contracting COVID and not being able to get knee surgery before permanent damage occurred. 12 This is a denial of Plaintiff’s due process rights, and it makes the United States liable for 13 violation of a strict liability tort, a Prima Facie tort, and negligence under the Federal Tort 14 Claims Act (“FTCA”)/California Tort Claims Act (“CTCA”). 15 Defendant Warden Douglas White was the official in charge during the events 16 described, except where referenced. Plaintiff attempted to contact defendant White regarding 17 the abuses/neglect several times through administrative channels and was ignored or dismissed 18 (specifically in emails on October 20, 2020, November 6, 2020, May 7, 2021, as well as in his 19 compassionate release packages that were delivered by certified mail on May 21, 2021). 20 Related to this, defendant Blocher was answering the Warden’s emails for him at least in part 21 (he admitted this to Plaintiff directly in conversation, and Plaintiff references this conversation 22 in emails to the Warden dated October 20, 2020, and May 25, 2021). Defendant Blocher also 23 ignored, dismissed, or worked actively to derail Plaintiff’s requests both directly and through 24 the aforementioned emails, each ignoring the Plaintiff’s administrative remedy requests 25 26 1 27 28 Plaintiff includes numerous allegations related to the treatment he received (or failed to receive) for his knee. As discussed above, Plaintiff’s claims related to the treatment he received for his knee were addressed in Gelazela I. To the extent Plaintiff is attempting to re-assert those claims in this action, the Court RECOMMENDS that they be dismissed because Plaintiff was not given permission to re-assert them in this severed action and Plaintiff provides no explanation as to why he should be allowed to re-assert them. 3 1 2 throughout 2020 and 2021. Plaintiff has a long and virulent history of upper respiratory infections, and he has had 3 two parts of his immune system removed. Thus, he has a perpetually low white blood cell 4 count. Defendant Lehman flatly refused to even accept Plaintiff’s BP-8 CARES Act release 5 package, military medical records, and Veterans Affairs medical records, until two months after 6 Plaintiff complained to the Warden in email(s). Plaintiff’s requests for his own medical records 7 from Federal Correctional Institution Mendota (“FCI Mendota”) were ignored for months. It 8 was not until Plaintiff pressed other Bureau of Prison (“BOP”) employees to testify to the truth 9 about some of the corruption that Acting Warden Lejeune (defendant White had retired) was 10 convinced to force defendant Lehman to allow Plaintiff to finally submit his CARES Act 11 package and attending medical records. It should not have taken over a year for Plaintiff’s 12 CARES Act Package/requests for release to even be accepted for review. This violated 13 Plaintiff’s due process rights, and it also makes the United States liable under the FTCA/CTCA 14 given that this is an intentional tort, a strict liability tort, a Prima Facie tort, and negligence. 15 Someone at FCI Mendota also fraudulently backdated a made-up, September 8, 2020 16 denial to one of Plaintiff’s initial requests for compassionate release/CARES Act release and 17 sent it to the regional BOP. Three aforementioned FCI Mendota staff members have stated that 18 they are willing to testify to this. Plaintiff believes that defendant Blocher is the guilty party. 19 This caused further delay in Plaintiff’s release, resulting in damages. This is a violation of 20 Plaintiff’s due process rights, and it also makes the United States liable under the FTCA/CTCA 21 given that this is an intentional tort, a Prima Facie tort, and negligence. 22 Plaintiff was also denied the Eucharist for over a year and four months (from early 23 April of 2020 to the time of discharge on September 14, 2021), despite repeated pleadings, and 24 he is a practicing Catholic who had been accepted to become a Priest before being wrongfully 25 incarcerated. This is a violation of Plaintiff’s free exercise rights, and it also makes the United 26 States liable under the FTCA/CTCA given that it is an intentional tort, a strict liability tort, a 27 Prima Facie tort, and negligence. 28 Plaintiff’s attempts to pursue legal action were knowingly subjugated at every 4 1 opportunity. Inmates were continually denied access to the law library by defendant White, 2 making it impossible to provide citations. Every time an inmate was caught with contraband, 3 defendant White and his staff would punish everyone by taking away their access to the law 4 library (which was only available on computer) and the chapel. They would also shut off the 5 TVs, which were the only source of anti-recidivism activities for Earned Time Credits (which 6 are relevant for an application under the First Step Act). This occurred often, and Plaintiff’s 7 complaints were ignored. This is a violation of Plaintiff’s right to access the courts and due 8 process rights. It also makes the United States liable under the FTCA/CTCA, given that this 9 violation is an intentional tort, a strict liability tort, a Prima Facie tort, and negligence. 10 Defendant White and other defendants were extremely uncooperative and deliberate in 11 their denial of these rights. During early 20212 defendant Lehman even refused to sign 12 something as simple as an in forma pauperis form, even though Plaintiff showed her a section 13 of the federal rules of criminal procedure stating that the Warden or another officer must file a 14 certificate setting forth the amount of money or securities on deposit in Plaintiff’s account. She 15 also refused to accept Plaintiff’s CARES Act submission and BP-8 on May 7, 2021, so Plaintiff 16 had to wait months for his complaint to reach the Warden. 17 Additionally, Plaintiff filed a “2241” case in the Eastern District regarding these abuses, 18 but the Court ultimately advised him to submit a civil complaint instead. However, the Court 19 did issue an order expediting Plaintiff’s petition and emergency motion to compel back to the 20 litigation coordinator at FCI Mendota. However, defendant White and other Defendants 21 promptly ignored the order. This is a violation of Plaintiff’s right to access the courts and due 22 process rights. It also makes the United States liable under the FTCA/CTCA given that this 23 violation is an intentional tort, a strict liability tort, a Prima Facie tort, and negligence. 24 Additionally, all these delays caused Plaintiff to remain incarcerated, get COVID, and 25 almost die. Had defendant Lehman not repeatedly willfully refused his package, Plaintiff 26 would have been released to the safety of home confinement before the massive COVID 27 28 2 It is not clear if Plaintiff is referring to 2021 or 2022. Plaintiff alleges that it occurred in “20212.” (ECF No. 14, p. 10). 5 1 outbreak that occurred at the FCI Mendota camp on August 25, 2021.3 2 Plaintiff brings a claim for violation of his right to free exercise of religion, a claim for 3 violation of his right to access the courts, and a claim for violation of his right to due process. 4 5 6 III. ANALYSIS OF PLAINTIFF’S SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT A. Bivens Based on the case Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 7 (1971), courts have found that individuals may sue federal officials for damages for 8 constitutional violations under certain circumstances. A Bivens action is the federal analog to 9 suits brought against state officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Hartman v. Moore, 547 U.S. 250 10 (2006). The basis of a Bivens action is some illegal or inappropriate conduct on the part of a 11 federal official or agent that violates a clearly established constitutional right. Baiser v. 12 Department of Justice, Office of U.S. Trustee, 327 F.3d 903, 909 (9th Cir. 2003). “To state a 13 claim for relief under Bivens, a plaintiff must allege that a federal officer deprived him of his 14 constitutional rights.” Serra v. Lappin, 600 F.3d 1191, 1200 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Schearz v. 15 United States, 234 F.3d 428, 432 (9th Cir. 2000). A Bivens claim is only available against 16 officers in their individual capacities. Morgan v. U.S., 323 F.3d 776, 780 n.3 (9th Cir. 2003); 17 Vaccaro v. Dobre, 81 F.3d 854, 857 (9th Cir. 1996). “A plaintiff must plead more than a 18 merely negligent act by a federal official in order to state a colorable claim under Bivens.” 19 O’Neal v. Eu, 866 F.2d 314, 314 (9th Cir. 1988). 20 Plaintiff must allege facts linking each named defendant to the violation of his rights. 21 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676; Simmons v. Navajo County, Ariz., 609 F.3d 1011, 1020-21 (9th Cir. 22 2010); Ewing v. City of Stockton, 588 F.3d 1218, 1235 (9th Cir. 2009); Jones v. Williams, 297 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 Plaintiff also includes numerous allegations regarding how staff at FCI Mendota failed to protect him from COVID, as well as allegations regarding the conditions at the Medium Security C1 Unit. However, Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and FTCA claims regarding COVID and the conditions at the Medium Security C1 Unit were included in Claim VI, and Plaintiff was ordered to file Claim VI in a separate action, which he did. See Gelazela I, ECF No. 13 pgs. 19-21; ECF No. 24, p. 3; & Gelazela v. United States of America, E.D. CA, Case No. 1:22-cv-01540, ECF No. 14. To the extent Plaintiff is attempting to re-assert these claims in this action, the Court RECOMMENDS that these claims be dismissed because Plaintiff was not given permission to re-assert these claim in this action and Plaintiff provides no explanation as to why he should be allowed to re-assert them. 6 1 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). The factual allegations must be sufficient to state a plausible 2 claim for relief, and the mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting this plausibility 3 standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79. 4 Additionally, a plaintiff must demonstrate that each named defendant personally 5 participated in the deprivation of his rights. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676-77. In other words, there 6 must be an actual connection or link between the actions of the defendants and the deprivation 7 alleged to have been suffered by Plaintiff. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of N.Y., 8 436 U.S. 658, 691, 695 (1978). 9 However, not all constitutional cases against federal officers for damages may proceed 10 as Bivens claims. In the recent case of Egbert v. Boule, 142 S. Ct. 1793, the United States 11 Supreme Court explained the following steps for evaluating a constitutional claim for damages 12 against a federal official: “To inform a court’s analysis of a proposed Bivens claim, [The 13 Supreme Court’s] cases have framed the inquiry as proceeding in two steps. First, we ask 14 whether the case presents a new Bivens context—i.e., is it meaningful[ly] different from the 15 three cases in which the [Supreme] Court has implied a damages action. Second, if a claim 16 arises in a new context, a Bivens remedy is unavailable if there are special factors indicating 17 that the Judiciary is at least arguably less equipped than Congress to weigh the costs and 18 benefits of allowing a damages action to proceed. If there is even a single reason to pause 19 before applying Bivens in a new context, a court may not recognize a Bivens remedy.” Egbert, 20 142 S. Ct. at 1803 (alteration in original) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). 21 These steps “often resolve to a single question: whether there is any reason to think that 22 Congress might be better equipped to create a damages remedy.” Id. (internal quotation marks 23 omitted). Here, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s Bivens claims may not proceed because they arise 24 25 in a new context and there is at least one special factor indicating that the Judiciary is at least 26 arguably less equipped than Congress to weigh the costs and benefits of allowing a damages 27 \\\ 28 \\\ 7 1 action to proceed.4 2 3 1. New Context Analysis A case presents a new context if it “is different in a meaningful way from previous 4 Bivens cases decided by [the Supreme] Court.” Ziglar v. Abbasi, 137 S. Ct. 1843, 1859 (2017). 5 The Supreme Court has declined “to create an exhaustive list of differences that are meaningful 6 enough to make a given context a new one,” id. at 1859-60, but provided the following 7 instructive examples: 8 A case might differ in a meaningful way because of the rank of the officers involved; the constitutional right at issue; the generality or specificity of the official action; the extent of judicial guidance as to how an officer should respond to the problem or emergency to be confronted; the statutory or other legal mandate under which the officer was operating; the risk of disruptive intrusion by the Judiciary into the functioning of other branches; or the presence of potential special factors that previous Bivens cases did not consider. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Abbasi, 137 S. Ct. at 1860. As to the three cases that the Supreme Court has allowed to proceed under Bivens, the Supreme Court has summarized those three cases: In Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, the Court broke new ground by holding that a person claiming to be the victim of an unlawful arrest and search could bring a Fourth Amendment claim for damages against the responsible agents even though no federal statute authorized such a claim. The Court subsequently extended Bivens to cover two additional constitutional claims: in Davis v. Passman, a former congressional staffer’s Fifth Amendment claim of dismissal based on sex, and in Carlson v. Green, a federal prisoner’s Eighth Amendment claim for failure to provide adequate medical treatment. Hernandez v. Mesa, 140 S. Ct. 735, 741 (2020) (citations shortened). In this case, Plaintiff brings due process claims, free exercise claims, and access to courts claims against prison officials. These claims are not the same, or even similar, to the cases in which the Supreme Court has allowed a Bivens claim to proceed. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s Bivens claims arise in a new context. 27 4 28 To the extent Plaintiff is attempting to bring Bivens claims against defendant United States, defendant FCI Mendota, and defendant BOP, the Court finds that these claims fail because, as discussed above, a Bivens claim is only available against officers in their individual capacities. 8 1 2. Special Factors Analysis 2 Once the Court finds that claims arise in a new context, the Court must apply a “special 3 factors” analysis to determine whether “special factors counsel hesitation” in expanding Bivens 4 to the action. Abbasi, 137 S. Ct. at 1857, 1875. In this analysis, the Court looks to “whether 5 there is any rational reason (even one) to think that Congress is better suited to weigh the costs 6 and benefits of allowing a damages action to proceed.” Egbert, 142 S. Ct. at 1805 (citation and 7 internal quotation marks omitted).5 “[I]n most every case” the Court should defer to Congress 8 and find that “no Bivens action may lie.” Id. at 1803. 9 “If there are alternative remedial structures in place, that alone, like any special factor, 10 is reason enough to limit the power of the Judiciary to infer a new Bivens cause of action.” Id. 11 at 1804 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). 12 As there are alternative remedial structures in place, the Court finds that there is at least 13 one special factor indicating that the Judiciary is at least arguably less equipped than Congress 14 to weigh the costs and benefits of allowing damages actions to proceed on Plaintiff’s Bivens 15 claims. 16 The Bureau of Prisons’ administrative remedy program provides an alternative remedial 17 structure. Corr. Servs. Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61, 74, (2001) (“Inmates in respondent’s 18 position also have full access to remedial mechanisms established by the BOP, including … 19 grievances filed through the BOP’s Administrative Remedy Program (ARP). See 28 CFR § 20 542.10 (2001) (explaining ARP as providing ‘a process through which inmates may seek 21 formal review of an issue which relates to any aspect of their confinement’).”); Egbert, 142 S. 22 Ct. at 1806 (“In Malesko, we explained that Bivens relief was unavailable because federal 23 prisoners could, among other options, file grievances through an Administrative Remedy 24 Program.”) (internal quotation marks omitted); Hoffman v. Preston, 2022 WL 6685254, at *1 25 (9th Cir. Oct. 11, 2022) (“Hoffman’s complaint alleges that a prison correctional officer 26 intentionally created the risk that another prisoner would assault Hoffman by publicly labeling 27 28 5 The Court notes that Egbert changed the relevant inquiry. Mejia v. Miller, 61 F.4th 663, 667 (9th Cir. 2023) (“The question is no longer whether the Judiciary is well suited, but whether Congress is better suited.”). 9 1 him as a snitch and offering prisoners rewards. The Supreme Court’s decision in Egbert v. 2 Boule precludes recognizing a Bivens remedy for these allegations. Congress has not 3 authorized a damages remedy in this context, and there are ‘rational reason[s],’ Egbert, 142 S. 4 Ct. at 1803, why it might not, for example, the existence of the Bureau of Prisons’ formal 5 review process for inmate complaints.”) (alteration in original). While the Bureau of Prisons’ administrative remedy program does not provide Plaintiff 6 7 with complete relief, the question before the Court is not whether existing remedies provide 8 complete relief. Egbert, 142 S. Ct. 1793, 1804. “Rather, the court must ask only whether it, 9 rather than the political branches, is better equipped to decide whether existing remedies should 10 be augmented by the creation of a new judicial remedy.” Id. (citations and internal quotation 11 marks omitted). And, as discussed above, the existence of alternative remedial structures is a 12 rational reason why Congress has not authorized a damages remedy for Plaintiff’s Bivens 13 claims. 14 Finally, the Court notes that Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated (see ECF No. 14, p. 1), 15 and that while Plaintiff seeks money damages (id. at 19), he does not seek injunctive relief. 16 Therefore, based on the foregoing, the Court will recommend that Plaintiff’s Bivens 17 18 19 claims be dismissed, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim. B. Federal Tort Claims Act The Federal Tort Claims Act provides that the United States shall be liable for tort 20 claims “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like 21 circumstances.” 28 U.S.C. § 2674. The United States is not liable under the FTCA for 22 constitutional tort claims. FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471, 478 (1994). The FTCA “makes the 23 United States liable ‘in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under 24 like circumstances.’” United States v. Olson, 546 U.S. 43, 46 (2005) (emphasis removed) 25 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2674). “The law of the place in § 1346(b) has been construed to refer to 26 the law of the state where the act or omission occurred. Thus, any duty that the United States 27 owe[s] to plaintiff[] must be found in California state tort law.” Delta Sav. Bank v. United 28 States, 265 F.3d 1017, 1025 (9th Cir. 2001) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). 10 1 As to Plaintiff’s Federal Tort Claims Act claims, the Court finds that they should be 2 dismissed because Plaintiff’s complaint once again fails to comply with Rule 8(a) and because 3 they fail to state a claim. 4 As set forth above, Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a 5 complaint to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is 6 entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although a complaint is not required to include 7 detailed factual allegations, it must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state 8 a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 9 U.S. at 570). It must also contain “sufficient allegations of underlying facts to give fair notice 10 and to enable the opposing party to defend itself effectively.” Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 11 1216 (9th Cir. 2011). Moreover, Plaintiff must demonstrate that each named defendant 12 personally participated in the deprivation of his rights. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676-77. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 In screening Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint in Gelazela I, the Court found that Plaintiff’s FTCA claims failed. In so finding, the Court noted that: Plaintiff’s complaint is twenty-four pages and appears to include allegations stemming from when he first arrived in prison until when he was released, a period of approximately a year and eight months. Moreover, Plaintiff sues numerous individuals, and also complains about various incidents without naming responsible individuals. Additionally, while Plaintiff lists six separate claims and lists the United States as a defendant in each, none of his claims are for violation of the Federal Tort Claims Act. Thus, it is not clear how many separate Federal Tort Claims Act claims Plaintiff is attempting to bring based on the conduct alleged in the complaint Gelazela I, ECF No. 20, p. 21 & ECF No. 24. Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint suffers from many of these same defects, and in fact, the amendment made some of the defects worse. Plaintiff’s complaint is twenty pages, is largely in narrative format, includes legal argument, includes numerous irrelevant factual allegations, and once again includes allegations stemming from when he first arrived in prison until when he was released. Additionally, once again, none of Plaintiff’s listed claims are for violation of the Federal Tort Claims Act. Instead, in the title of each of his three claims, Plaintiff identifies a 11 1 constitutional violation. And, as discussed above, Plaintiff fails to state a claim for violation of 2 his constitutional rights and the United States is not liable under the FTCA for constitutional 3 tort claims. However, despite not listing a single claim for violation of the FTCA, on over 4 thirty occasions throughout his complaint Plaintiff asserts a violation of the Federal Tort 5 Claims Act. Therefore, it is once again not clear how many separate Federal Tort Claims Act 6 claims Plaintiff is attempting to bring. 7 Moreover, at times, Plaintiff still fails to identify responsible individuals. As one 8 example, Plaintiff attempts to assert his claim for violation of his religious rights against all 9 defendants. (ECF No. 14, p. 17). However, he once again does not name any responsible 10 individuals. Instead, he simply alleges that he was denied the Eucharist for over a year and 11 four months “despite repeated pleadings.” (ECF No. 14, p. 9). 12 Finally, Plaintiff fails to identify the facts supporting each of his three listed claims. 13 Instead, he incorporates every factual allegation in his complaint by reference, even though 14 many are not relevant to the claim. 15 Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s complaint once again fails to comply with 16 Rule 8(a). McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996) (“[A] court may dismiss a 17 complaint for failure to comply with Rule 8(a) if it is “argumentative, prolix, replete with 18 redundancy, and largely irrelevant.”); Pinzon v. Jensen, 2009 WL 231164, at *2 (E.D. Cal., Jan. 19 30, 2009) (“Although Plaintiff attempts to allege many causes of action and provides a 20 description of his alleged experiences, his narrative-style complaint is insufficient to state 21 legally cognizable causes of action. It is Plaintiff's burden, not that of the court, to separately 22 identify claims and state facts in support of each claim.”); Saunders v. Saunders, 2009 WL 23 382922, at *2 (E.D. Cal., Feb. 13, 2009) (“A complaint having the factual elements of a cause 24 of action scattered throughout the complaint and not organized into a ‘short and plain statement 25 of the claim’ may be dismissed for failure to satisfy Rule 8(a).”).6 26 27 28 6 The Court also notes that Plaintiff was not given permission to bring any claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act in this action, let alone over thirty. While the Court ultimately granted Plaintiff’s request to sever unrelated claims instead of dismissing them, limitations were placed on the claims Plaintiff could bring in the severed cases. 12 1 For similar reasons, the Court also finds that Plaintiff fails to state an FTCA claim. As 2 discussed above, Plaintiff only includes three claims, and in the title of each claim, Plaintiff 3 only lists a constitutional violation. In each claim Plaintiff also alleges that the United States 4 violated “common law torts.” (ECF No. 14, pgs. 17-19). However, the United States is not 5 liable under the FTCA for constitutional tort claims. Moreover, Plaintiff fails to identify any 6 specific California state tort law that the United States violated in these claims. 7 The Court has previously informed Plaintiff of these same defects, and he has not 8 corrected them. Gelazela I, ECF No. 20, p. 21 (“Moreover, most of the claims that Plaintiff 9 lists are for constitutional violations, and, as the Court informed Plaintiff previously, ‘[t]he 10 United States is not liable under the FTCA for constitutional tort claims.’ (ECF No. 12, p. 2 n. 11 1). And, Plaintiff fails to identify any California state tort law that the United States violated. 12 Instead, in two of the six claims, Plaintiff states that the behavior of certain defendants violated 13 ‘Common Law Torts.’”). (alteration in original). 14 continues to add general FTCA claims as to any and all underlying conduct without regard to 15 the repeated instructions as to how to state a viable claim. 16 This is Plaintiff’s third complaint, and he Moreover, while Plaintiff specifically identifies certain torts in the facts section of his 17 complaint, Plaintiff does not specifically allege what any specific defendant did that violated a 18 state tort law that would be applicable under the FTCA. He generally alleges that his 19 constitutional claims also are tort claims, stating things such as “[t]his is a violation of the 20 Plaintiff’s Free Exercise of Religion and it also makes the U.S. liable under the 21 FTCA/CTCA….” (ECF No. 14, p. 9). However, it is not the case that constitutional claims are 22 also tort claims, and he does not set forth facts establishing as such. For example, he alleges 23 that failing to provide him with the Eucharist is an intentional tort, and he specifically identifies 24 25 26 27 28 In Gelazela I, the Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint, and instead of dismissing unrelated claims, severed them at Plaintiff’s request. Id. at ECF Nos. 20 & 24. Plaintiff was given thirty days from the date this case was opened “to file an amended complaint that only includes Claims III, Claim IV, and Claim V.” Id. at ECF No. 24 (emphasis added). Claim III was for violation of Plaintiff’s right to free exercise of religion, Claim IV was for violation of Plaintiff’s right to access the courts, and Claim V was for violation of Plaintiff’s right to due process. Id. at ECF No. 13, pgs. 16-19. The Court did not give Plaintiff permission to bring Federal Tort Claims Act claims, which cannot be based on violation of a constitutional right. Additionally, Plaintiff did not ask for permission to bring such claims. 13 1 the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, but he does not allege the elements of this 2 claim.7 3 Accordingly, the Court also finds that Plaintiff fails to state an FTCA claim. 4 IV. 5 The Court recommends that this action be dismissed, without granting Plaintiff further CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6 leave to amend. There is no Bivens claim for any of the constitutional claims Plaintiff is 7 attempting to bring, and Plaintiff cannot cure this defect with amendment. Moreover, despite 8 the Court identifying the deficiencies and previously granting Plaintiff leave to amend, Plaintiff 9 once again fails to comply with Rule (8)(a) and he also fails to state any claims. Thus, the 10 Court finds that leave to amend would be futile. 11 Accordingly, based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY RECOMMENDS that: 12 1. This action be dismissed, with prejudice; 13 2. Plaintiff’s request for appointment of pro bono counsel be DENIED;8 and 14 3. The Clerk of Court be directed to close this case. 15 These findings and recommendations will be submitted to the United States district 16 judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within 17 twenty-one (21) days after being served with these findings and recommendations, Plaintiff 18 may file written objections with the Court. The document should be captioned “Objections to 19 Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” 20 \\\ 21 \\\ 22 \\\ 23 24 25 26 27 28 7 “The elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress are: (1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendants with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff's suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant's outrageous conduct.” Sanders v. City of Fresno, 551 F.Supp.2d 1149, 117980 (E.D. Cal. 2008) (citing Potter v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 6 Cal.4th 965, 1001 (1993)). 8 Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint includes a request for appointment of pro bono counsel. (ECF No. 14, p. 20). The Court has reviewed the record in this case, and the Court is unable to make a determination that Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of his claims (and in fact, has found that Plaintiff’s Bivens claims fail). Moreover, it appears that Plaintiff can adequately articulate his claims. Accordingly, the Court is recommending that Plaintiff’s request for appointment of pro bono counsel be denied. 14 1 Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may result in 2 the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 838-39 (9th Cir. 2014) 3 (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). 4 5 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: May 17, 2023 /s/ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 15
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