Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_05-cv-01765/USCOURTS-caed-2_05-cv-01765-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

NATHAN CAGLE, 

Plaintiff, No. CIV S-05-1765 GEB KJM P

vs.

WARDEN SCHULTZ, et al.,

Defendants. ORDER

 /

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42

U.S.C. § 1983 and has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 72-302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 636(b)(1).

Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28

U.S.C. § 1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted.

Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $250.00 for this action. 28

U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). Plaintiff has been without funds for six months and is currently

without funds. Accordingly, the court will not assess an initial partial filing fee. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(b)(1). Plaintiff is obligated to make monthly payments of twenty percent of the

preceding month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments shall be

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collected and forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the

amount in plaintiff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(b)(2).

The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief

against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised

claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may

be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28

U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 

A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in

fact. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-

28 (9th Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an

indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. 

Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however

inartfully pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d

639, 640 (9th Cir. 1989); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227.

A complaint, or portion thereof, should only be dismissed for failure to state a

claim upon which relief may be granted if it appears beyond doubt that plaintiff can prove no set

of facts in support of the claim or claims that would entitle him to relief. Hishon v. King &

Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73 (1984) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957)); Palmer

v. Roosevelt Lake Log Owners Ass’n, 651 F.2d 1289, 1294 (9th Cir. 1981). In reviewing a

complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint in

question, Hospital Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hosp. Trustees, 425 U.S. 738, 740 (1976), construe the

pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff’s favor, 

Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969). 

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The court finds the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint so vague and conclusory

that it is unable to determine whether the current action is frivolous or fails to state a claim for

relief. The raft of attachments do nothing to clarify the matter. The court has determined that

the complaint does not contain a short and plain statement as required by Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 8(a)(2). Although the Federal Rules adopt a flexible pleading policy, a complaint

must give fair notice and state the elements of the claim plainly and succinctly. Jones v.

Community Rede v. Agency, 733 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir. 1984). Plaintiff must allege with at

least some degree of particularity overt acts which defendants engaged in that support plaintiff’s

claim. Id. Because plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 8(a)(2), the complaint must be dismissed. The court will, however, grant leave to file

an amended complaint.

If plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, plaintiff must demonstrate how the

conditions complained of have resulted in a deprivation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights. See

Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). Also, the complaint must allege in specific terms

how each named defendant is involved. There can be no liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 unless

there is some affirmative link or connection between a defendant’s actions and the claimed

deprivation. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir.

1980); Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). Furthermore, vague and conclusory

allegations of official participation in civil rights violations are not sufficient. Ivey v. Board of

Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).

To the extent plaintiff wishes to raise concerns regarding treatment, he may wish

to consult Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976), in which the Supreme Court held that

inadequate medical care did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment cognizable under

§ 1983 unless the mistreatment rose to the level of “deliberate indifference to serious medical

needs.” In applying this standard, the Ninth Circuit has held that before it can be said that a

prisoner’s civil rights have been abridged, “the indifference to his medical needs must be

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substantial. Mere ‘indifference,’ ‘negligence,’ or ‘medical malpractice’ will not support this

cause of action.” Broughton v. Cutter Lab., 622 F.2d 458, 460 (9th Cir. 1980), citing Estelle,

429 U.S. at 105-06. If he wishes to plead a retaliation claim, he is informed that if prison

officials retaliate against an inmate for the exercise of his constitutional rights, the prisoner may

have a viable claim under the civil rights act. Rhodes v. Robinson, 408 F.3d 559, 567-68 (9th

Cir. 2005) (elements of a retaliation claim are (1) an assertion that a state actor took some

adverse action against an inmate (2) because of (3) that prisoner's protected conduct, and that

such action (4) chilled the inmate's exercise of his First Amendment rights, and (5) the action did

not reasonably advance a legitimate correctional goal). In addition, plaintiff is informed that the

court cannot refer to a prior pleading in order to make plaintiff’s amended complaint complete. 

Local Rule 15-220 requires that an amended complaint be complete in itself without reference to

any prior pleading. This is because, as a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the

original complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an

amended complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any function in the case. Therefore,

in an amended complaint, as in an original complaint, each claim and the involvement of each

defendant must be sufficiently alleged. 

Finally, in McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996), the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of a complaint it found to be “argumentative,

prolix, replete with redundancy, and largely irrelevant. It consists largely of immaterial

background information.” The court observed the Federal Rules require that a complaint consist

of “simple, concise, and direct” averments. Id. As a model of concise pleading, the court quoted

the standard form negligence complaint from the Appendix to the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure:

1. Allegation of jurisdiction.

2. On June 1, 1936, in a public highway, called Boylston Street, in

Boston Massachusetts, defendant negligently drove a motor

vehicle against plaintiff, who was then crossing said highway.

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3. As a result plaintiff was thrown down and had his leg broken,

and was otherwise injured, was prevented from transacting his

business, suffered great pain of body and mind, and incurred

expenses for medical attention and hospitalization in the sum of

one thousand dollars.

Wherefore plaintiff demands judgment against defendant in the

sum of one thousand dollars.

Id. 

Phrased another way, “Vigorous writing is concise.” William Strunk, Jr. & E.B.

White, The Elements of Style, § III, ¶ 13 <http://www.bartleby.com/141>. 

Plaintiff’s complaint suffers from many of the same problems as the pleading

dismissed in McHenry: there is much “‘narrative rambling[]’” yet a marked lack of “notice of

what legal claims are asserted against which defendants.” Id. at 1176. As in McHenry,

“[p]rolix, confusing complaints such as the ones plaintiffs filed in this case impose unfair

burdens on litigants and judges.” Id. at 1179.

Plaintiff will be given an opportunity to file an amended complaint, limited to

fifteen pages. Plaintiff may use the court’s form for filing a civil rights action, which will be

provided. Plaintiff should refer to this order and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for

guidance in drafting a further amended document or completing the court’s form complaint. 

In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiff’s request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted.

2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $250.00 for this action. 

The fee shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order to the Director of the

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed concurrently herewith.

3. Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed. 

4. The Clerk of Court is directed to send plaintiff the form for use in filing civil

rights actions in this district. 

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5. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an

amended complaint that complies with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act, the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice; the amended complaint must bear the

docket number assigned this case and must be labeled “Amended Complaint”; plaintiff must file

an original and two copies of the amended complaint; failure to file an amended complaint in

accordance with this order will result in a recommendation that this action be dismissed.

DATED: November 28, 2006. 

1

cagl1765.14(1.03.06)

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