Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02573/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02573-2/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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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TONY ASBERRY,

CDCR #P-63853, Civil No. 13cv2573 WQH (JLB)

Plaintiff, ORDER:

1) DISMISSING SECOND

AMENDED COMPLAINT 

FOR FAILING TO STATE 

A CLAIM PURSUANT 

TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii)

AND § 1915A(b)(1)

[Doc. No. 31]

AND

2) DENYING PLAINTIFF’S

MOTIONS FOR PHYSICAL

LIBRARY USE AND

PRELIMINARY 

INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

[Doc. Nos. 26, 29]

vs.

JEFFREY BEARD; D. PARAMO;

WALKER; SILVA; BENYARD;

ALLEMBY; RUTLEDGE;

HERNANDEZ; CHOW; NEWTON;

TOLEDO; GODINEZ; TAYLOR;

MORALES; JANE & JOHN DOES, 

Defendants.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Tony Asberry (“Plaintiff”), a state prisoner currently incarcerated at the Richard

J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”) in San Diego, California is proceeding pro se

in this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 

/ / /

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In his original Complaint, Plaintiff alleged various RJD officials violated his

Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by providing him

inadequate medical care after he was transferred there in March 2012 from California

State Prison-Sacramento. Plaintiff further alleged RJD officials did so in retaliation for

his having filed CDC 602 inmate appeals and a prior civil rights action related to his

medical care in the Eastern District of California. See Compl. (Doc. No. 1) at 2-14.

On April 22, 2014, the Court granted Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed in forma

pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), but simultaneously dismissed his

Complaint sua sponte for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) & § 1915A(b) (Doc. No. 15). Specifically, the Court

dismissed Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants Cate and Paramo because his pleading

“contain[ed] virtually no allegation that either of [them] knew of or took any part” in

personally causing him constitutional injury. Id. at 6-8. The Court further found that

while Plaintiff’s allegations of chronic lower back pain were sufficiently pleaded to show

an “objectively serious medical need” under the Eighth Amendment, id. at 10, he failed

to allege further facts to show that Defendants Walker, Silva, Denbella, Chow, Newton,

or Doe, acted with deliberate indifference to that need. Id. at 11-12. Finally, the Court

found Plaintiff’s allegations of retaliation also failed to state a claim because his

Complaint did not contain sufficient factual matter to show any named defendant took

adverse action against him because he exercised a constitutional right, that their actions

failed to advance a legitimate correctional goal, or that his First Amendment rights were

in any way chilled as a result. Id. at 12-13. Plaintiff was granted leave to file an

Amended Complaint to correct these deficiencies, and cautioned that because an amended

pleading supersedes the original, any claims not re-alleged would be considered waived. 

Id. at 13-14. 

On June 11, 2014, Plaintiff submitted a First Amended Complaint which deleted

reference to Defendants Cate, Denbella, and John Doe, Medical Doctor, but which realleged his Eighth Amendment claims against previously-named Defendants Walker,

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Silva, Chow, and Newton, and alleged additional access to courts claims against newly

added Defendants Beard, Benyard, Allemby, Rutledge, Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez,

Morales, Taylor, and unidentified Jane and John Does (Doc. No. 24). 

On June 17, 2014, Plaintiff also filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunctive Relief

(Doc. No. 26) related to a “new” policy in RJD Fac-B Building 6, which he describes as

a “campaign directed at keeping him awake.” Id. at 8. On June 26, 2014, Plaintiff also

filed a Motion requesting court-ordered “physical library use” (Doc. No. 29). 

In the interim, on June 24, 2014, Plaintiff filed a Notice indicating his desire to file

a Second Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 27), based on claims that he “never received”

the Court’s April 22, 2014 Order dismissing his original complaint for failing to state a

claim, and therefore, he did not have the “opportunity to correct his mistake[s]” when he

filed his First Amended Complaint. Id. at 2. Therefore, when on June 30, 2014, Plaintiff

submitted a Second Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 31), the Court accepted it for filing

as the now-operative pleading in light of the liberality required by FED.R.CIV.P. 15,

Plaintiff’s pro se status, and his claims of non-receipt as alleged in his June 24, 2014

Notice.1

 See FED.R.CIV.P.15(a)(2) (“The court should freely give leave [to amend] when

justice so requires.”); United States v. Webb, 655 F.2d 977, 979 (9th Cir. 1981) (“Rule

15’s policy of favoring amendments to pleadings should be applied with extreme

liberality.”) (internal quotation omitted); Eldridge v. Block, 832 F.2d 1132, 1135 (9th Cir.

1987) (applying Rule 15’s leave to amend standards “even more liberally to pro se

litigants.”).

/ / /

/ / /

1

 The Court’s docket shows that its April 22, 2014 Order (Doc. No. 15), was served upon

Plaintiff by mail at the address currently listed in the docket, and was not returned as

undeliverable by the United States Post Office. See In re Bucknum, 951 F.2d 204, 207 (9th Cir.

1991) (“Mail that is properly addressed, stamped, and deposited into the mail is presumed to be

received by the addressee . . . The presumption can only be overcome by clear and convincing

evidence that the mailing was not, in fact, accomplished.”); see also Nunley v. City of Los

Angeles, 52 F.3d 792, 796 (9th Cir. 1995) (noting that where court’s docket included notations

that a judgment was mailed and not returned by the post office, its receipt may be assumed).

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II. SCREENING OF SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT

A. Standard of Review

As Plaintiff is aware, notwithstanding his IFP status or the payment of any partial

filing fees, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) obligates the Court to review

complaints filed by all persons proceeding IFP and by those, like Plaintiff, who are

“incarcerated or detained in any facility [and] accused of, sentenced for, or adjudicated

delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms or conditions of parole, probation,

pretrial release, or diversionary program,” “as soon as practicable after docketing.” See

28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A(b). Under these statutes, the Court must sua sponte

dismiss complaints, or any portions thereof, which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state

a claim, or which seek damages from defendants who are immune. See 28 U.S.C. §§

1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A; Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en

banc) (§ 1915(e)(2)); Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010)

(discussing 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)).

All complaints must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that

the pleader is entitled to relief.” FED.R.CIV.P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are

not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by

mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)

(citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). “Determining whether

a complaint states a plausible claim for relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires

the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. The

“mere possibility of misconduct” falls short of meeting this plausibility standard. Id.; see

also Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). 

“When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their

veracity, and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” 

Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679; see also Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000)

(“[W]hen determining whether a complaint states a claim, a court must accept as true all

allegations of material fact and must construe those facts in the light most favorable to

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the plaintiff.”); Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998) (noting that

§ 1915(e)(2) “parallels the language of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)”).

However, while the court “ha[s] an obligation where the petitioner is pro se,

particularly in civil rights cases, to construe the pleadings liberally and to afford the

petitioner the benefit of any doubt,” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 & n.7 (9th Cir.

2010) (citing Bretz v. Kelman, 773 F.2d 1026, 1027 n.1 (9th Cir. 1985)), it may not

“supply essential elements of claims that were not initially pled.” Ivey v. Board of

Regents of the University of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982). “Vague and

conclusory allegations of official participation in civil rights violations are not sufficient

to withstand a motion to dismiss.” Id.

B. Respondeat Superior and Individual Liability

First, Plaintiff re-names RJD Warden Paramo, and adds Jeffrey Beard, the current

Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), as

Defendants.2

 See Second Amend. Compl. (Doc. No. 31) at 2. Plaintiff claims Paramo

and Beard are “in charge” of “every facility at RJD” and “all prisons in the State of

California,” respectively, id., but his Second Amended Complaint, like his original,

contains no “further factual enhancement” explaining what either of these Defendants

did, or failed to do, which resulted in a violation of his constitutional rights. See Iqbal,

556 U.S. at 678. “Because vicarious liability is inapplicable to . . . § 1983 suits, a

plaintiff must plead that each government-official defendant, through the official’s own

individual actions, has violated the Constitution.” Id. at 676; see also Jones v.

Community Redevelopment Agency of City of Los Angeles, 733 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir.

1984) (even pro se plaintiff must “allege with at least me degree of particularity overt acts

which defendants engaged in” in order to state a claim).

/ / /

/ / /

2

 Plaintiff’s original Complaint named Matthew Cate, Jeffrey Beard’s predecessor, as a

Defendant, but his claims against Cate were also dismissed on respondeat superior grounds. 

See April 22, 2014 Order (Doc. No. 15) at 6-8.

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Therefore, the Court finds Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint fails to “state

a claim for relief that is plausible on its face” as to either Defendant Paramo or Beard. 

Iqbal, 662 U.S. at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570).

C. Inadequate Medical Care Claims

Second, Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint repeats his claims of inadequate

medical care against Drs. Silva, Chow, Newton and Walker.3

 See Second Amend.

Compl. at 2-4, 6-7. Specifically, Plaintiff re-alleges that he suffers from chronic lower

back pain that “shoots down his legs,” and that he is “unable to walk any distance”

without “collaps[ing].” Id. at 9. Plaintiff admits Drs. Walker, Silva, and Chow

authorized and extended his wheelchair use, issued him a mobility-impaired vest, and

prescribed physical therapy in response to his repeated requests for medical care via

CDCR 7262 “Medical Slips.” Id. at 6-7. Plaintiff further claims that while he “cannot

list each date as they relate to the facts,” he admits to have had “(5) MRI exams,

including two in contrast, plus one CT scan, a host of X-rays” and to have “undergone

nerve testing.” Id. at 9. Plaintiff concludes Drs. Walker, Silva, Chow, and Newton, who

“was much less concern[ed] with Plaintiff’s injuries,” and who threatened to withdraw

his ongoing wheelchair “chrono” based on what “studies have shown,” all “did nothing”

“to fix [his] lower back,” and therefore, were “deliberately indifferent” to his needs. Id.

at 2, 4.

As Plaintiff was previously apprised, while the government is obliged under the

Eighth Amendment to provide medical care to incarcerated prisoners in its custody, only

“deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary

and wanton infliction of pain . . . proscribed by the Eighth Amendment.” Estelle v.

Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 103, 104 (1976) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

3

 While Plaintiff’s original Complaint included inadequate medical care claims against

Defendant Denbella and an additional unnamed John Doe doctor, his Second Amended

Complaint does not name these parties; therefore, any purported claim against them has been

waived. See April 22, 2014 Order (Doc. No. 15) at 14-15 (citing King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565,

567 (9th Cir. 1987) (“All causes of action alleged in an original complaint which are not alleged

in an amended complaint are waived.”).

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See also Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9 (1992) (Eighth Amendment does not

guarantee a prisoner the right to the medical treatment of his choice).

“A determination of ‘deliberate indifference’ involves an examination of two

elements: (1) the seriousness of the prisoner’s medical need and (2) the nature of the

defendant’s response to that need.” McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1059 (9th Cir. 

1991), overruled on other grounds by WMX Techs., Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133 (9th

Cir. 1997) (en banc) (citing Estelle, 429 U.S. at 104). 

“Because society does not expect that prisoners will have unqualified access to

health care, deliberate indifference to medical needs amounts to an Eighth Amendment

violation only if those needs are ‘serious.’” Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9 (1992),

citing Estelle, 429 U.S. at 103-104. “A ‘serious’ medical need exists if the failure to treat

a prisoner’s condition could result in further significant injury or the ‘unnecessary and

wanton infliction of pain.’” McGuckin, 914 F.2d at 1059 (quoting Estelle, 429 U.S. at

104). “The existence of an injury that a reasonable doctor or patient would find important

and worthy of comment or treatment; the presence of a medical condition that

significantly affects an individual’s daily activities; or the existence of chronic and

substantial pain are examples of indications that a prisoner has a ‘serious’ need for

medical treatment.” Id., citing Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1337-41 (9th Cir.

1990); Hunt v. Dental Dept., 865 F.2d 198, 200-01 (9th Cir. 1989).

Plaintiff’s repeated allegations of chronic lower back pain severe enough to

compromise his ability to “walk any distance” without “collaps[ing]” are still sufficient

to show an objectively serious medical need. See Second Amend. Compl. at 9; McGuckin,

914 F.2d at 1059; Garner v. Hazzard, No. 06-CV-0985, 2008 WL 552872, at *6 (N.D.

N.Y. Feb. 27, 2008) (holding that severe back pain, especially if long-lasting, can amount

to a serious medical need). Thus, the Court still finds, for purposes of screening pursuant

to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and § 1915A, that Plaintiff has a serious medical need requiring

attention under the Eighth Amendment. See McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1059. 

However, even assuming Plaintiff’s back pain is sufficiently objectively serious

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to invoke Eighth Amendment protection, he was previously directed to include in his

amended pleading enough factual content to show that the doctors who treated him and

whom he wishes to sue, acted with “deliberately indifference” to his needs. Id. at 1060;

see also Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006). 

Plaintiff was specifically informed that his amended pleading must contain “factual

content,” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, which demonstrates “(a) a purposeful act or failure to

respond to [his] pain or possible medical need, and (b) harm caused by the indifference.” 

Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1122 (citing Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096). Plaintiff was

also cautioned that the requisite state of mind is one of subjective recklessness, which

entails more than ordinary lack of due care, Snow v. McDaniel, 681 F.3d 978, 985 (9th

Cir. 2012) (citation and quotation marks omitted); Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at 1122, and that

“[a] difference of opinion between a physician and the prisoner–or between medical

professionals–concerning what medical care is appropriate does not amount to deliberate

indifference.” Snow, 681 F.3d at 987 (citing Sanchez v. Vild, 891 F.2d 240, 242 (9th Cir.

1989)); Wilhelm, 680 F.3d at 1122-23. Finally, Plaintiff was advised he “must show that

the course of treatment the doctors chose was medically unacceptable under the

circumstances and that the defendants chose this course in conscious disregard of an

excessive risk to [his] health.” Snow, 681 F.3d at 988 (citation and internal quotations

omitted). 

Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, however, contains no facts sufficient to

show that Drs. Silva, Chow, Newton, or Walker were deliberately indifferent to his plight

by “knowing of and disregarding an[y] excessive risk to [Plaintiff’s] health and safety.” 

Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994). Instead, he simply repeats his conclusory

allegations that while his doctors provided him with a wheelchair, a mobility-impaired

vest, multiple diagnostic tests, and physical therapy, they nevertheless acted with

“deliberate indifference” because they failed to “fix” his lower back. See Second Amend.

Compl. at 2. “A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation

of the elements of a cause of action,” without the support of factual allegations that state

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a claim that is plausible on its face, simply “will not do.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 570); see also Campos v. Srivastava, No. 1:10-cv-641-LJOMJS, 2012 WL 1067168, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 28, 2012) (“[A] doctor is not a warrantor

of cures or required to guarantee results.”) (citation omitted); Robinson v. Greer, No. 89

C 20083, 1989 WL 57783, at *1 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 13, 1989) (finding prisoner failed to state

a claim of deliberate indifference under the Eighth Amendment where officials were

alleged to have “shuffled” the plaintiff, who complained of “spurs on the vertebrae in his

neck, a deteriorating disc in his lower back, and gastric problems of an undetermined

nature,” between doctors for “various tests and x-rays,” and to have provided “different

kinds of medications, all to no avail,” because “[t]he Constitution does not guarantee a

cure for a prisoner’s ailments.”). 

Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff’ Second Amended Complaint also fails

to state an Eighth Amendment inadequate medical care claim against Drs. Walker, Silva,

Chow, and Newton, and that these claims must again be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) and § 1915A(b)(1). See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1126-27; Resnick, 213

F.3d at 446.

D. Access to Courts Claims

In his original Complaint, Plaintiff alleged to have been denied appropriate medical

care at RJD “in retaliation for” his having filed “602’s” and a previous civil action in the

Eastern District of California “relating to the cause of his lower back injuries.” See

Compl. (Doc. No. 1) at 8. The Court found Plaintiff failed to allege facts sufficient to

show that any adverse action had been taken against him because he had engaged in any

protected conduct, that any defendant’s actions failed to advance a legitimate correctional

goal, or that his First Amendment rights were chilled as a result. See April 22, 2104

Order at 12-13 (citing Rhodes v. Robinson, 408 F.3d 559, 567-68 (9th Cir. 2005).

/ / /

While Plaintiff was granted leave to amend this retaliation claim, his Second

Amended Complaint does not appear to allege any medical retaliation whatsoever. 

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Instead, Plaintiff alleges that a host of newly added Defendants (Benyard, Allemby,

Rutledge, Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez, Morales, and Taylor), placed him in the

Administrative Segregation Unit (“Ad-Seg”) on April 17, 2013, based on allegations that

he had “submitted . . . anonymous notes (kites)” involving “serious misconduct” and was

a “threat to the safety or security of the institution.” See Second Amend. Compl. at 9, 14. 

Plaintiff contends Defendants Rutledge, Benyard, Allemby, and Hernandez “knew or

should have known” he did “nothing wrong” and “should not have retain[ed] him in AdSeg,” id. at 14, but that they acted together with Defendants Toledo, Godinez, Taylor, and

Morales, who inventoried and stored his personal property, including his “legal

documents” at the time he was sent to Ad-Seg, in order to deny him “access to courts.” 

Id. at 9-12. Plaintiff admits that while he was granted access to his property while in AdSeg in order to “retrieve what he need[ed] to litigate his pending case in the Eastern

District,” which he identifies as Case No. 2:11-cv-2462-KJM-KJN, his paperwork had

been “tossed,” some folders were empty, and one was missing. Id. at 10-12. Plaintiff

claims that as a result, he “had to litigate his case thr[ough] discovery and other

proceedings” without the missing materials. Id. at 12.

Prisoners do “have a constitutional right to petition the government for redress of

their grievances, which includes a reasonable right of access to the courts.” O’Keefe v.

Van Boening, 82 F.3d 322, 325 (9th Cir. 1996); accord Bradley v. Hall, 64 F.3d 1276,

1279 (9th Cir. 1995). In Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817 (1977), the Supreme Court held

that “the fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts requires prison

authorities to assist inmates in the preparation and filing of meaningful legal papers by

providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons who

are trained in the law.” Id. at 828.

/ / /

/ / /

To establish a violation of the right to access to the courts, however, a prisoner

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must allege facts sufficient to show that: (1) a nonfrivolous legal attack on his

conviction, sentence, or conditions of confinement has been frustrated or impeded, and

(2) he has suffered an actual injury as a result. Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 353-55

(1996). An “actual injury” is defined as “actual prejudice with respect to contemplated

or existing litigation, such as the inability to meet a filing deadline or to present a claim.” 

Id. at 348; see also Vandelft v. Moses, 31 F.3d 794, 796 (9th Cir. 1994); Sands v. Lewis,

886 F.2d 1166, 1171 (9th Cir. 1989); Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1093 (9th Cir. 1996). 

The actual injury requirement applies even in cases “involving substantial systematic

deprivation of access to court,” including those alleging “total denial of access to a

library,” or “an absolute deprivation of access to all legal materials.” Lewis, 518 U.S. at

353 n.4.

Here, while Plaintiff has identified a pending “non-frivolous” civil action which

raises a constitutional challenge to the conditions of his confinement, see Christopher v.

Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 415 (2002) (to state an access to courts violation, plaintiff must

describe the non-frivolous nature of the “underlying cause of action, whether anticipated

or lost”), he has nevertheless failed to further allege any act by Defendants Benyard,

Allemby, Rutledge, Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez, Morales, or Taylor which constitutes

an “actual injury” in the pursuit of his Eastern District case. See Lewis, 518 U.S. at 348,

355. For example, while Plaintiff claims some unidentified “legal materials” were lost,

he does not offer any further explanation as to what these materials were, why they were

relevant to his pending litigation, or how their loss caused him to suffer “actual prejudice

with respect to [his] existing litigation, such as the inability to meet a filing deadline or

to present a claim.” Lewis, 518 U.S. at 348.

Moreover, a court “‘may take notice of proceedings in other courts, both within

and without the federal judicial system, if those proceedings have a direct relation to

matters at issue.’” Bias v. Moynihan, 508 F.3d 1212, 1225 (9th Cir. 2007) (quoting

Bennett v. Medtronic, Inc., 285 F.3d 801, 803 n.2 (9th Cir. 2002)) (alterations in original). 

Thus, this Court takes judicial notice of docket proceedings in Asberry v. Cate, et al.,

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Eastern Dist. Cal. Civil Case No. 2:11-cv-2462-KJM-KJN, a civil rights action Plaintiff

first initiated in September 2011, alleging Eighth Amendment failure to protect and

inadequate medical treatment claims against multiple prison officials at California State

Prison, Sacramento. See id., March 7, 2013 Findings and Recommendations (“F&Rs”)

(Doc. No. 97).4

 

Plaintiff alleges to have been separated from his “legal materials”–from April 17,

2013, when he was first placed in Ad-Seg and his personal property was inventoried and

stored, through May 4, 2013, when he was “escorted to R&R for the purpose of allowing

[him] to go through his legal boxes to retrieve what he need[ed] to litigate his pending

case in the East. Dist. Court,” and until June 27, 2013, when he alleges prison officials’

investigation resulted in a finding that “none of [his] personal property including legal

materials w[]ere missing,” and he was forced to “litigate his case thr[ough] discovery and

other proceedings without his legal materials.” See Second Amend. Compl. at 9-12. 

However, during this time, Plaintiff filed two separate motions in the Eastern District, one

seeking injunctive relief, and another seeking similar relief, both challenging the same

deprivation of legal materials that he now raises in this action. See Eastern Dist. Civil

Case No. 2:11-cv-2462-KJM-KJN (Doc. Nos. 103, 135, 153). In response, U.S.

Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman ordered a copy of Plaintiff’s motions be served

upon RJD’s Warden, and directed the Warden to “inform the court of the status of

Plaintiff’s access to his legal materials,” and his “missing legal property.” Id. Doc. Nos.

105, 154, 158. After the Warden complied, Plaintiff’s motions were ultimately denied. 

See Doc. Nos. 120, 136, 180. However, Plaintiff was able to vigorously prosecute his

claims thereafter, which is evidenced by the various subsequent motions he filed seeking

4

 Plaintiff filed Objections to U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman’s March 7, 2013

F&Rs to grant in part and deny in part Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Second

Amended Complaint in East. Dist. Civil Case No. 2:11-cv-02462-KJM-KJN on March 25, 2013

(Doc. No. 98), approximately three weeks before he alleges his legal materials were confiscated. 

Plaintiff also filed a Motion to Amend and/or File a Supplemental Complaint (Doc. No. 99) on

April 5, 2013, and since that time, has filed more than 25 subsequent motions, requests,

objections, and notices in Eastern District Civil Case No. 2:11-cv-02462-KJM-KJN. See, e.g.,

Doc. Nos. 102, 103, 104, 107, 111, 112, 114, 118, 119, 121, 125, 127, 128, 129, 135, 139, 142,

146, 147, 149, 153, 155, 158, 161, 166, 168, 171, 176, 181, 182, and 183.

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an emergency protective order (Doc. No. 121), the appointment counsel (Doc. No. 128),

requesting a court-ordered physical and mental health examination (Doc. Nos. 125, 127),

compelling discovery (Doc. Nos. 142, 155), and seeking clarification, vacation, and

reconsideration of various Court orders (Doc. Nos. 168, 166, 171). Indeed, as of the date

of this Order, Plaintiff’s civil action remains active and pending before the Eastern

District of California.

Thus, neither Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint nor the Eastern District of

California’s docket in Civil Case No. 2:11-cv-2462-KJM-KJN contain any sufficient

factual matter to support the “actual injury” which is required to state a plausible claim

for relief based on the denial of Plaintiff’s right to access to the courts. Lewis, 518 U.S.

at 353-55; Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Because Plaintiff has not alleged that “a complaint he

prepared was dismissed,” or that he was “so stymied” by Defendant Benyard, Allemby,

Rutledge, Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez, Morales, or Taylor’s actions that “he was unable

to even file a complaint,” direct appeal, or petition for writ of habeas corpus that was not

“frivolous,” Lewis, 518 U.S. at 351; Christopher, 536 U.S. at 416, his access to courts

claims in this action must be dismissed for failing to state a claim upon which section

1983 relief can be granted. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1126-27; Resnick, 213 F.3d at 446.

E. Doe Defendants

Finally, Plaintiff also names “Jane and John Does” as Defendants, but his only

basis for liability is that they “work at RJD,” “are employed in some official capacity,”

and that they “violated [his] rights in some form or another.” See Second Amend. Compl.

(Doc. No. 31) at 5. This is plainly insufficient. See FED.R.CIV.P. 8(a) (to “state a claim

for relief” a pleading “must contain: . . . (2) a short and plain statement of the claim

showing the pleader is entitled to relief[.]”); Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (noting that while

Rule 8 “does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,’ . . . it demands more than an

unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.”) (quoting Twombly, 550

U.S. at 555); Sherman v. Yakahi, 549 F.2d 1287, 1290 (9th Cir. 1977) (“It [is] incumbent

upon [plaintiff] to allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts which

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defendants engaged in” which support his claims.).

III. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

On June 20, 2014, Plaintiff filed a Motion seeking preliminary injunctive relief

pursuant to FED.R.CIV.P. 65 (Doc. No. 26). In this Motion, Plaintiff claims RJD

Correctional Captain Stout, Sergeant Ojeda, and Officers Helmick, Fontaine, Virgens,

Eaton, and Carrie,5

 all assigned to Facility B, where he remains in Ad-Seg, have been

“taking shifts in a campaign directed at keeping him awake” by instituting a “new”

security check policy which requires them to use a metal device to make contact with his

cell door twice an hour. See Pl.’s Mot. at 3-8. Plaintiff claims the policy amounts to

cruel and unusual punishment as prohibited by the Eighth Amendment, because he “has

not been allowed to sleep since 5-19-14,” and he seeks a court order “that will allow him

to sleep without RJD officials interfering.” Id. at 5, 11.

“A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right.” 

Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008) (citation

omitted). “The proper legal standard for preliminary injunctive relief requires a party to

demonstrate ‘that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer

irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in

his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.’” Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586

F.3d 1109, 1127 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 20). 

To show irreparable harm, the “plaintiff must show that he is under threat of

suffering ‘injury in fact’ that is concrete and particularized; the threat must be actual and

imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; it must be fairly traceable to the challenged

action of the defendant; and it must be likely that a favorable judicial decision will

prevent or redress the injury.” Summers v. Earth Island Inst., 555 U.S. 488, 492 (2009)

(citing Friends of Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 

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180-181 (2000)). In sum, an injunction “may only be awarded upon a clear showing that

5

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the plaintiff is entitled to relief.” Winter, 555 U.S. at 22. 

In this case, Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction must be denied because

Plaintiff has failed to state a claim against any named Defendant, has not shown that he

is “likely to succeed on the merits” of any claim, that “the balance of equities tips in his

favor,” or that the issuance of an injunction in his case would serve the public interest. 

Winter, 555 U.S. at 20. 

In addition, an injunction “binds only the following who receive actual notice of

it by personal service or otherwise: (A) the parties; (B) the parties’ officers, agents,

servants, employees, and attorneys; and (C) other persons who are in active concert or

participation with [them].” FED.R.CIV.P. 65(d)(2). In general, “[a] federal court may

issue an injunction if it has personal jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter

jurisdiction over the claim; it may not attempt to determine the rights of persons not

before the court.” Zepeda v. INS, 753 F.2d 719, 727 (9th Cir. 1985). One “becomes a

party officially, and is required to take action in that capacity, only upon service of

summons or other authority-asserting measure stating the time within which the party

served must appear to defend.” Murphy Bros., Inc. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526

U.S. 344, 350 (1999); see also Hitchman Coal & Coke Co. v. Mitchell, 245 U.S. 229,

234-35 (1916).

Thus, even if Plaintiff could satisfy all the Winter factors justifying extraordinary

injunctive relief under Rule 65, at this stage of the proceedings the Court simply lacks

jurisdiction over any party, or any of the RJD officials Plaintiff seeks to enjoin, for they

are not, and never have been, named as parties in this case. Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727-28.

IV. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LIBRARY USE

Plaintiff has also filed a Motion requesting that the Court waive S.D. Cal. Local

Rule 7.1.f.1’s requirement that he file a separate document captioned “Memorandum of

Points and Authorities” in support of his motions, or in the alternative, for the Court to 

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“legal research.” See Pl.’s Mot. (Doc. No. 29) at 4.

First, the Court liberally construes all submissions by persons like Plaintiff who

proceed without the assistance of counsel, and regularly waives many of its own Local

Rules requirements in order to ensure that a pro se litigant’s substantive claims are not

rejected for technical reasons and are instead resolved on the merits. See Professional

Programs Group v. Department of Commerce, 29 F.3d 1349, 1353 (9th Cir. 1994)

(noting district judge’s broad discretion to depart from local rule “where it makes sense

to do so and substantial rights are not at stake.”). Indeed this Court has already waived

many Local Rule violations when it accepted for filing no fewer than seven of Plaintiff’s

previous submissions in this case. See Doc. Nos. 4, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30, 32.

Insofar as Plaintiff requests physical access to RJD’s law library so that he may

conduct “legal research,” his Motion must be denied. In Lewis, the Supreme Court 

expressly disavowed any freestanding constitutional right to law library access for

prisoners. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 350-51. Indeed, even before Lewis, the Ninth Circuit held

that because “the Constitution does not guarantee a prisoner unlimited access to a law

library, . . . [p]rison officials [may] of necessity . . . regulate the time, manner, and place

in which library facilities are used.” Linquist v. Idaho State Bd. of Corrections, 776 F.2d

851, 858 (9th Cir. 1985). 

V. CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1) Plaintiff’s Motions for Preliminary Injunctive Relief (Doc. No. 26) and for

Library Use (Doc. No. 29) are DENIED.

2) Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint is DISMISSED for failing to state

an Eighth Amendment inadequate medical care claim as to Defendants Paramo, Beard,

Walker, Silva, Chow, and Newton pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(b)(ii) and

1915A(b)(1). Because Plaintiff has been previously apprised of his pleading deficiencies

with regard to this claim, further leave to amend is DENIED as futile. See AE ex rel.

Hernandez v. County of Tulare, 666 F.3d 631, 636 (9th Cir. 2011) (noting district court’s

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discretion to deny leave to amend where amendment would be futile, especially in case

where plaintiff has been granted opportunity but has failed to cure known pleading

deficiencies). 

3) The Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate this action as to Defendants Cate,

Paramo, Denbella, Beard, Walker, Silva, Chow, and Newton, as well as to all John and

Jane Doe Defendants.

4) Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint is further DISMISSED for failing

to state an access to courts claim against Defendants Benyard, Allemby, Rutledge,

Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez, Morales, and Taylor pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) and § 1915A(b)(1), but with leave to amend. See Lucas v. Dept. of

Corrections, 66 F.3d 245, 248 (9th Cir. 1995) (per curiam) (“Unless it is absolutely clear

that no amendment can cure the defect. . . ., a pro se litigant is entitled to notice of the

complaint’s deficiencies and an opportunity to amend prior to the dismissal of the

action.”).

5) Plaintiff is GRANTED forty five (45) days leave from the date this Order

is filed in which to file a Third Amended Complaint which re-alleges his access to courts

claims against Defendants Benyard, Allemby, Rutledge, Hernandez, Toledo, Godinez,

Morales, and Taylor only, which adds no new claims or defendants, and which cures the

deficiencies of pleading identified in this Order. Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint

must also comply with FED.R.CIV.P. 8, and be complete in itself without reference to his

prior pleadings. See S.D. CAL. CIVLR 15.1; Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner

& Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989) (“[A]n amended pleading supersedes 

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the original.”); King, 814 F.2d at 567 (“All causes of action alleged in an original

complaint which are not alleged in an amended complaint are waived.”).6

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: August 12, 2014

WILLIAM Q. HAYES

United States District Judge

6

 Plaintiff is cautioned that should his Third Amended Complaint still fail to state an

access to courts claim upon which relief may be granted, or should he otherwise fail to comply

with this Order, his civil action will be dismissed in its entirety, without further leave to amend,

and may hereafter be counted as a “strike” against him pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). See

McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177-79 (9th Cir. 1996). “Pursuant to § 1915(g), a prisoner

with three strikes or more cannot proceed IFP.” Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1116 n.1 (9th

Cir. 2005). “Strikes are prior cases or appeals, brought while the plaintiff was a prisoner, which

were dismissed on the ground that they were frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim,” id.

(internal quotations omitted), “even if the district court styles such dismissal as a denial of the

prisoner’s application to file the action without prepayment of the full filing fee.” O’Neal v.

Price, 531 F.3d 1146, 1153 (9th Cir. 2008).

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