Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_12-cv-01397/USCOURTS-caed-2_12-cv-01397-12/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Civil Rights Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

WILLIAM V. STICKLE, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

R. COOK, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:12-cv-1397 KJM EFB P 

ORDER 

 This is an action brought by a state prisoner proceeding without counsel asserting claims 

under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaint alleged that defendants were deliberately indifferent to 

plaintiff’s serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment with regard to their 

treatment of a surgical incision in plaintiff’s hip. ECF No. 2 at 6-28. Counsel for defendants 

Williams1

 and Wohlers have filed a notice of plaintiff’s death, along with plaintiff’s death 

certificate, indicating that plaintiff died in late 2014. ECF No. 83. 

 Rule 25 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides the mechanics for moving 

forward after a party to civil litigation has died. As is relevant here, that rule provides: 

(1) Substitution if the Claim Is Not Extinguished. If a party dies and the claim is 

not extinguished, the court may order substitution of the proper party. A motion 

for substitution may be made by any party or by the decedent’s successor or 

 1

 Summary judgment has since been granted to defendant Williams. ECF No. 66. 

Defendant Cook has not yet been served. 

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representative. If the motion is not made within 90 days after service of a 

statement noting the death, the action by or against the decedent must be 

dismissed. 

*** 

(3) Service. A motion to substitute, together with a notice of hearing, must be 

served on the parties as provided in Rule 5 and on nonparties as provided in Rule 

4. A statement noting death must be served in the same manner. Service may be 

made in any judicial district. 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(a). In Robertson v. Wegmann, 436 U.S. 584 (1978), the Supreme Court held 

that the law of the forum state is “the principle reference point in determining survival of civil 

rights actions” under section 1983. Id. at 590; see also Moor v. Alameda County, 411 U.S. 693, 

703 n.14 (1973) (noting that pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, state survivorship statutes may allow 

the survival of actions brought under § 1983). Under California law, a cause of action against a 

person is generally not lost by reason of the person’s death. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377.20(a). 

The decedent’s personal representative or, if there is none, the decedent’s successor in interest 

may continue to litigate the action. Id. § 377.31. 

 Here, defendants have not served the notice on plaintiff’s successor or representative. 

Accordingly, defendants’ notice of plaintiff’s death does not comply with Rule 25(a) and has not 

started the 90-day clock under that rule. 

The Ninth Circuit has held that Rule 25(a) requires two affirmative steps to trigger the 90-

day period: 

First, a party must formally suggest the death of the party upon the record. 

Second, the suggesting party must serve other parties and nonparty successors or 

representatives of the deceased with a suggestion of death in the same manner as 

required for service of the motion to substitute. Thus, a party may be served the 

suggestion of death by service on his or her attorney, while nonparty successors or 

representatives of the deceased party must be served the suggestion of death in the 

manner provided by Rule 4 for the service of a summons. 

Barlow v. Ground, 39 F.3d 231, 233 (9th Cir. 1994) (internal citations omitted). Under Barlow, 

defendants have some obligation to identify plaintiff’s representative or successor and serve the 

notice of death on that party. Defendants have not done so, nor have they provided the court with 

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any information indicating that such an individual could not be located.2 See Gruenberg v. 

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, No. CV 06-0397-PHX-SMM (DKD), 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 

40342 (D. Az. May 7, 2008) (dismissing action without prejudice after plaintiff died and 

defendants could not locate a successor). 

 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that, within 30 days of the date of this order, 

defendants shall: 

1. File a formal notice of plaintiff’s death with the court and serve that notice on 

plaintiff’s personal representative or successor in interest; or 

2. Inform the court of the steps defendants have taken to locate plaintiff’s personal 

representative or successor in interest and explain why such person could not be 

located. 

DATED: April 13, 2015. 

 

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 The death certificate provided by defendants indicates that plaintiff was survived by his 

mother and provides her address. 

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