Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-02380/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-02380-0/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 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SALVADOR LOPEZ, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

PATRICK COVELLO, Warden, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:21-cv-2380-EFB P 

ORDER 

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42 

U.S.C. § 1983. In addition to filing a complaint, he has filed an application for leave to proceed 

in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis 

 Plaintiff’s application makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) and (2). 

Accordingly, by separate order, the court directs the agency having custody of plaintiff to collect 

and forward the appropriate monthly payments for the filing fee as set forth in 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(b)(1) and (2). 

Screening Standards 

Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek 

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

§ 1915A(a). The court must identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion 

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of the complaint, if the complaint “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which 

relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such 

relief.” Id. § 1915A(b). 

 A pro se plaintiff, like other litigants, must satisfy the pleading requirements of Rule 8(a) 

of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 8(a)(2) “requires a complaint to include a short and 

plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the 

defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. 

Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 554, 562-563 (2007) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957)). 

While the complaint must comply with the “short and plaint statement” requirements of Rule 8, 

its allegations must also include the specificity required by Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 

U.S. 662, 679 (2009). 

 To avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than “naked 

assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of 

action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555-557. In other words, “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of 

a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 

678. 

 Furthermore, a claim upon which the court can grant relief must have facial plausibility. 

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual 

content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the 

misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. When considering whether a complaint states a 

claim upon which relief can be granted, the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. 

Pardus, 551 U.S. 89 (2007), and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the 

plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974). 

Screening Order 

Plaintiff alleges he contracted COVID-19 while confined to Mule Creek State Prison. He 

links his infection to his canteen supervisor, Singh Praveen. According to the complaint, Praveen 

refused to wear any type of protective equipment and attended work with flu-like symptoms, 

including coughing, red and puffy eyes, a runny nose, and irritability. ECF No. 1 at 14-15. When 

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plaintiff inquired about Praveen’s health, Praveen allegedly confided that he did not report his 

symptoms to his employer because he would not be able to come to work and he did not want 

anyone else to run the canteen in his absence. Id. at 15. Praveen reported to work on November 

19, 2020 but was prohibited from entering because he tested positive for the coronavirus. Id. 

Plaintiff tested positive for the virus on November 23, 2020. 

The complaint also alleges that the outbreak of coronavirus at Mule Creek State Prison 

was the result of “finger pointing” among defendant Warden Covello, the medical department run 

by defendant Chief Medical Officer Ball, and the public health care nurse defendant S. Robert. 

Id. at 1-18. The complaint alleges that inmates should have been tested for the virus at the same 

time that employees began to be tested and that KN95 or N95 masks should have been made 

available to inmates prior to December 2020. It further claims that testing employees only every 

fourteen days and allowing them to work while their results were pending contributed to the 

outbreak, as did the overall failure of staff to enforce proper mask wearing and social distancing. 

The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment imposes on prison 

officials, among other things, a duty to “take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the 

inmates.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1991) (quoting Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 

517, 526–27 (1984)). An inmate’s Eighth Amendment rights are violated by a prison official if 

that official exposes an inmate to a “substantial risk of serious harm,” while displaying 

“deliberate indifference” to that risk. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834. 

Liberally construed, the complaint states a potentially cognizable Eighth Amendment 

claim against defendant Praveen under these Eighth Amendment standards. The claims against 

defendants Covello, Ball, and Robert, however, are too vague and conclusory to survive screening 

as it is not clear how any of them personally participated in a violation of plaintiff’s rights. Nor 

do the allegations indicate that these defendants were aware of the risk presented by Praveen but 

deliberately disregarded it. Rather, they appear to be named as defendants simply because of 

their roles as supervisors, which is not a proper basis for liability. See Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 

1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989). 

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For these reasons, plaintiff may either proceed only on the potentially cognizable Eighth 

Amendment claim against defendant Praveen or he may amend his complaint to attempt to cure 

the complaint’s deficiencies. Plaintiff is not obligated to amend his complaint. 

Leave to Amend 

Plaintiff may file an amended complaint to attempt to cure the deficiencies noted above. 

Any amended complaint must identify as a defendant only persons who personally participated in 

a substantial way in depriving him of a federal constitutional right. Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 

740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978) (a person subjects another to the deprivation of a constitutional right if 

he does an act, participates in another’s act or omits to perform an act he is legally required to do 

that causes the alleged deprivation). Plaintiff is not obligated to file an amended complaint. 

Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by alleging new, unrelated claims in the 

amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). 

Any amended complaint must be written or typed so that it so that it is complete in itself 

without reference to any earlier filed complaint. E.D. Cal. L.R. 220. This is because an amended 

complaint supersedes any earlier filed complaint, and once an amended complaint is filed, the 

earlier filed complaint no longer serves any function in the case. See Forsyth v. Humana, 114 

F.3d 1467, 1474 (9th Cir. 1997) (the “‘amended complaint supersedes the original, the latter 

being treated thereafter as non-existent.’”) (quoting Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 

1967)). 

The court cautions plaintiff that failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure, this court’s Local Rules, or any court order may result in this action being dismissed. 

See E.D. Cal. L.R. 110. 

Conclusion 

 Accordingly, it is ORDERED that: 

1. Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is GRANTED. 

2. Plaintiff shall pay the statutory filing fee of $350. All payments shall be collected 

in accordance with the notice to the California Department of Corrections and 

Rehabilitation filed concurrently herewith. 

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3. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges, for screening purposes, potentially cognizable Eighth 

Amendment conditions of confinement claim against defendant Praveen. 

4. All other claims (including those against defendants Covello, Ball, and Robert) are 

dismissed with leave to amend within 30 days of service of this order. Plaintiff is 

not obligated to amend his complaint. 

5. Within thirty days plaintiff shall return the notice below advising the court whether 

he elects to proceed with the cognizable claim or file an amended complaint. If 

the former option is selected and returned, the court will enter an order directing 

service at that time. 

6. Failure to comply with any part of this this order may result in dismissal of this 

action. 

Dated: January 24, 2022. 

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SALVADOR LOPEZ, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

PATRICK COVELLO, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:21-cv-2380-EFB P 

 

NOTICE 

In accordance with the court’s Screening Order, plaintiff hereby elects to: 

 (1) ______ proceed only with the Eighth Amendment conditions of confinement claim 

against defendant Praveen; 

 OR 

 

 (2) ______ delay serving any defendant and file an amended complaint. 

 _________________________________ 

 Plaintiff 

Dated: 

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