Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01271/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01271-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RONALD SIMS,

CDC #B-58662,

Civil No. 13cv1271 BTM (KSC)

Plaintiff,

ORDER DISMISSING CIVIL

ACTION AS DUPLICATIVE

PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915A(b)(1)

 vs.

G. CASIAN, 

Defendant.

Plaintiff, a state inmate currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional

Facility (“RJD”) in San Diego, California and proceeding pro se, initially filed a civil rights

Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 in the Northern District of California. Plaintiff has not

prepaid the $350 filing fee mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); instead, he has filed a Motion to

Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) [ECF No. 12]. On May 30, 2013, United States District

Judge Saundra Armstrong determined that the acts complained of in this action occurred at RJD

and therefore, transferred the matter to the Southern District of California. [ECF No. 9].

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Before the Court could conduct the required sua sponte screening, Plaintiff filed a First

Amended Complaint. [ECF No. 7.]

I. Sua Sponte Screening Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, obligates the Court to

review complaints filed by anyone “incarcerated or detained in any facility who is 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” and regardless of whether the prisoner prepays filing fees or moves to proceed IFP. 

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (c). The Court must sua sponte dismiss prisoner complaints, or any

portions thereof, which are frivolous, malicious, or fail to state a claim upon which relief may

be granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b); Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 446-47 (9th Cir. 2000).

 Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint is subject to sua sponte dismissal pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) because it appears to be duplicative of a case Plaintiff is currently

litigating. Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint contains identical claims that are found in Sims

v. Casian, et al., S.D. Cal. Civil Case No. 12cv3064 IEG (JMA). 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.” United States ex rel. Robinson Rancheria

Citizens Council v. Borneo, Inc., 971 F.2d 244, 248 (9th Cir. 1992). 

A prisoner’s complaint is considered frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) if it

“merely repeats pending or previously litigated claims.” Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103,

1105 n.2 (9th Cir. 1995) (construing former 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d)) (citations and internal

quotations omitted). Because Plaintiff is already litigating the same claims presented in the

instant action in Sims v. Casian, et al., S.D. Cal. Civil Case No. 12cv3064 IEG (JMA), the

Court hereby DISMISSES Civil Case No. 13cv1271 BTM (KSC) pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915A(b)(1). See Cato, 70 F.3d at 1105 n.2; Resnick, 213 F.3d at 446 n.1.

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II. Conclusion and Order

 Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

Plaintiff’s Complaint in Civil Case No. 13cv1271 BTM (KSC) is DISMISSED as

frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed IFP is

DENIED as moot. The Clerk shall close the file.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: June 19, 2013

BARRY TED MOSKOWITZ, Chief Judge

United States District Court

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