Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-04319/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-04319-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Google Inc.
Defendant
Anthony Ceaser Lewis
Plaintiff

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

ANTHONY CEASER LEWIS, 19007243, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

GOOGLE INC., et al., 

Defendant(s). 

Case No. 19-cv-04319-CRB (PR) 

 

ORDER OF DISMISSAL 

Plaintiff, a prisoner at the Santa Clara County Department of Correction’s Elmwood 

Facility in Milpitas, has filed a pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Google and 

its employees and workers violated his constitutional rights by publishing confidential information 

of his on the web. 

Plaintiff also seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, 

which the court is granting in a separate order. 

DISCUSSION 

A. Standard of Review 

Federal courts must dismiss a case in which the plaintiff is proceeding IFP if it determines 

at any time that the case “(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may 

be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 

U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed, however. Balistreri v. 

Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). 

To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a 

right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged 

violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 

42, 48 (1988). 

B. Legal Claims 

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United States District Court 

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It is well established that a private person does not act under color of state law, an essential 

element of a § 1983 action. See Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640 (1980). Purely private 

conduct, no matter how wrongful, is not covered under § 1983. See Ouzts v. Maryland Nat'l Ins. 

Co., 505 F.2d 547, 550 (9th Cir. 1974). Simply put: There is no enforceable claim under § 1983 to 

be free from the infliction of constitutional deprivations by private entities and/or individuals such 

as Google and its employees and workers. See Van Ort v. Estate of Stanewich, 92 F.3d 831, 835 

(9th Cir. 1996). 

CONCLUSION 

For the foregoing reasons, the complaint is DISMISSED under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b) for 

failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: August 8, 2019 

______________________________________ 

CHARLES R. BREYER 

United States District Judge 

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

ANTHONY CEASER LEWIS, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

GOOGLE INC., 

Defendant. 

Case No. 3:19-cv-04319-CRB 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. 

District Court, Northern District of California. 

That on August 8, 2019, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing 

said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by 

depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery 

receptacle located in the Clerk's office. 

Anthony Ceaser Lewis ID: #1900-7243 

Milpitas Corrections 

701 S. Abel Street 

Milpitas, CA 95035 

Dated: August 8, 2019 

Susan Y. Soong 

Clerk, United States District Court 

By:________________________ 

Lashanda Scott, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable CHARLES R. BREYER 

Case 3:19-cv-04319-CRB Document 3 Filed 08/08/19 Page 3 of 3