Source: http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20090415_0006107.ECA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-02-19 21:23:51
Document Index: 462269326

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 1915', '§ 636', '§ 1914', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1983', '§ 1983']

Plaintiff, currently confined at Solano County Jail, is proceeding pro se and seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In accordance with the court's March 6, 2009 order, plaintiff has filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. This proceeding was referred to the undersigned magistrate judge in accordance with Local Rule 72-302 and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) & 1915(b)(1). An initial partial filing fee of $13.90 will be assessed by this order. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from plaintiff's trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated to make monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding month's income credited to plaintiff's trust account. These payments will be collected and forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff's account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "requires only '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 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1965 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). However, in order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;" it must contain factual allegations sufficient "to raise a right to relief above the speculative level."
Bell Atlantic, 127 S.Ct. at 1965. In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint in question, Hospital Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hospital Trustees, 425 U.S. 738, 740 (1976), construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor. Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969).
Plaintiff commenced this action by filing two identical letters directed to the court, a government tort claims form, and a copy of an inmate grievance form. The Clerk of the Court construed these documents as a civil rights complaint and opened this § 1983 action. In these documents, plaintiff appears to complain about conditions of confinement at the Solano County Jail. Specifically, plaintiff appears to claim that he surrendered himself to jail officials on December 22, 2008, and not long thereafter, began working in the jail kitchen. However, jail officials told him several weeks later than he could no longer work in the kitchen. According to plaintiff, jail officials revoked his job privileges because of his medical conditions. Plaintiff appears to claim that jail officials have discriminated against him and are improperly denying him work-time credits and the ability to earn work-time credits. Plaintiff has not identified any specific jail officials as defendants in this action nor indicated what he seeks in terms of relief.
If plaintiff elects to pursue this action by filing an amended complaint, he is advised that all defendants must be identified in the caption of his pleading and that all defendants must be named, with position and place of employment, in the section of the form designated for that purpose. In addition, in the section of the form complaint in which the plaintiff is required to set forth a brief statement of the facts of the case, he must describe how each defendant has deprived him of his constitutional rights. There can be no liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 unless there is some affirmative link or connection between a defendant's actions and the claimed deprivation. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980); Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). Vague and conclusory allegations of official participation in civil rights violations are not sufficient. Ivey v. Board of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).
If plaintiff files an amended complaint, he is also advised of the following legal standards that appear to govern his claims. First, to the extent that plaintiff seeks to raise a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), under Title II of the ADA plaintiff must allege four elements: "(1) he is an individual with a disability; (2) he was otherwise qualified to participate in or receive the benefit of some public entity's services, programs, or activities; (3) he was either excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of the public entity's services ... or was otherwise discriminated against by the ...