Coffer v. Crayton
- Lee
- 5:25-cv-02978
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Coffer v. Crayton, Judge Lee dismissed the duplicative civil-rights lawsuit during required prisoner-complaint screening.
Jonathan Christopher Coffer's duplicative civil-rights lawsuit was dismissed, and the case was closed; the opinion does not resolve the underlying medical-care allegations.
What happened
In Coffer v. Crayton, Jonathan Christopher Coffer, a state prisoner representing himself, challenged his medical care at Salinas Valley State Prison and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court found that this lawsuit was an identical copy of an earlier action Coffer had filed days before, Case No. 25-cv-02670-EKL. The court treated the duplicate lawsuit as frivolous under the prisoner-screening statute.
Judge Eumi K. Lee dismissed the complaint as duplicative, directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions, and closed the file. The opinion does not state whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.
The detailed version
- Coffer v. Crayton · No. 5:25-cv-02978
- Lee
- May 5, 2025
Background
Jonathan Christopher Coffer, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights lawsuit challenging his medical care at Salinas Valley State Prison. He asked for permission to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Screening and Analysis
The court explained that it must screen complaints filed by people proceeding without a lawyer and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, or fail to state a claim for relief. A complaint may be considered frivolous when it repeats claims that are pending or were previously litigated.
After reviewing the filing, the court found that this action was an identical copy of an action Coffer had filed days earlier, Case No. 25-cv-02670-EKL. The court therefore concluded that this action was subject to dismissal as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). The opinion did not reach the merits of Coffer's medical-care allegations.
Disposition
Judge Eumi K. Lee ordered that the complaint be DISMISSED as duplicative. The clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and close the file. The opinion does not state whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.