IN RE CIM-SQ TRANSFER CASES

Background

The plaintiff, a former California prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that defendants violated the Eighth Amendment by transferring more than 100 inmates, some of whom were infected with COVID-19, from the California Institution for Men to San Quentin State Prison in May 2020 without adequate safeguards against transmission.

The plaintiff alleged inadequate testing and symptom screening, insufficient distancing on buses, and inadequate precautions after the inmates arrived at San Quentin. He also alleged that he developed COVID-19 symptoms and had been unable to obtain his medical file. He sought compensatory and punitive damages.

The case had been consolidated with other cases concerning the 2020 transfer. Individual prisoner cases in the consolidated matter were stayed except for service. The docket for the plaintiff’s individual case, No. 5:24-cv-04517-EJD, and the other individual dockets had been closed. The court said that motions concerning the case had to be filed in the lead case, No. 5:20-cv-06326-EJD, with the plaintiff’s original case number included in the heading.

Screening and Claims

Because the plaintiff was proceeding without paying filing fees, the court screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). That statute requires dismissal of a complaint or part of a complaint that is legally frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or seeks money from a defendant who is immune from such relief. The court also explained that it must read filings by people without lawyers liberally and that a complaint must contain enough factual allegations to make the claimed right to relief plausible.

The court dismissed Clark Kelso, identifying him as a federal receiver, because it found that he had quasi-judicial immunity. The court also dismissed R. Steven Tharratt after taking judicial notice of a filing and obituary indicating that Dr. Tharratt died on August 20, 2020. Because his death preceded the filing of this action, the court concluded that he was not properly named as a defendant when the lawsuit began.

The court held that, when read liberally, the plaintiff’s allegations stated a plausible claim that the remaining defendants were deliberately indifferent to the plaintiff’s safety in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The court stated that this claim was against the remaining defendants in their individual capacities.

Ruling and Service

The court ordered that Clark Kelso and R. Steven Tharratt were dismissed. It found a cognizable Eighth Amendment claim against Kathleen Allison, Ralph Diaz, Ron Davis, Ron Broomfield, A. Pachynski, L. Escobell, Clarence Cryer, Dean Borders, and Joseph Bick.

The court ordered service on those nine defendants through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s electronic-service program. It directed the clerk to send the complaint, the order, a service-waiver form, and summons materials to the department. The order also described procedures for defendants who waive or do not waive service.

The case remained stayed for all purposes other than service. The order required the plaintiff to prosecute the case, keep the court informed of address changes, and comply with court orders, while warning that failure to do so could result in dismissal for failure to prosecute.