Stephens v. Sonoma Valley Hospital
- Vince Chhabria
- 3:19-cv-00835
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Stephens v. Sonoma Valley Hospital, Judge Chhabria dismissed Stephens’s complaint without prejudice because it alleged no cognizable federal claim and he did not amend.
Willie F. Stephens’s federal complaint was dismissed without prejudice after he did not file the required amended complaint; the order left open filing the apparent state-law negligence claim in state court.
What happened
In Stephens v. Sonoma Valley Hospital, Willie F. Stephens, who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison and represented himself, sued Sonoma Valley Hospital in a civil-rights action. The court found that his allegations appeared to support a state-law negligence claim but did not state a federal claim.
The court had dismissed the original complaint while allowing Stephens to file an amended complaint fixing the problems. After granting him more time, the court set an August 19, 2019 deadline. Stephens did not file an amended complaint by that date.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice to Stephens filing in state court, directed the Clerk to issue a separate judgment, and closed the case. Judge Vince Chhabria signed the order.
The detailed version
- Stephens v. Sonoma Valley Hospital · No. 3:19-cv-00835
- Vince Chhabria
- Oct. 3, 2019
Background
Willie F. Stephens filed this civil-rights action without a lawyer against Sonoma Valley Hospital. The court’s earlier review found that the allegations appeared to support a state-law negligence claim, but did not state a claim for violation of a right protected by the U.S. Constitution or federal law.
Procedural History
On June 13, 2019, the court dismissed the complaint while giving Stephens permission to file an amended complaint that addressed the identified deficiencies. On July 22, 2019, the court granted Stephens’s request for more time. The amended complaint was due on August 19, 2019, but Stephens did not file one.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice to filing in state court. “Without prejudice” means the order did not bar Stephens from pursuing the state-law claim in a state court. The court also directed the Clerk to issue a separate judgment and close the file. Judge Vince Chhabria did not decide the merits of the apparent negligence claim.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.