Cooper v. Allison et a.

Background

Ken Cooper filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against officials and employees at San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials, and officials at another prison. The opinion states that Cooper was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. He proceeded without a lawyer.

The court had previously screened Cooper’s amended complaint and gave him permission to amend to correct deficiencies. It also told him that he could instead proceed only on an Eighth Amendment claim and remove the other claims. Cooper elected that option.

Claim Allowed to Proceed

The court determined that the amended complaint stated an Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference claim concerning unsafe conditions at San Quentin related to COVID-19. The allegations identified by the court were that inmates already exposed to COVID-19 were not tested before being transferred from CIM; potentially infected inmates were transported in conditions that did not follow recommended social-distancing protocols; those inmates were exposed to the San Quentin population without additional safety measures; and San Quentin’s failure to properly quarantine infected inmates during the outbreak resulted in Cooper contracting COVID-19 and experiencing its effects within one month after the transfer.

The court allowed this claim to proceed against the individuals involved in the decision to transfer CIM inmates. It struck all other claims from the amended complaint. This was a screening and case-management order, not a final ruling on the merits of the remaining Eighth Amendment claim.

Service and Further Proceedings

The court ordered service on Kathleen Allison, Ralph Diaz, Ron Davis, R. Steven Tharratt, Dr. Joseph Bick, Clark Kelso, Ron Broomfield, Dr. A. Pachynski, Clarence Cryer, Dr. L. Escobell, and Dean Borders. The order identifies these defendants as officials associated with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, San Quentin State Prison, or CIM, and gives several of their listed positions.

The clerk was directed to use the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s electronic-service program for prisoner civil-rights cases. The order set procedures for service waivers and for United States Marshal service if a defendant did not waive service.

The defendants were ordered to file a summary-judgment motion or another dispositive motion within 91 days after the order was filed. A dispositive motion is one asking the court to resolve the claims without a trial. The order also set deadlines for Cooper’s opposition and the defendants’ reply, advised Cooper about the consequences of failing to oppose a summary-judgment motion, permitted discovery under the federal rules, and required Cooper to keep the court informed of address changes and comply with court deadlines.

Disposition

The action proceeds on the Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference claim concerning unsafe COVID-19 conditions at San Quentin. All other claims are stricken from the complaint. Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the order.