Montes v. Miller

Background

Giovanni Montes filed a self-represented lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that, on July 30, 2022, he suffered a seizure while being booked into Sonoma County Jail. According to the complaint, Sonoma County Jail Sergeant Miller threw Montes to the ground, hit him in the head with his hands while he was lying face-down, and verbally abused him. Montes also alleged that he was placed in a holding cell with urine on the floor and that these events caused pain in his back, head, and neck.

Screening decision

Because Montes is a prisoner seeking relief from a governmental officer, the court was required to screen his complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. That screening requires the court to identify claims that can proceed and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, inadequately pleaded, or seek money from an immune defendant. The court found that, read liberally, Montes’s allegations that Miller threw him down during a seizure and struck him while he was face-down stated a cognizable Fourteenth Amendment excessive-force claim.

Order

The court ordered the Clerk to issue and serve the summons, complaint, attachments, and order on Miller. It also set deadlines requiring Miller to file and serve a motion for summary judgment or another dispositive motion within 91 days of the order, unless Miller first informed the court that summary judgment could not resolve the case. Montes’s opposition would be due 28 days after the motion, and Miller’s reply would be due 14 days after the opposition. No hearing would be held on the motion.

The order allowed discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and instructed Montes to serve copies of his court filings on Miller or Miller’s counsel. It also stated that Montes must prosecute the case, keep the court informed of address changes, and comply with court orders. The court did not issue a final judgment on the claim; this was an initial screening and service order.