Liberatore v. Trantulas Company
- Richard Seeborg
- 3:23-cv-01505
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Liberatore v. Trantulas Company, Judge Seeborg dismissed irrational claims with prejudice, unexhausted claims, and a parole claim without prejudice.
Ronald Stevens Liberatore’s claims were dismissed, while Trantulas Company and the other defendants received judgment in their favor.
What happened
In Liberatore v. Trantulas Company, Ronald Stevens Liberatore alleged that computer “trantulas” at San Quentin State Prison watched and controlled him, that officials were responsible, and that the U.S. Army spoke to him. He also raised claims about medical care, psychiatric care, dirty food trays, and parole.
The court dismissed the computer-related allegations with prejudice as irrational and wholly incredible. It dismissed the medical-care and food-tray claims as unexhausted because Liberatore acknowledged that he had not completed the prison grievance process. It dismissed the parole claim without prejudice to raising it in a petition challenging his confinement.
Judge Seeborg ordered the federal civil-rights action dismissed, directed the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the defendants, and closed the file.
The detailed version
- Liberatore v. Trantulas Company · No. 3:23-cv-01505
- Richard Seeborg
- Aug. 23, 2023
Background
Ronald Stevens Liberatore filed a civil-rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court conducted preliminary screening under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which requires courts to review prisoner complaints against governmental entities or officials and dismiss claims that are frivolous, fail to state a claim, or seek relief from an immune defendant. The opinion also notes that Liberatore represented himself.
Liberatore alleged that computer “trantulas” at San Quentin State Prison watched and listened to him, prevented him from sleeping, and controlled his actions and bodily functions. He alleged that President Reagan and California state officials were responsible for those conditions and that the U.S. Army spoke to him in his cell. He also made allegations about medical and psychiatric care and dirty food trays, and claimed that he had been unjustly denied parole.
Court’s Analysis
The court dismissed the computer-related allegations with prejudice as frivolous. It found them irrational, wholly incredible, and clearly baseless. The court explained that, during screening, it could reject factual allegations describing fantastic or delusional scenarios rather than accept them as true.
The court dismissed the allegations concerning medical care, psychiatric care, and dirty food trays as unexhausted. The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires a prisoner to complete available administrative remedies before bringing a prison-conditions action. The court relied on Liberatore’s statement that he had not completed the available grievance appeals.
The court treated the parole allegation separately. It held that a civil-rights complaint was not the proper method for challenging parole because the claim challenged the validity or duration of confinement. The court dismissed that claim without prejudice to Liberatore raising it in a petition challenging his confinement.
Disposition
The court dismissed the federal civil-rights action as frivolous and for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The computer-related claims were dismissed with prejudice; the medical-care, psychiatric-care, and food-tray claims were dismissed as unexhausted; and the parole claim was dismissed without prejudice to being raised in a petition challenging confinement. Judge Richard Seeborg directed the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the defendants and close the file.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.