Bustamonte v. Castillon
- Virginia Demarchi
- 5:22-cv-04725
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Bustamonte v. Castillon, Judge Demarchi directed Bustamonte to address unserved claims involving Dr. Moeller by amendment, dismissal, or service.
Israel Bustamonte and Dr. Michael Moeller, whose identification and service remained unresolved; the case’s remaining defendants were not otherwise ruled on in this order.
What happened
Israel Bustamonte, a prisoner representing himself, sued a correctional officer and medical staff under a federal civil-rights law. His amended complaint identified Dr. Michael Moeller as a medical provider who allegedly gave him inadequate care.
Officials could not find anyone named Michael Moeller employed at Salinas Valley State Prison, and medical-record searches found no matching name. The information instead identified a physician named Michael G. Moeller at Natividad Medical Center, creating uncertainty about which provider Bustamonte meant.
The court directed Bustamonte to tell the court by October 6, 2023, whether he wanted to seek permission to amend his complaint, voluntarily dismiss the claims against Moeller, or proceed with the existing allegations and have Moeller served at Natividad Medical Center. Judge Demarchi did not decide the claims’ merits.
The detailed version
- Bustamonte v. Castillon · No. 5:22-cv-04725
- Virginia Demarchi
- Sept. 8, 2023
Background
Israel Bustamonte, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a correctional officer and medical staff at Salinas Valley State Prison. The first amended complaint was the operative complaint.
The court had ordered service on the defendants. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported that it could not identify “Dr. Michael Moeller” from the information in the court’s order, so Moeller had not been served. Bustamonte’s complaint described Moeller as his primary-care provider and alleged that Moeller provided inadequate medical care.
Identification of Dr. Moeller
The court asked Bustamonte to provide more information and asked the prison’s litigation coordinator to assist. The coordinator reported that no person named Michael Moeller had been employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at Salinas Valley State Prison, either previously or currently. A search of Bustamonte’s medical records also found no reference to “Moeller” or “Moller.”
The only matching reference was in a September 28, 2021, letter from Natividad Medical Center stating that Bustamonte had been seen in its emergency department and identifying “Physician: Moeller, Michael G. MD.” The court stated that Bustamonte may have confused his prison primary-care provider with a physician at Natividad Medical Center.
Court’s Order
The court directed Bustamonte to address the problem by October 6, 2023. He could file a motion for leave to amend the complaint to substitute the proper defendant for Moeller. Alternatively, if he believed he could state a claim against Dr. Michael Moeller based on inadequate medical care at Natividad Medical Center on September 28, 2021, he could seek leave to add that claim.
The court also explained that a purely private physician would not be subject to a claim under § 1983 because that law requires action under color of state law. The court did not determine whether Moeller was the provider identified in the amended complaint or whether Bustamonte could ultimately prove a claim against him.
If Bustamonte instead wished to proceed on his existing complaint while dropping the claims against Moeller, he could file a notice voluntarily dismissing those claims. If he wished to proceed on the existing allegations without amending or dismissing them, he could notify the court, which would order the first amended complaint served on Moeller at Natividad Medical Center. The order did not resolve the merits of Bustamonte’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.