Flynn v. Morgen

Background

Girard Flynn, a prisoner at California State Prison Sacramento, filed this civil-rights action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He originally filed the case in the Eastern District of California, which transferred it to the Northern District of California because the events occurred at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Flynn also unintentionally filed a duplicate lawsuit; the court dismissed that duplicate case so this case could proceed.

Flynn alleged that Dr. Yao Cohen and T. Shorter, an Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, were deliberately indifferent to his safety when his housing restriction against stairs was removed. Flynn alleged that he has one functioning eye and poor depth perception, was housed on the fifth floor in July 2022, and fell on the stairs after Dr. Cohen removed his disability-related status. He alleged that the fall injured his shoulder and that he was still receiving physical therapy in September 2023. He sought compensatory and punitive damages for the injury.

Screening and Claim

The court explained that it must screen a prisoner’s complaint seeking relief from a governmental entity or officer. At screening, the court must identify claims that are legally sufficient and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, insufficiently pleaded, or seek money from an immune defendant. The court also stated that claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 require an alleged violation of a federal right by a person acting under state authority.

Construing Flynn’s allegations liberally, the court found that he stated a claim under the Eighth Amendment. The court applied the rule that a prison official is deliberately indifferent when the official knows a prisoner faces a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable steps to reduce it. The order did not decide the ultimate merits of the claim.

Order

The court ordered that Dr. Yao Cohen and T. Shorter be served through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s electronic-service program for prisoner civil-rights cases. It directed the department to report whether each defendant would waive service and provided procedures for service by the United States Marshals Service if necessary.

The order required the defendants to file a motion for summary judgment or another dispositive motion within 60 days after service, unless they informed the court that the case could not be resolved that way. It gave Flynn 30 days to oppose any such motion and allowed a reply within 14 days after the opposition. The order also addressed discovery, service of filings, address updates, compliance with court deadlines, and possible dismissal for failure to prosecute. The court stated that Flynn would be granted permission to proceed without paying the filing fee by separate order.