Duckett v. Garcia

Background

James Maurice Duckett, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Correctional Officer P. Garcia. The action concerned events at Salinas Valley State Prison, specifically an alleged cross-gender body search by Garcia on January 9, 2020. Duckett sought damages and moved for permission to proceed without paying the filing fee.

Duckett had previously filed an action in the same district against Garcia involving the same allegations. The earlier action, identified in the opinion as Case No. 23-cv-04748 BLF, had been served on Garcia and was pending briefing when this action was filed.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that duplicative or repetitious litigation involving virtually identical claims may be treated as abusive and dismissed under the statute governing complaints filed without paying the filing fee, 28 U.S.C. § 1915. A lawsuit is duplicative when it repeats the same factual allegations and arises from the same core set of events as an earlier case. The court determined that this action and Duckett’s earlier action arose from the same core facts and involved the same defendant and allegations.

Disposition

The complaint was dismissed as duplicative. The Clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and close the file. The opinion does not add a “with prejudice” or “without prejudice” designation.