United States District Court, E.D. California
ORDER AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
ALLISON CLAIRE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff
is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights
action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
I.
Three Strikes Analysis
Plaintiff
seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(a). ECF No. 3. The Prison Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 (PLRA) permits any court of the United States to
authorize the commencement and prosecution of any suit
without prepayment of fees by a person who submits an
affidavit indicating that the person is unable to pay such
fees. However,
[i]n no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action or appeal
a judgement in a civil action or proceeding under this
section if the prisoner has, on 3 or more occasions, while
incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action
or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed
on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to
state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the
prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The plain language of the statute
makes clear that a prisoner is precluded from bringing a
civil action or an appeal in forma pauperis if the prisoner
has brought three frivolous actions and/or appeals (or any
combination thereof totaling three). Rodriguez v.
Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1178 (9th Cir. 1999).
“[Section] 1915(g) should be used to deny a
prisoner's [in forma pauperis] status only when, after
careful evaluation of the order dismissing an action, and
other relevant information, the district court determines
that the action was dismissed because it was frivolous,
malicious or failed to state a claim.” Andrews v.
King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2005). “[W]hen
a district court disposes of an in forma pauperis complaint
‘on the grounds that [the claim] is frivolous,
malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted,' such a complaint is ‘dismissed' for
purposes of § 1915(g) even if the district court styles
such dismissal as denial of the prisoner's application to
file the action without prepayment of the full filing
fee.” O'Neal v. Price, 531 F.3d 1146, 1153
(9th Cir. 2008) (second alteration in original). Dismissal
also counts as a strike under § 1915(g) “when (1)
a district court dismisses a complaint on the ground that it
fails to state a claim, (2) the court grants leave to amend,
and (3) the plaintiff then fails to file an amended
complaint” regardless of whether the case was dismissed
with or without prejudice. Harris v. Mangum, 863
F.3d 1133, 1142-43 (9th Cir. 2017).
Inspection
of other cases filed by plaintiff in this court has led to
the identification of at least three cases brought by
plaintiff that qualify as strikes. The court takes judicial
notice of the following lawsuits filed by
plaintiff:[1]
1. Dunigan v. California Department of Corrections,
E.D. Cal. No. 2:01-cv-1591 WBS JFM (complaint dismissed with
leave to amend for failure to state a claim, case dismissed
on March 29, 2002, for failure to file an amended complaint);
2. Dunigan v. United States, E.D. Cal. No.
2:10-cv-2992 JAM KJN (case dismissed as frivolous on May 2,
2011);
3. Dunigan v. United States, E.D. Cal. No.
2:12-cv-3048 TLN CKD (complaint dismissed with leave to amend
for failure to state a claim; case dismissed on September 16,
2013, for failure to file an amended complaint).
All of
the preceding cases were dismissed well in advance of the
December 8, 2019 filing[2]of the instant action and none of the
strikes have been overturned. Therefore, this court finds
that plaintiff is precluded from proceeding in forma pauperis
unless she is “under imminent danger of serious
physical injury.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). To satisfy
the exception, plaintiff must have alleged facts that
demonstrate that she was “under imminent danger of
serious physical injury” at the time of filing the
complaint. Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1053
(9th Cir. 2007) (“[I]t is the circumstances at the time
of the filing of the complaint that matters for purposes of
the ‘imminent danger' exception to §
1915(g).”); see also, Abdul-Akbar v.
McKelvie, 239 F.3d 307, 312-14 (3rd Cir. 2001);
Medberry v. Butler, 185 F.3d 1189, 1192-93 (11th
Cir. 1999); Ashley v. Dilworth, 147 F.3d 715, 717
(8th Cir. 1998); Banos v. O'Guin, 144 F.3d 883,
885 (5th Cir. 1998).
The
complaint names ninety-six defendants, including individuals
and both private and government entities, and makes
allegations regarding plaintiff's conviction, his ability
to use the administrative appeals process, interference with
previous lawsuits, unspecified retaliation, and various
conspiracies. However, none of the allegations demonstrate an
imminent risk of serious physical injury at the time of
filing, and the undersigned will therefore recommend that
plaintiff be required to pay the filing fee in full or have
the complaint dismissed.
II.
Plain Language Summary of this Order for a Pro Se
Litigant
You
have at least three strikes under § 1915(g) and cannot
be granted in forma pauperis status unless you show the court
that you were in imminent danger of serious physical injury
at the time you filed the complaint. You have not shown that
you were in imminent danger of serious physical injury and ...