Opinion
Case No. 1:15-cv-01457-AWI-SAB (PC)
12-01-2015
MAURICE HUNT, Plaintiff, v. A. MATEVOUSIAN, et al, Defendants.
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION RE PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF (ECF No. 10) OBJECTIONS DUE IN THIRTY DAYS
Plaintiff is a federal prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.
Plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater, brings this civil rights action against defendant correctional officials employed by the BOP at Atwater. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have denied him his approved medical devices.
On November 30, 2015, Plaintiff filed a motion requesting an order from this Court directing the warden at USP Atwater to assist Plaintiff in accessing his legal property. Plaintiff contends that staff at USP Atwater require Plaintiff to walk a long distance while shackled in order to retrieve his legal property. Plaintiff further alleges that officials at USP Atwater refuse to provide him with a wheelchair. Also on November 30, 2015, an order was entered, granting Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint. The motion was granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a). The Court has not screened the original complaint, and Plaintiff has been granted leave to file a first amended complaint as a matter of right.
Plaintiff is advised that "a court has not power to adjudicate a personal claim or obligation unless it has jurisdiction over the person of the defendant." Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 110 (1969); S.E.C. v. Ross, 504 F.3d 1130, 1138-39 (9th Cir. 2007). In this case, no defendant has yet made an appearance. Once Plaintiff files his first amended complaint, the Court will screen the complaint, and should Plaintiff state a claim against any of the defendants, it will direct the U.S. Marshal to effect service of process upon such defendants. Whatever merit there might otherwise be to Plaintiff's request for injunctive relief, at the juncture the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendants and it cannot issue an order requiring them to take any action. Zenith Radio Corp., 395 U.S. at 110; Ross, 504 F.3d at 1138-39.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief be denied as premature.
These findings and recommendations will be submitted to the United States District Judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provision of Title 28 U.S.C. (b)(1). Within thirty (30) days after being served with these Finding and Recommendations, Plaintiff may file written objections with the Court. The document should be captioned "Objections to Findings and Recommendations." The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.2d F.3d 834, 838-39 (9th Cir. 2014)(citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: December 1 , 2015
/s/_________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE