Opinion
Case No. 1:13-cv-00970-SKO (PC)
10-21-2015
SEAN RAPHAEL ROBERTS, Plaintiff, v. C. CURTIS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER TAKING JUDICIAL NOTICE OF ADDRESS CHANGE, DIRECTING CLERK'S OFFICE TO CHANGE PLAINTIFF'S ADDRESS OF RECORD, AND DISMISSING ACTION AS MOOT (Doc. 16)
Plaintiff Sean Raphael Roberts ("Plaintiff"), then a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed suit in Tuolumne County Superior Court on May 8, 2013. On June 21, 2013, Defendant Allen removed the action to this court. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b). Plaintiff's complaint was dismissed, with leave to amend, for failure to state a claim under federal law on April 18, 2014. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint and on May 21, 2014, the Court dismissed Plaintiff's claim against Defendant Allen, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim under federal law, and remanded the case to Tuolumne County Superior Court. Plaintiff appealed and on September 8, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded as to Plaintiff's claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ("RLUIPA"). Mandate issued on October 19, 2015.
The appellate court did not reach Plaintiff's First and Eighth Amendment claims because they were not raised on appeal. (Doc. 16.) --------
During the pendency of Plaintiff's appeal, he was released from the Sierra Conservation Center, and he filed two address change notices with the appellate court. The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that pursuant to the second notice, Plaintiff's address of record with the appellate court is 515 Crocker St., Los Angeles, CA, 90013, and the Clerk's Office shall update Plaintiff's address of record in this case. Fed. R. Evid. 201(b); United States v. Howard, 381 F.3d 873, 876 n.1 (9th Cir. 2004).
RLUIPA does not authorize individual capacity suits for damages against state officials, and Plaintiff's release from prison renders his RLUIPA claim for injunctive relief moot. Jones v. Williams, 791 F.3d 1023, 1031 (9th Cir. 2015) (citing Sossamon v. Texas, 563 U.S. 277, ___, 131 S.Ct. 1651, 1660 (2011) and Wood v. Yordy, 753 F.3d 899, 903-03 (9th Cir. 2014)); accord Alvarez v. Hill, 667 F.3d 1061, 1063-64 (9th Cir. 2012). Accordingly, this action, which is confined to Plaintiff's RLUIPA claim, is moot and shall be dismissed on that ground. Jones, 791 F.3d at 1031; Alvarez, 667 F.3d at 1063-64.
Based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY ORDERS as follows:
1. Judicial notice is taken of Plaintiff's address of record with the appellate court and the Clerk's Office shall change Plaintiff's address to:
Sean Raphael Roberts
515 Crocker St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 256-8283; and
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: October 21 , 2015
2. This action is DISMISSED as moot.
/s/ Sheila K. Oberto
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE