Opinion
21-cv-00827-EMC
02-08-2022
PARIS DONTE VINES, Plaintiff, v. KATHLEEN ALLISON, et al., Defendants.
ORDER DISMISSING DEFENDANT THARRATT
EDWARD M. CHEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The Court ordered service upon a number of defendants in this case, including Dr. R. Steven Tharratt, on October 5, 2021, through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) e-service program for civil rights cases from prisoners in CDCR custody. Docket No. 11. CDCR's Report of E-Service Waiver, a restricted entry at Docket No. 12, indicates that Dr. Tharratt did not waive personal service because he is deceased.
This Court understands, as the Attorney General has represented to another court in this district, that “[t]o the best of [the Attorney General's] knowledge, Mr. Tharratt died on August 20, 2020.” See Case No. 3:20-cv-07845-CRB, Docket No. 37, 37-1. The Court takes judicial notice pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201 of the filing in that case, which attaches Mr. Tharratt's obituary published on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website on October 6, 2020, available at https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2020/10/06/dr-robert-tharratt-longtime-cchcs-medical-director-passes-away/. See Reyn's Pasta Bella, LLC v. Visa USA, Inc., 442 F.3d 741, 746 n.6 (9th Cir. 2006) (federal courts “may take judicial notice of court filings and other matters of public record”); Bullock v. Johnson, No. CV 15-2070 PA (AS), 2018 WL 5880736, at *13 n.19 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2018), report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 15-2070 PA (AS), 2018 WL 4791089 (CD. Cal. Oct. 3, 2018)
(taking judicial notice of CDCR obituary).
Dr. Tharratt's death therefore preceded the filing of this action on February 3, 2021. “[A] party cannot maintain a suit on behalf of, or against, or join, a dead person, or in any other way make a dead person (in that person's own right, and not through a properly represented estate or successor) party to a federal lawsuit.” LN Mgmt, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 957 F.3d 943, 955 (9th Cir. 2020). Dr. Tharratt was therefore not an appropriately named Defendant at the onset of this litigation. Any claim must be made against his estate in accordance with California Probate Code section 9350 et seq.
Defendant Dr. R. Steven Tharratt is therefore DISMISSED from this action. If Plaintiff wishes to proceed with a claim against the Estate of Dr. R. Steven Tharratt, he must file a claim against the estate in accordance with the provisions of California Probate Code sections 9350-9354. If Plaintiff fulfills the requirements of the probate code, he may request to file an amended complaint adding the Estate of Dr. R. Steven Tharratt as a defendant in this case.
IT IS SO ORDERED