Opinion
Civil No. 14cv1816 GPC (PCL)
03-10-2015
JOSHUA DAVID WILLIAMS, Inmate Booking No. 14732898, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al., Defendants.
ORDER:
(1) VACATING NOVEMBER 12, 2014 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS ("IFP");
(2) DISMISSING ACTION AS FRIVOLOUS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915A; AND
(3) DENYING MOTION TO PROCEED IFP AS MOOT
(Doc. No. 18)
Joshua David Williams ("Plaintiff"), currently incarcerated at California Institute for Men located in Chino, California, and proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights complaint ("Compl.") pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Doc. No. 1). On July 31, 2014, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis ("IFP") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) (Doc. No. 2). The Court denied Plaintiff's Motion because he failed to file a certified copy of his prison trust account statement as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). (ECF No. 3.) The Court permitted Plaintiff to file a renewed Motion and informed him he must comply with the Court's Order requiring the trust account statement. (ECF No. 3 at 3.)
Plaintiff then filed a second Motion to Proceed IFP but, once again, he failed to submit a certified copy of his inmate trust account statement. (ECF No. 4.) Thus, the Court denied Plaintiff's Motion and informed him that he must file a certified copy of his inmate trust account statement as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).
Plaintiff has now filed a third Motion to Proceed IFP but he continued to fail to provide the required certified copy of his inmate trust account statement. (ECF No. 18). Accordingly, the Court denied Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and this action was dismissed for failing to comply with a Court Order. (ECF No. 19.) However, on the date that this Order was electronically entered, Plaintiff filed a certified statement of his inmate trust account. (ECF No. 21.) Therefore, the Court will VACATE the November 12, 2014 Order and sua sponte screen Plaintiff's Complaint ("Compl") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
I. Sua Sponte Screening Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)
The Prison Litigation Reform Act ("PLRA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, obligates the Court to review complaints filed by anyone "incarcerated or detained in any facility who is accused of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms or conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program," "as soon as practicable after docketing" and regardless of whether the prisoner prepays filing fees or moves to proceed IFP. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (c). The Court must sua sponte dismiss prisoner complaints, or any portions thereof, which are frivolous, malicious, or fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b); Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 446-47 (9th Cir. 2000).
Plaintiff's Complaint is subject to sua sponte dismissal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) because it is duplicative of a case Plaintiff has already filed. Plaintiff's Complaint contains identical claims that are found in Williams v. Scripps Hospital, et al., S.D. Cal. Civil Case No. 14cv1643 AJB (NLS). A court "may take notice of proceedings in other courts, both within and without the federal judicial system, if those proceedings have a direct relation to matters at issue." United States ex rel. Robinson Rancheria Citizens Council v. Borneo, Inc., 971 F.2d 244, 248 (9th Cir. 1992).
A prisoner's complaint is considered frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) if it "merely repeats pending or previously litigated claims." Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1105 n.2 (9th Cir. 1995) (construing former 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d)) (citations and internal quotations omitted). Because Plaintiff has already litigated the same claims presented in the instant action in Williams v. Scripps Hospital, et al., S.D. Cal. Civil Case No. 14cv1643 AJB (NLS), the Court hereby DISMISSES Civil Case No. 14cv1816 GPC (PCL) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). See Cato, 70 F.3d at 1105 n.2; Resnick, 213 F.3d at 446 n.1.
II. Conclusion and Order
Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
(1) The Court's November 12, 2014 Order is VACATED; and
(2) Plaintiff's Complaint in Civil Case No. 14cv1816 GPC (PCL) is DISMISSED as frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Proceed IFP (ECF No. 18) is DENIED as moot.
The Clerk shall close the file.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: March 10, 2015
/s/_________
HON. GONZALO P. CURIEL
United States District Judge