(PC) Duncan v. California Healthcare Receivership Corp. ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DIONTAE JOHAN DUNCAN, Case No. 1:20-cv-01288-AWI-SKO (PC) 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DENY PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 13 v. DEFAULT JUDGMENT 14 CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE RECEIVERSHIP CORP., et al., (Doc. 11) 15 Defendants. 14-DAY DEADLINE 16 17 Plaintiff has filed a motion for a default judgment. (Doc. 11.) Plaintiff is appearing pro se 18 and in forma pauperis and his complaint is subject to screening. The Court has not yet screened 19 the complaint and no defendants have appeared in this action. 20 As explained in the Court’s First Informational Order, per 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the Court is 21 required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or 22 an officer or employee of a governmental entity. (Doc. 5 at 3.) A pro se plaintiff may not proceed 23 with such a legal action until the Court screens the plaintiff’s complaint and finds that it states a 24 cognizable claim for relief. (Id.) Because Plaintiff is a prisoner appearing pro se and sues 25 governmental entities, his complaint is subject to screening and he may not proceed in this case 26 until the screening is complete. If the Court finds that the complaint states a cognizable claim for 27 relief, it will direct service on the appropriate defendants at that time. (See id.) /// 1 Based on the foregoing, the Court RECOMMENDS that Plaintiff’s motion for a default 2 judgment be DENIED as premature. These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to 3 the United States District Judge assigned to this case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 4 636(b)(l). Within 14 days of the date of service of these Findings and Recommendations, 5 Plaintiff may file written objections with the Court. The document should be captioned, 6 “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Failure to file objections 7 within the specified time may result in waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 8 834, 839 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 Sheila K. Oberto 11 Dated: October 27, 2020 /s/ . UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27