(PC) Anderson v. Kernan ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 HECTOR ANDERSON, Case No. 1:19-cv-00255-JLT (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR INJUNCTION NUMBER 13 v. TWO AND MOTION TO LODGE NEW 14 H. ANGLEA, DEFENDANT 15 Defendant. (Docs. 74, 83) 16 17 Plaintiff has filed a second motion for an injunction to prevent his transfer from Valley 18 State Prison or CDCR from transferring him to another facility. (Doc. 74.) He has also filed a 19 motion to amend the pleadings to restore CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan and add Governor Gavin 20 Newsom as a defendant. (Docs. 74, 83.) For the following reasons, each of these motions is 21 DENIED. 22 I. Motion for Injunction 23 Plaintiff has filed a second motion for an injunction preventing Valley State Prison or 24 CDCR from transferring him to R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility. (Doc. 74.) This Court 25 addressed this issue in its prior order denying Plaintiff’s first motion for an injunction. (Doc. 82.) 26 During the pendency of this motion, on July 1, 2021, Plaintiff filed a notice of change of address, 27 advising that he had been transferred from Valley State Prison to Richard J. Donovan 28 Correctional Facility. (Doc. 78.) Therefore, Plaintiff’s request for an injunction is moot. 1 Additionally, the Court lacks jurisdiction over prison officials who authorized the transfer, and 2 Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate irreparable injury to warrant injunctive relief. Accordingly, the 3 Court DENIES Plaintiff’s second motion for an injunction. (Doc. 74.) 4 II. Motion to Amend the Pleadings 5 Plaintiff has also filed a motion to amend the pleadings to restore Scott Kernan as a 6 defendant and to add Governor Gavin Newsom as a defendant. Under Rule 15 of the Federal 7 Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may amend their pleading only with the opposing party’s 8 written consent or leave of court. “The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” 9 Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(b). To evaluate a motion to amend the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil 10 Procedure 15, the court should consider factors including: (1) undue delay; (2) bad faith; (3) 11 prejudice to the opponent; and (4) futility of amendment. Loehr v. Ventura Cnty. Cmty. Coll. 12 Dist., 743 F.2d 1310, 1319 (9th Cir. 1984). The third factor, prejudice to the opposing party, 13 carries the greatest weight. Eminence Cap., LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 14 2003). 15 There is no showing of bad faith in Plaintiff’s request to amend his complaint. However, 16 the court finds that the other three factors favor denial of the motion to amend. To allow Plaintiff 17 to add defendants at this stage would cause undue delay and prejudice to the defendant. This case 18 has been pending since February 22, 2019, and the discovery deadline is August 17, 2020, less 19 than a month away. (See Docs. 1, 59.) 20 As to Plaintiff’s request to rename Secretary Kernan as a defendant and to add Governor 21 Newsom as defendant, the amendment would be futile. This court previously advised that under 22 section 1983, Plaintiff must demonstrate that each defendant personally participated in the 23 deprivation of his rights. See Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). This requires 24 the presentation of factual allegations sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief. Ashcroft v. 25 Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678–79 (2009); Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 26 2009). Rather than specific factual allegations linking Secretary Kernan and Governor Newsom 27 to Plaintiff’s claims of deliberate indifference, Plaintiff raises general complaints about prison 28 /// 1 allegations would be futile. 2 Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint to rename Secretary Kernan and 3 Governor Newsom is DENIED. (Doc. 83.) 4 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 Dated: July 22, 2021 _ /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 7 CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28