(PC) Kyle v. California Victim Compensation Board ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 | Donta Ladeal Kyle, No. 2:21-cv-00479-KJM-KJIN 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER 13 v. 14 California Victim Compensation Board, et al., 1S Defendants. 16 17 Donta Ladeal a Kyle, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed this civil rights action 18 | seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The matter was referred to a United States Magistrate 19 | Judge as provided by 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302. 20 On April 9, 2021, the magistrate judge filed findings and recommendations, which were 21 | served on plaintiff and which contained notice to plaintiff that any objections to the findings and 22 | recommendations were to be filed within twenty-one days. F&Rs, ECF No. 5. The magistrate 23 | judge recommends dismissing the complaint without leave to amend because the defendant, the 24 | California Victim Compensation Board, is not a “person” under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See generally 25 | id. Kyle objects to the findings and recommendations, arguing he should be permitted to amend 26 | his complaint to assert a claim against individual officers. See Objections, ECF No. 8. 27 State officials sued in their official capacity for injunctive relief are “persons” under 28 | § 1983. Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989). State officials may also 1 | be sued in their personal capacity under § 1983. Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 31 (1991). The 2 | court cannot conclude on this record that Kyle’s proposed amendment would be futile, and Rule 3 | 15(a) imposes a “very liberal” policy in favor of amendment. AmerisourceBergen Corp. v. 4 | Dialysist W., Inc., 465 F.3d 946, 951 (9th Cir. 2006). The complaint is thus dismissed with 5 | leave to amend, and the findings and recommendations are adopted in part to that extent. Any 6 | amended complaint must be filed within 60 days. This matter is referred again to the assigned 7 | magistrate judge for all pretrial purposes. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 DATED: June 7, 2021. CHIEF ED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 45