(PC) Wolinski v. Eldridge ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KRZYSZTOF F. WOLINSKI, No. 2:19-CV-2037-JAM-DMC-P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 LAUREN ELDRIDGE, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 18 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pending before the court is plaintiff’s original complaint, ECF No. 1. 19 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief 20 against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. 21 § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if it: (1) is frivolous or 22 malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief 23 from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). Moreover, 24 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that complaints contain a “. . . short and plain 25 statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This 26 means that claims must be stated simply, concisely, and directly. See McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 27 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996) (referring to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(e)(1)). These rules are satisfied if the 28 complaint gives the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff’s claim and the grounds upon which it 1 | rests. See Kimes v. Stone, 84 F.3d 1121, 1129 (9th Cir. 1996). Because Plaintiff must allege 2 | with at least some degree of particularity overt acts by specific defendants which support the 3 | claims, vague and conclusory allegations fail to satisfy this standard. Additionally, it is 4 | impossible for the court to conduct the screening required by law when the allegations are vague 5 and conclusory. 6 As discussed above, Rule 8 requires a complaint contain a short and plain 7 | statement of the claim. Here, the Court finds Plaintiff fails to do so. In particular, Plaintiff's 8 | complaint references a number of exhibits. See ECF No. 1, pgs. 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 9 | and 21. Plaintiff does not, however, provide any of the referenced exhibits. This pleading 10 || method does not satisfy the requirement of Rule 8(a) that claims must be stated simply, concisely, 11 | anddirectly. Specifically, it is impossible for the Court to identify which exhibits upon which the 12 | complaint necessarily relies in evaluating the sufficiency of Plaintiffs allegations. The complaint 13 || will be dismissed with leave to amend. Plaintiff is cautioned that failure to file an amended 14 | complaint within the time specified herein may result in dismissal of the entire action. See Local 15 | Rule 110. 16 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 17 1. Plaintiff's complaint, ECF No. 1, is dismissed with leave to amend; and 18 2. Plaintiff shall file a first amended complaint within 30 days of the date of 19 | this order. 20 21 | Dated: March 23, 2021 Sx