Rodriguez v. Department of Children Family Service in Washington, DC ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, Case No. 20-cv-01438-HSG 8 Plaintiff, ORDER OF DISMISSAL 9 v. 10 DEPARTMENT CHILDREN FAMILY SERVICE IN WASHINGTON D.C., 11 Defendant. 12 13 INTRODUCTION 14 Plaintiff, an inmate at Coalinga State Hospital, filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant 15 to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His complaint (Dkt. No. 6) is now before the Court for review under 28 16 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis in a separate order. 17 DISCUSSION 18 A. Standard of Review 19 A federal court must engage in a preliminary screening of any case in which a prisoner 20 seeks redress from a governmental entity, or from an officer or an employee of a governmental 21 entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review, the Court must identify any cognizable claims, and 22 dismiss any claims which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 23 granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. 24 § 1915A(b) (1), (2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police 25 Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). 26 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the 27 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Specific facts are not 1 grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations omitted). 2 “[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more 3 than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not 4 do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” 5 Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must 6 proffer “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. All or part 7 of a complaint filed by a prisoner may be dismissed sua sponte if the prisoner’s claims lack an 8 arguable basis in either law or in fact. 9 To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a 10 right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated; and (2) that the 11 violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 12 42, 48 (1988). 13 B. Complaint 14 The complaint brings suit against the Department of Children and Family Services 15 (“DCFS”) in Washington, District of Columbia.1 The complaint alleges that plaintiff’s mother’s 16 parental rights were violated from 1982 to November 2020 and that plaintiff was the result of a 17 rape, which resulted in his mother’s failure and inability to raise him like her own son. The relief 18 requested is unclear, and consists of a single world, “Disiphant.” Dkt. No. 6 at 1, 3. 19 The complaint will be DISMISSED for failure to state a claim. The facts alleged do not 20 state a violation of any right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, much less a 21 violation of plaintiff’s constitutional or federal rights. The complaint will be dismissed with 22 prejudice because amendment would be futile. See Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 860 (9th 23 Cir. 2003) (“Leave to amend should be granted unless the pleading could not possibly be cured by 24 the allegation of other facts, and should be granted more liberally to pro se plaintiffs.”) (citation 25 and internal quotation marks omitted). 26 CONCLUSION 27 1 For the foregoing reasons, the Court DISMISSES this action with prejudice. The Clerk is 2 || directed to enter judgment in favor of defendant and close the file. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 || Dated: 4/29/2020 | ° HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR. 6 United States District Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 © 15 16 = 17 Z 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28