King v. Miller ( 2021 )

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES 1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6 AT SEATTLE 7 ROBERT L. KING, No. 2:20-cv-01386-RAJ 8 9 Plaintiff, v. 10 DISMISSAL ORDER JC MILLER, et al., 11 12 Defendants. 13 14 This matter comes before the Court sua sponte on Plaintiff Robert L. King’s 15 Complaint against various prison officials of the Coyote Ridge Correction Center. Dkt. # 16 1-1. Plaintiff states that he was transferred to Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in or 17 around February 2018. Id. at 6. He claims that the prison is racially segregated and that 18 threats of violence are used to ensure this policy. Id. He alleges that prison officials and 19 staff are aware of the racism but have “done nothing to stop it.” Id. Plaintiff alleges that 20 he has been “segregated and discriminated from Coyote Ridge Correction Center 21 recreational yard.” Id. 22 Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts sufficient to support his conclusory 23 allegation that he has been “segregated and discriminated” against. Id. Pursuant to 28 24 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), a Court must dismiss a complaint if it “is frivolous, malicious, or 25 fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” A complaint fails to state a 26 claim upon which relief may be granted if a plaintiff fails to allege the “grounds” of his 27 1 “entitlement to relief.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 2 1964–65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (quotation omitted). Rule 8(a)(2) requires a complaint 3 to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is 4 plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (internal quotation marks 5 omitted). A complaint will not “suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of further 6 factual enhancement.” Id. 7 Plaintiff claims that “violence is often used to enforce segregation” or “the threat 8 of violence is used to ensure [this] policy,” but his complaint is devoid of any discussion 9 of specific incidents of violence or actual threats made. Dkt. # 1-1 at 6. He asserts that 10 he has been racially discriminated against but again fails to provide factual basis 11 supporting this conclusory allegation. In the absence of such factual pleadings, these 12 allegations are insufficient. The Court thereby dismisses this complaint without prejudice 13 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be 14 granted. 15 16 DATED this 12th day of January, 2021. 17 A 18 19 20 The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27