Barroca v. Hurwitz
Barroca v. Hurwitz
Opinion of the Court
This matter is before the Court on the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, which the Court grants for reasons discussed below.
I. BACKGROUND & PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Robert Barroca ("the Plaintiff"), proceeding pro se , asserts in his Complaint ("Compl.") various constitutional violations. The Plaintiff, a federal prisoner, was detained at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana from October 2005 through April 2011. Compl. at 3 ¶ 1. He is serving a 240-month prison sentence imposed by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in June 2005. See Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss ("Defs.' Mem.") at 2; Plaintiff's Opposition to the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) ("Pl.'s Opp'n") at 6. The conviction and sentence were subsequently affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. United States v. Barroca ,
The crux of the Plaintiff's Complaint relates to his frustrations with the implementation of the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System ("TRULINCS") by the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"). See Compl. at 4 ¶ 4. He alleges that TRULINCS prevented him from timely filing his § 2255 Habeas Petition ("Habeas Petition"). See
Standing in the way of [Barroca's] claim for relief under section 2255 is the one-year statute of limitations .... Barroca was required to file his petition within one year after his judgment of conviction became final.28 USC § 2255 (f)(1). A judgment of conviction becomes final upon denial of a petition for certiorari ...
Barroca's judgment of conviction became final when the Supreme Court denied his certiorari petition on February 23, 2009. Barroca did not sign the instant § 2255 petition until March 22, 2010 and the petition was not filed with this court until April 6, 2010. Doc # 782. Under either the date of filing or the date of his signature, Barroca's petition is untimely pursuant to28 USC § 2255 (f)(1)...
As it plainly appears from the record before the court that Barroca is not entitled to relief on his untimely petition, the petition is DISMISSED pursuant to Rule 4(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings.
The Plaintiff then filed a Motion to Toll the Statute of Limitations and to Vacate Judgment. See Motion and Request for Statutory and Equitable Tolling of AEDPA's Statute of Limitations and Motion to Vacate ("Mot. to Toll"), United States v. Barroca , No. CR 94-0470 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 13, 2010). The Plaintiff's Motion was dismissed. See Order Dismissing Petitioner's Motion for Wirt of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ¶ 2255 With Prejudice, Denying Certificate of Appealability ("Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll"), United States v. Barroca , No. CR 94-0470 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 20, 2011). With respect to the mailing labels, the court found that
... the alleged inability to fit the Court's mailing address on the TRULINCS labels cannot serve as a basis for statutory tolling. Although Petitioner claims that the mailing address of the Court did not fit on the labels used by the TRULINCS program, the evidence establishes that the Court's mailing address did, in fact, fit on TRULINCS labels.[ ] Further, Petitioner's contention is belied by the fact that he was able to successfully file three separate pleadings with other districts in December 2009, at least two of which were served on parties using mailing addresses as long or longer than that of this Court.
Next, the Plaintiff sought relief by way of a Motion Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). See Motion for Relief from Judgment; Newly Discovered Evidence pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1)-(4) ; Request for Indicative Ruling Fed. R. Civ. P. 62.1 ; Request for Evidentiary Hearing ("Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling"), United States v. Barroca , No. CR 94-0470 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2012). This Motion was also denied, and with respect to the TRULINCS issue, the court held:
In the previous motion to toll, [the Government] provided a declaration of a prison employee familiar with the TRULINCS system who stated that the address for the Court could indeed fit on the four lines generally allowed by the *186system, and that in addition, the system allowed addresses with up to six lines through the use of "Re:" and "Comments" lines .... The employee also stated that he had spoken with Petitioner about his problem and suggested abbreviating the Court's address if he was having difficulties, but that to his knowledge Petitioner never attempted to do so ....
Additionally, even if he were precluded from sending the filing to this Court, Petitioner does not provide the date he mailed the petition to his sister (whether it was sent within the limitations period), or explain why it took 37 days for the petition to reach her, and for her to mail it to this Court. He has not established entitlement to tolling for the entire 37 day period.
See Order Denying the Plaintiff's Motion for Relief from Judgment and for an Indicative Ruling ("Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling") at 2-4, Barroca v. United States , No. CR 94-0470 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 11, 2013). The Plaintiff's subsequent Motion for Reconsideration was also denied. See Order Denying the Petitioner's Request for an Indicative Ruling, Request to Amend or Supplement Petition, and Motion for Relief from Judgment ("Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend"), Barroca v. United States , No. CR 94-0470 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 27, 2013), ECF No. 890. In relevant part, the court reasoned:
Petitioner ... takes issue with this Court's holding that he offered no evidence to contradict the December 20, 2011 finding that this Court's address fit on the TRULINCS labels, and that the TRULINCS system thus did not prevent him from filing his habeas petition within the statute of limitations. Docket No. 889 at 7. Petitioner offers no new evidence or argument on this front, but merely repeats arguments he raised in his previous motion. See Docket No. 882. He argues, for example, that no one ever showed him how to abbreviate the Court's address to fit on a TRULINCS label. However, as noted in this Court's previous order, the two abbreviations included in the government's example label ("Attn:" and "CA") are in general use, and it is not clear why Petitioner would specifically need someone to instruct him on how to use such abbreviations.[ ] See Docket No. 886 at 3. In any event, Petitioner raises no new point on this issue ...
The only new information Petitioner offers in his motion only undermines his argument that he is entitled to equitable tolling. After concluding that he was not able to mail his habeas petition using the TRULINCS labels, Petitioner ultimately filed his petition by mailing it to his sister and having her send it to the court. In the January 11, 2013 order, this Court noted that Petitioner had not stated that he mailed the petition to his sister within the limitations period, nor did he explain why it took until 37 days after the limitations period for the petition to reach the Court. Docket No. 886 at 3-4. Petitioner now clarifies that he mailed his habeas petition to his sister after the statute of limitations had already run because he had been trying to obtain an exemption from the requirement that prisoners use the TRULINCS system ... He does not explain why, knowing that the deadline for his petition was approaching, he waited until after the deadline passed to mail his petition to his sister, thus ensuring that it would not be timely filed.
The Plaintiff has now filed the current action, alleging violations of his constitutional rights. See Compl. at 1. He demands *187a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and monetary damages totaling $20 million. See
The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants implemented TRULINCS at USP Terre Haute in January 2010, mere weeks before the February 27, 2010 deadline for filing his § 2255 Petition. Id. at 4 ¶ 3. The Plaintiff claims that the Defendants "knew or should have known that their [p]olicy," id. at 4 ¶ 5 (referring to Program Statement 5265.13), "would cause/is causing harm," id. at 5 ¶ 5, specifically by "deny[ing] him access to the courts," id. at 5 ¶ 6. Due to this denial of access, the Plaintiff alleges that he "was not allowed to mail his § 2255 [P]etition directly to the district court." Id. at 6 ¶ 10. Instead, the Plaintiff mailed the Habeas Petition to his sister, who filed the Petition on his behalf, albeit "... 37 days late past AEDPA's statute of limitations." Id. at 6 ¶ 11 (emphasis in original).
The Plaintiff filed this action on July 23, 2013
Claim One: Policymaker Liability
First, the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants "personally and officially commit[ted] unconstitutional and tortious acts" when they "formulated, drafted[,] created, adopted, established and implemented" the TRULINCS mandatory outgoing mailing label requirement for all inmates," which prevented him from timely filing his § 2255 petition, thereby denying him access to the courts. See Compl. at 6-7.
Claim Two: Supervisory Liability
Second, the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants "failed to and are currently failing to supervise, train, and/or instruct subordinate(s) and staff in the drafting, creation, formulation, establishment, and implementation of [the TRULINCS] policy to include any instructions for inmates (written or oral) how to use TRULINCS ... to place or add any address on a mailing label or provide any exception/exemption for legal mail to the courts." Id. at 7-8. The Plaintiff alleges that the training by these Defendants was so "... clearly deficient" that violation of his "...constitutional rights is/was inevitable." Id. at 8 ¶ 3.
Claim Three: Violation of Due Process
Finally, the Plaintiff argues that he was denied access to the courts, because of the mandatory labeling policy. See id. at 8-9. In turn, he contends that the imposition of such restrictions infringed upon his right to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Id. at 8 ¶ 4.
II. DISCUSSION
A. VENUE
The Defendants move to dismiss the Complaint based on improper venue or, in the alternative, request that the case be transferred to one of two other district courts. Defs.' Mem. at 12-13. The Defendants rely primarily on Starnes v. McGuire ,
Pursuant to
District courts have discretion to adjudicate the issue of transfer according to an "individualized, case-by-case consideration of convenience and fairness." Stewart Org. v. Ricoh Corp. ,
B. SOVERIGN IMMUNITY & OFFICIAL CAPACITY CLAIMS
The Defendants contend that the doctrine of sovereign immunity deprives this Court of subject matter jurisdiction. See id. at 7-8. Specifically, the Defendants posit that they are immune from the Plaintiff's claims for monetary damages for actions performed in their official capacities. See Defs.' Mem at 7-9. A lawsuit against a government official in his or her official capacity "generally represent[s] only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent," such that "an official [ ] capacity suit is, in all respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against the entity." Kentucky v. Graham ,
The Plaintiff here has not established that the government has expressly consented to damages suits for constitutional violations. Such waiver is required in a damages suit, regardless of whether such actions are brought against a government agency directly or against the officials in their official capacity. Clark v. Library of Congress ,
*190Settles v. U.S. Parole Comm'n,
Accordingly, the Plaintiff's claims for monetary damages as a result of any conduct performed by the Defendants in their official capacities are dismissed. See Ranger v. Tenet ,
C. INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY CLAIMS
1. Personal Jurisdiction
The Plaintiff has also sued all Defendants in their individual capacities. See Compl. at 3-8. The Defendants move to dismiss those claims under Rule 12(b)(2) for lack of personal jurisdiction, under Rule 12(b)(4) for insufficient process, and under Rule 12(b)(5) for insufficient service of process. See Defs.' Mem. at 9-12.
The United States Marshals Service submitted returns of service to the Clerk of Court for Defendants Samuels, Lappin, Kane, and Garrett. See Return of Service/Affidavit of Summons and Complaint (Oct. 1, 2013), ECF No. 5. Garrett signed for her summons. See ECF No. 5 at 4. An unknown individual signed for the summonses intended for Samuels, Lappin, and Kane, and each bore a stamp stating, "[a]ccepted on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons or other named official in his/her official capacity only." See ECF No. 5 at 1-3. Service must be made on the Defendants sued as individuals in compliance with Rule 4(e) and all subsections, which has not occurred for Defendants Samuels, Lappin, and Kane. See Simpkins v. District of Columbia Government ,
Only Defendant Garrett has been properly served personally to date, see ECF No. 5 at 4, and the Plaintiff has failed to timely file a request for additional time to effectuate service on the remaining unserved Defendants, see Defs.' Mem. at 12 ¶ 2. While this Court has discretion to allow additional time for service, it need not reach that issue in this case because the claims against the Defendants in their individual capacities must be dismissed.
2. Failure to State a Bivens Claim
The Plaintiff relies on Bivens as the legal basis for his individual capacity claims. See Compl. at 1 ¶ 1; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 1 ¶ 1.
Policymaking Liability
The Plaintiff first makes a "policymaking" liability claim, alleging that the Defendants are liable based on their assumptive personal involvement in creating Program Statement 5265.13, and subsequently, instituting the TRULINCS system on February 19, 2009. See Compl. at 6-7; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-55. In order to state a claim against a government official for individual liability for "infringements resulting from the establishment of unconstitutional policies," a plaintiff must plausibly allege that "the official (1) established a policy (2) that was unconstitutional and (3) caused the plaintiff to be injured." Weise v. Jenkins ,
The Plaintiff, however, has not alleged any particularized facts to establish the specific role, if any, the Defendants respectively had in creating the TRULINCS policy. See Compl. at 7-8; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-44, 48-49. The Plaintiff falsely assumes that, because an individual held a certain position within the BOP, that such individual then automatically incurs policymaking liability. See Weise ,
*191Allegations of participation or actual knowledge and acquiescence must be made with appropriate particularity. See Cameron v. Thornburgh ,
Assuming for the sake of argument that the Plaintiff has satisfied the first element of the claim, he has failed to allege how the Defendants' conduct exceeded mere negligence. In fact, the Plaintiff has not pleaded with sufficient particularity that ordinary negligence was committed by the Defendants, having failed to show that Defendants participated in creating TRULINCS' labelling format. See Compl. at 6-7; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-55. The Plaintiff has, therefore, failed to state a claim against any of the Defendants under the policymaking theory of liability.
Supervisory Liability
The Plaintiff concomitantly makes a claim for supervisory liability, and more specifically, failure to supervise and/or train. See Compl. at 7-8; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-55. "The party seeking to impose liability [on this theory] must demonstrate that the official had an obligation to supervise or train the wrongdoer in the manner alleged, that the duty was breached, and that this breach was a proximate cause of the injury." Haynesworth v. Miller ,
Supervisory liability under Bivens requires evidence of actual or constructive knowledge that a subordinate was engaged in conduct that posed a pervasive and unreasonable risk of constitutional injury; a plaintiff must also prove that a supervisor's response to such knowledge was so inadequate as to show deliberate indifference to or tacit authorization of the practices. Int'l Action Cntr. ,
Further, liability "is triggered only when a supervisor fails to provide more stringent training in the wake of a history of past transgressions by the agency or provides training 'so clearly deficient that some deprivation of rights will inevitably result absent additional instruction.' " Elkins ,
The Plaintiff has not alleged sufficient facts to state a claim for supervisory liability against the Defendants. See Cameron,
The Plaintiff has plainly failed to state a claim for supervisory liability against any of the Defendants. He has not alleged any reasonable basis that these Defendants were even aware of his perceived hardships, much less that they engaged in a pattern of dangerous willful indifference. See Compl. at 7-8; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-55. Therefore, the Plaintiff has failed to support his claims under the theory of supervisory liability.
3. Qualified Immunity
The Defendants also move to dismiss on the basis of qualified immunity. Defs.' Mem at 18-24. Government officials performing discretionary functions are generally protected from liability for civil damages, and thus entitled to qualified immunity. This immunity is applicable when the challenged "conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Harlow v. Fitzgerald ,
To overcome the defense of qualified immunity, the Plaintiff is again required to allege facts sufficient to establish a plausible basis for finding that the Defendants, through their own actions, knowingly violated the Constitution or a particular statute. See Malley v. Briggs ,
Here, the Plaintiff has failed to allege facts sufficient to find that these Defendants personally participated in the alleged wrongdoing. No facts are presented to show that these Defendants knowingly violated the Plaintiff's statutory and/or Constitutional rights, which is fatal to his claim against them. The Plaintiff's reliance on bald conclusory statements that the Defendants knew or should have known that their policy was causing him harm is insufficient. See Harlow,
*193Compl. at 5 ¶ 1; see also id. at 6-9. Such "bare allegations of malice should not suffice to subject government officials either to the costs of trial or to the burdens of broad-reaching discovery." Harlow,
The Complaint is also devoid of any facts indicating that the Defendants personally violated a clearly established constitutional or statutory right. See Farmer v. Moritsugu ,
4. Due Process Violation Claim
The Plaintiff broadly alleges that the Defendants violated his due process rights by blocking his access to the court(s) by creating Program Statement 5265.13, and in conjunction with instituting TRULINCS. See Compl. at 8-9, Pl's Ex. A; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 44-45. However, governments may impose limits on a prisoner's liberty interests that are protected by the Due Process Clause, "[b]ut these interests will be generally limited to freedom from restraint which, while not exceeding the sentence in such an unexpected manner as to give rise to protection by the Due Process Clause of its own force, nonetheless imposes atypical and significant hardship on the inmate in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life." Sandin v. Conner ,
The TRULINCS system allows prisoners to correspond with individuals who are not confined both electronically and by mail. The stated program objectives are (1) "[t]o provide inmates with alternative means of written communication with the public," (2) to provide the BOP with an efficient and secure method of monitoring said communications, and (3) to reduce the opportunities for contraband or illegal drugs to be filtered into facilities through mail. See Pl.'s Ex. A at 1. Generally, an inmate must "... place a TRULINCS-generated mailing label on all outgoing postal mail," and if he fails to do so, "... the mail is returned to the inmate for proper preparation." Id. at 5; see also Program Statement P5265.14, Correspondence (Apr. 5, 2011) at 7 ("[A]ll outgoing mail, for institutions with a TRULINCS-generated mailing label system, must utilize these mailing labels on all outgoing correspondence, in accordance with the Program Statement Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS)-Electronic Messaging.") (emphasis removed).
The Plaintiff is not the first federal prisoner to challenge the constitutionality of Program Statement 5265.13. See, e.g., Lineberry v. Federal Bureau of Prisons,
The challenges that have been asserted against the BOP's mailing system have been found not to constitute a violation of any clearly established constitutional right, and more specifically, fail to constitute a violation of the Due Process Clause. See Compl. at 8-9; see also Pl.'s Opp'n at 2, 43-55. Therefore, even if the Defendants were not shielded by the doctrine of qualified immunity, the Plaintiff has failed to adequately allege a violation of his rights under the Constitution. See
D. RES JUDICATA & COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL (ALL CLAIMS)
The Defendants also raise the defense of res judicata as ground for dismissing the complaint. Defs.' Mem. at 14-17. "The doctrine of res judicata prevents repetitious litigation involving the same causes of action or the same issues." I.A.M. Nat'l Pension Fund v. Indus. Gear Mfg. Co. ,
1. Claim Preclusion
The Plaintiff's current case is completely derived from his alleged inability to fit a court address on the TRULINCS mailing label due to the space provided, and perceived lack of instruction by Terra Haute prison personnel regarding how to place an address on the labels. See Compl. at 3-6. The Plaintiff argues again that he was unable to timely mail and file his Habeas Petition with the Northern District of California, resulting in denial of the petition, and therefore, violated his constitutional rights. See, e.g., Compl. at 4-6; Pl.'s Opp'n at 4, 7. These claims have already been thoroughly adjudicated. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5.
The Plaintiff maintains that the current action is not claim precluded because his current claims "... were not raised in [his]
*195habeas proceeding or in his equitable/statutory procedural motion, i.e., his Motion and Request for Statutory and Equitable Tolling of AEDPA's Statute of Limitations & Motion to Vacate." Pl.'s Opp'n at 32. The Court disagrees. The Plaintiff raised his lack of access to the courts in his Motion and Request for Statutory and Equitable Tolling of AEDPA's Statute of Limitations and to Vacate Judgment. See Mot. to Toll & Vacate at 10-11. The Plaintiff requested tolling the statute of limitations, and additionally requested that the Northern District of California vacate the judgment dismissing his Habeas Petition. See
A final judgment on the merits of an action precludes the parties or their privies from relitigating claims that "were or could have been raised in that action." Sheppard v. District of Columbia ,
In his Opposition, the Plaintiff insinuates that he only sought procedural relief regarding TRULINCS by way of his Motion to Toll & Vacate. See Pl.'s Opp'n at 33. However, the Plaintiff actually raised substantive claims regarding the TRULINCS labels, not once, but on three different occasions. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll & Vacate at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5. The fact that his claims were previously before a court through motions rather than by lawsuit, is of no consequence. See, e.g., Lewandowski v. Property Clerk ,
Petitioner also takes issue with this Court's holding that he offered no evidence to contradict the December 20, 2011 finding that this court's address fit on the TRULINCS labels, and that the TRULINCS system thus did not prevent him from filing his habeas petition *196within the statute of limitations. Docket No. 889 at 7. Petitioner offers no new evidence or argument on this front, but merely repeats arguments he raised in his previous motion. See Docket No. 882. He argues, for example, that no one ever showed him how to abbreviate the Court's address to fit on a TRULINCS label. However, as noted in this Court's previous order, the two abbreviations included in the government's example label ("Attn:" and "CA") are in general use, and it is not clear why Petitioner would specifically need someone to instruct him to use such abbreviations. In any event, Petitioner raises on new point on this issue.
Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-4. The current claims inarguably arise from the same nucleus of facts as the claims before the Northern District of California, while on consideration of the Plaintiff's three post-habeas motions. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5.
The fact that Plaintiff is seeking relief against new parties is of no consequence, as the Defendants named in this case are in privity with the government. See Wilson v. Fullwood ,
In this matter, the Plaintiff simply raises the same claims against different parties and for different relief. Compare Compl. at 6-9, with Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll at 48, and Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4, and Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-7. "This is precisely what is barred by res judicata." Apotex,
2. Issue Preclusion
In their Motion to Dismiss, the Defendants also rely on the theory of issue preclusion. Defs.' Mem. at 14-17. "[I]ssue preclusion prevents the re-litigation of any issue that was raised and decided in a prior action." Ficken v. Golden ,
the same issue ... being raised [was] ... contested by the parties and submitted for judicial determination in the prior *197case, the issue [was] ... actually and necessarily determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in that prior case[,] [and] ... preclusion ... must not work a basic unfairness to the party bound by the first determination.
Martin v. U.S. Dep't of Justice ,
The Plaintiff has already raised the same issues regarding his disfavor with the TRULINCS system. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll & Vacate at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5. He has repeatedly and exhaustively asserted that the Northern District of California's court address would not fit on a mailing label and, each time, the court found that said issues were meritless.
The Northern District of California addressed all of the following conclusively in the several opinions it issued, concluding that: (1) the Plaintiff offered no evidence to contradict the proof offered by the government that the TRULINCS label could be used and the address could have been abbreviated, or why additional instruction to do so was required or expected, (2) the Plaintiff provided no evidence as to why any abbreviation would render the address of the Court unintelligible or undeliverable, (3) the Plaintiff failed to explain why it took an extraordinary amount of time to mail his Habeas Petition to his sister, and (4) the Plaintiff failed to articulate why he felt obliged to wait until his administrative complaints were exhausted before attempting to abbreviate the court's address. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5. Simply put, if this Court proceeded to address the issues asserted in the instant Complaint, that would amount to the relitigation of these same issues. Therefore, the Plaintiff is foreclosed from litigating the issues anew.
E. DECLARATORY & INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
The Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief; however, he lacks *198standing to do so. Compl. at 9; Pl.'s Opp'n at 55-57. To pursue a claim for prospective injunctive relief, a plaintiff must have standing based on an "injury or threat of injury" that is "[both] real and immediate, not conjectural or hypothetical." City of Los Angeles v. Lyons ,
A preliminary injunction "... is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted only when the party seeking the relief, by a clear showing, carries the burden of persuasion." Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches v. England ,
The Plaintiff fails to satisfy any of the aforementioned prerequisites for injunctive relief. He alleges that he is in danger of future imminent injury from continued implementation of the TRULINCS policy based on the possibility that he may, at some point, be denied access to family, friends, attorneys, courts, and others. Compl. at 9-10; Pl.'s Opp'n at 56. The Plaintiff is basing this assumption on the alleged prior difficulties he expressed in mailing his Habeas Petition. See Compl. at 6. This potential falls short as a basis for relief, as it constitutes prior alleged exposure to harm. See
The Plaintiff also fails to explain why he is in imminent danger of such potential adversity, notwithstanding the findings of the Northern District of California that any such adversity was self-inflicted. See Compl. at 9-10; see also Pl's Opp'n at 56; Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll & Vacate at 8; Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5. Further, the Plaintiff does not contend that he has had any logistical problems in mailing documents to his sister, and there has been no suggestion of any hardship in his ability to mail multiple documents to this Court. See Plaintiff's Motion for Relief from Judgment; Newly Discovered Evidence Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(h)(1)-(4). Therefore, the Plaintiff is not likely to succeed on the merits, and he will not face irreparable harm if such relief is denied. His request may, however, substantially injure the government, as the TRULINCS
*199system was implemented to allow prisoners safe and controlled external communication. See Majhor ,
III. CONCLUSION
For all the above stated reasons, this case is dismissed as to all claims and all Defendants. The Plaintiff's Habeas Petition was denied by the Northern District of California for untimeliness. See Ord. Denying Hab. Pet. at 3. The Northern District of California subsequently examined the facts, evidence, arguments, and circumstances regarding the Plaintiff's late-filing, and whether any alleged encumbrances caused by the TRULINCS labeling system contributed to this situation. The Northern District addressed these claims and issues on three occasions, and the Plaintiff had ample opportunity to raise additional theories and evidence during those proceedings. See Ord. Denying Mot. to Toll & Vacate at 8; see also Ord. Denying Mot. for Relief from Judgment & Indic. Ruling at 2-4; see also Ord. Denying Mot. to Alter & Amend at 3-5.
The underlying crux of the instant matter is the Plaintiff's apparent dissatisfaction with the determinations made the Northern District of California regarding his collateral attacks on his conviction and sentencing, as evidenced by the Plaintiff's focus on these issues in his Opposition to the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. See, e.g., Pl.'s Opp'n at 35-38. The Plaintiff repeatedly argues that the Northern District was "mistaken," "incorrect," and that it made any number of errors. See
For all of the foregoing reasons, this Court concludes that the Defendants are entitled to dismissal of all claims. The Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is granted and this case is dismissed. A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
The Defendants argue that the Plaintiff failed to file his Complaint within the statute of limitations period applicable to this case. See Defs.' Mem at 17-18. A defendant may raise a statute of limitations affirmative defense by way of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion "when the facts that give rise to the defense are clear from the face of the complaint." Smith-Haynie v. District of Columbia ,
In his Opposition, the Plaintiff includes two footnotes, in which he discusses two potential additional claims, namely (1) an Administrative Procedures Act claim seeking injunctive relief, and (2) an additional claim for policymaking liability as it relates to potential future difficulties using TRULINCS to communicate with his family. See Pl.'s Opp'n at 2 nn.1 & 2. At this juncture the Plaintiff has not properly requested leave to amend pursuant to Rule 15(a)(2). These additional potential claims were not part of the original Complaint, and therefore, the Defendants would have no notice upon which they could respond to these new potential claims. The Court also finds that these potential claims fail to state claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), as the Plaintiff's potential additional claims do not appear ripe based on the present allegations. Specifically, the Plaintiff has not stated that he has suffered "actual injury," only that there is "potential" for injury. See Pl.'s Opp'n at 2 nn.1 & 2; see also Lewis v. Casey ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Robert BARROCA v. Hugh HURWITZ
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