King v. Miller

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES

5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6 AT SEATTLE ROBERT L. KING, No. 2:20-cv-01386-RAJ 9 Plaintiff, v. 10 DISMISSAL ORDER JC MILLER, et al.,

12 Defendants.

This matter comes before the Court sua sponte on Plaintiff Robert L. King’s Complaint against various prison officials of the Coyote Ridge Correction Center. Dkt. # 1-1. Plaintiff states that he was transferred to Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in or around February 2018. Id. at 6. He claims that the prison is racially segregated and that threats of violence are used to ensure this policy. Id. He alleges that prison officials and staff are aware of the racism but have “done nothing to stop it.” Id. Plaintiff alleges that he has been “segregated and discriminated from Coyote Ridge Correction Center recreational yard.” Id. Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts sufficient to support his conclusory allegation that he has been “segregated and discriminated” against. Id. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), a Court must dismiss a complaint if it “is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” A complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted if a plaintiff fails to allege the “grounds” of his “entitlement to relief.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964–65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (quotation omitted). Rule 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (internal quotation marks omitted). A complaint will not “suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement.” Id. 7 Plaintiff claims that “violence is often used to enforce segregation” or “the threat of violence is used to ensure [this] policy,” but his complaint is devoid of any discussion of specific incidents of violence or actual threats made. Dkt. # 1-1 at 6. He asserts that he has been racially discriminated against but again fails to provide factual basis supporting this conclusory allegation. In the absence of such factual pleadings, these allegations are insufficient. The Court thereby dismisses this complaint without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

16 DATED this 12th day of January, 2021.

A 20 The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge