Case law

(PS) Cowan v. State of CA Dept. of Social Services

District Court, E.D. California · May 2, 2025

IFP statute requires federal courts to dismiss a case if the action is legally 27 “frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seeks 28 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune … That is, the complaint should not include every detail of what 17 happened, nor recount the details of conversations (unless necessary to establish the claim), nor 18 give a running account of plaintiff’s hopes and thoughts

(PC) Yocom v. Allison

District Court, E.D. California · Sep 23, 2021

complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 11 “frivolous or malicious,” fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek monetary 12 relief from a defendant who is immune … Plaintiff’s complaint does not comply with the 11 standards of Rule 8 in that it fails to clearly articulate the facts giving rise to any claim.

(PC) Haywood v. Reed

District Court, E.D. California · Nov 6, 2023

To establish a claim for excessive force, the plaintiff must show 10 that the officer applied the force maliciously and sadistically to cause harm rather than in a good- 11 faith effort to maintain or restore discipline … Plaintiff is 26 advised that in an amended complaint he must clearly identify each defendant and the action that 27 defendant took that violated his constitutional rights.

EVA OCHOA v. FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of Social Security

District Court, E.D. California · Jun 8, 2026

However, they did not clearly indicate what work limitations resulted from those 21 impairments. … Feb. 26, 24 2025) (“This is a record that clearly establishes severe impairments but is ambiguous as to Plaintiff's 25 resulting functional limitations.

(PS) Singh v. Internal Revenue Service

District Court, E.D. California · Apr 25, 2023

IFP statute requires federal courts to dismiss a case if the action is legally 23 “frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks 24 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune … In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the 11 court will (1) accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they 12 are clearly baseless or fanciful, (2) construe those allegations

(PC) Avila v. Felder

District Court, E.D. California · Jul 15, 2025

complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous 22 or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary 23 relief from a defendant who is immune … As a basic 4 matter, the complaint does not clearly state what happened, when it happened or who was 5 involved.

(PS) Brown v. LucidWorks

District Court, E.D. California · Jun 17, 2025

Moreover, it clearly appears these 12 deficiencies cannot be fixed by amendment. … As such, it clearly 2 appears plaintiff is unable to state a claim for a violation of procedural due process.

Chestnut

District Court, E.D. California · Jul 24, 2026

If Petitioner bore the burden of establishing that his conviction was not a crime of moral turpitude, then the inadequacies of the record would require the court to deny the habeas petition. … But Respondents do not argue that the theory or reasoning of Pereida—which arose in a different procedural setting from this case—is “clearly irreconcilable” with Tokatly. Miller v.

(PS) Auten v. County of Calaveras

District Court, E.D. California · Sep 29, 2023

“To prevail on an ADA claim of unlawful 26 discharge, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case by showing that: (1) he is a disabled 27 person within the meaning of the statute; (2) he is a qualified individual … However, the record does not establish that plaintiff requested such an 4 accommodation.

(PS) Carillo v. Trump

District Court, E.D. California · Apr 2, 2025

IFP statute requires federal courts to dismiss a case if the action is legally 25 “frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seeks 26 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune … In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court will 1 (1) accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they are clearly 2 baseless or fanciful, (2) construe those allegations

(PC)Fletcher v. Clendenin

District Court, E.D. California · Jul 25, 2023

The Court must dismiss a complaint or 24 portion thereof if it: (1) is frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief can 25 be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune … Lastly, Plaintiff argues that the 27 defendants, via this data breach, “violated Plaintiff’s liberty interest in clearly established medical 28 privacy rights under the California Constitution.”

(PC) Walker v. Kernan

District Court, E.D. California · Aug 9, 2019

The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 15 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 16 490 U.S. at 327. … Plaintiff’s allegations fail to show that defendants violated his due process 6 rights because he has not established a liberty interest in any particular classification. 7 An equal protection claim may be established

(PS) Rodarte v. Merced County Sheriff Department

District Court, E.D. California · Mar 21, 2025

forma pauperis 25 proceeding, and mut order dismissal of the case if it is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to state a 26 claim on which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is 27 immune … If plaintiff elects to file an amended 3 complaint, it shall be clearly captioned “First Amended Complaint” and shall cure the 4 deficiencies identified herein.

(PC) Hill v. Fields

District Court, E.D. California · Aug 20, 2021

This allegation is insufficient to establish defendant Scriver took any action 27 which deprived plaintiff of his rights. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676. … In an amended complaint plaintiff must clearly identify the 23 action that defendant took that violated his constitutional rights.

(PC) Hernandez v. Barajas

District Court, E.D. California · Aug 13, 2021

“frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 11 granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune … Accordingly, plaintiff will be given the opportunity to file 16 an amended complaint. 17 Plaintiff is advised that in an amended complaint he must clearly identify

(PC) Lear v. McConnell

District Court, E.D. California · Apr 8, 2020

identify any cognizable 21 claims and dismiss any portion of the complaint that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a 22 claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is 23 immune … A plaintiff seeking such extraordinary relief 12 must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm 13 in the absence of such relief, that the balance of equities tips

Santana v. County of Yuba

District Court, E.D. California · Sep 27, 2019

The County defendants also argue they are entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 31−33. 1 Plaintiffs argue their claim survives summary judgment under either test. Opp’n to County Mot. at 2 24−26. … Because the court finds plaintiffs have not established a claim under either test, as explained 3 below, it does not address the County defendants’ qualified immunity argument. 4 a.

(PC) Hamilton v. Ables

District Court, E.D. California · Nov 6, 2023

The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 6 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 7 490 U.S. at 327. … To establish a claim for excessive force, the plaintiff must show 17 that the officer applied the force maliciously and sadistically to cause harm rather than in a good- 18 faith effort to maintain or restore discipline

Stand Up for Cal. v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior

328 F. Supp. 3d 1051 · District Court, E.D. California · Jul 18, 2018

The Secretary, although clearly having the most relevant experience in overseeing Tribal-State compacts, is purposefully removed from the thick of the remedial process. See Texas v. United States , 497 F.3d at 500 . … The premise that the Governor lacked the authority to concur is not established. That question is now pending before the California Supreme Court. a.

Wilderness Society v. Tyrrel

701 F. Supp. 1473 · District Court, E.D. California · Dec 13, 1988

Clearly, the Government’s economic loss cannot be considered compelling if it is to be gained in contravention of federal law. … "Thus, in establishing the national wild and scenic rivers system, Congress’ goals were decidedly preservationist.