Knapp v. Hogan, et al., No. 11-17512 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a California state prisoner, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging violations of his constitutional rights. Plaintiff claimed that prison officials engaged in retaliatory conduct, of which the governmental actors were aware, because of plaintiff's mother's website, which exposed prison corruption and fought for inmates' rights. The district court granted summary judgment to defendant and plaintiff appealed. Defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that plaintiff was disqualified from proceeding in forma pauperis. The court held that repeated and knowing violations of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)'s "short and plain statement" requirement are strikes as "failures to state a claim" when the opportunity to correct the pleadings has been afforded and there has been no modification within a reasonable time. Plaintiff accrued two strikes for Ninth Circuit dismissals, and three additional strikes for district court dismissals. Therefore, plaintiff has more than met the requirement for a revocation of in forma pauperis status under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 28 U.S.C. 1915(g). Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal.
Court Description: Prison Litigation Reform Act. The panel dismissed a California state prisoner’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 appeal because the prisoner was disqualified from proceeding in forma pauperis under the Prison Litigation Reform Act for having three prior strikes. The panel held that repeated and knowing violations of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)’s “short and plain statement” requirement count as strikes for purposes of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), when the opportunity to correct the pleadings was afforded and there was no modification within a reasonable time.
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