MELINDA GABRIELLA VALENZUELA, FKA Enrique Mendez v. Charles L. Ryan;

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MELINDA GABRIELLA
VALENZUELA, FKA Enrique Mendez,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
CHARLES L. RYAN; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 15-15741
D.C. No. 2:15-cv-00158-NVW-
MHB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Neil V. Wake, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted November 18, 2015**
Before: TASHIMA, OWENS, and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.
Melinda Gabriella Valenzuela, an Arizona state prisoner, appeals pro se
from the district court’s judgment in her 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that she
was sexually assaulted by prison staff. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
FILED
NOV 27 2015
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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§ 1291. We reverse and remand.
The district court erred in dismissing Valenzuela’s action because, even in
light of her previous lawsuits, the allegations in Valenzuela’s complaint were not
factually frivolous. See Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32-33 (1992)
(explaining that “a court may dismiss a claim as factually frivolous only if the facts
alleged are clearly baseless, a category encompassing allegations that are fanciful,
fantastic, and delusional” and a complaint “may not be dismissed . . . simply
because the court finds the plaintiff’s allegations unlikely”).
REVERSED and REMANDED.
15-15741 2

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