Bennett v. Goord
| Decision Date | 28 August 2003 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 01-0184. |
| Citation | 343 F.3d 133 |
| Parties | Anthony BENNETT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Glenn S. GOORD; Superintendent Kelly; V. Herbert, Superintendent; R. Becker, DSP; M. Williams, Superintendent Gowanda Correctional Facility; Hiam, Captain, Gowanda Correctional Facility; Maternowski, Sergeant, Gowanda Correctional Facility; C.O. Grange, Gowanda Correctional Facility; C.O. Lavocci, Gowanda Correctional Facility; C.O. Osgood, Correctional Officer, Gowanda; Head Nurse, Gowanda Correctional Facility, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
JOHN W. BERRY (Jonathan M. Jacobson, on the brief), Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., New York, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
FRANK BRADY, Assistant Solicitor General (Nancy A. Spiegel, Assistant Solicitor General, on the brief), for Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, Albany, NY, for Defendants-Appellees.
Before: WINTER, B.D. PARKER, JR., and RAGGI, Circuit Judges.
Anthony Bennett appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Thomas J. McAvoy, Chief Judge). Bennett brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that various officials of the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) had retaliated against him as a consequence of his engaging in constitutionally protected conduct: the successful prosecution of a prior lawsuit and the filing of grievances against various DOCS officials. After minimal discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment. Magistrate Judge Gustave J. Di Bianco, to whom the case had been assigned, recommended that the motion be granted. The district court adopted the magistrate's Report and Recommendation and dismissed Bennett's complaint. He appealed, and we reverse.
Before commencing this action, Bennett, an inmate housed in various New York State Correctional institutions, had achieved a measure of success in a previous lawsuit against DOCS officials. In 1995, Bennett, proceeding pro se, brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 () in the Southern District of New York alleging that DOCS officials had retaliated against him for filing grievances against a corrections officer by issuing false misbehavior reports and punitively transferring him to a different facility. See No. 95 Civ. 8029(SAS) (S.D.N.Y.). Bennett also alleged that he had been denied due process at his hearing on the misbehavior reports. After Bennett's claims survived a motion to dismiss, the district court appointed counsel, and his claims then survived a summary judgment motion. See Bennett v. Tucker, 1996 WL 288202, No. 95 Civ. 8029, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7449 (motion to dismiss); Bennett v. Tucker, 1997 WL 193331, No. 95 Civ. 8029, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5141 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 18, 1997) (summary judgment). The New York Attorney General's office decided to settle the litigation. Negotiations with Bennett were finalized in October 1997, and the district court entered a stipulation of settlement on November 3. See No. 95 Civ. 8029(SAS) (Docket, S.D.N.Y.). Defendants paid Bennett $3,000 and promised that he would be considered for a transfer to a different DOCS facility "without benefit or detriment" arising from the litigation. (Oct. 29, 1997 letter from Ainsworth to Judge Scheindlin.)
According to Bennett, this lawsuit and particularly its settlement ignited a series of retaliatory actions by DOCS officials, which led to a new lawsuit culminating in this appeal. The materials submitted by the parties in connection with the motion for summary judgment establish the following facts, which, unless otherwise noted, are undisputed. In the Spring of 1997, Bennett had been deemed suitable for a less secure facility and was transferred from Attica Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, to Collins Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison. But in late September, while the aforementioned settlement was being finalized, Collins officials attempted to transfer him back to Attica. The first attempt was administratively denied because of "insufficient reason for placement." Just three days later, however, two unrelated disciplinary charges were filed against Bennett by defendant Becker, a Collins correctional officer, and another officer. One charge accused Bennett of defacing library books. The other accused him of "working to consolidate unauthorized groups to a common purpose to the detriment of the safety and security of the facility." At hearings held shortly after the charges were filed, both were sustained. The day after the second hearing Collins officials again sought to transfer Bennett. This attempt was successful, and he was transferred to Attica.
Bennett administratively appealed the decisions, and DOCS officials concluded that both lacked merit and reversed them. The decision concerning the charge that Bennett was "working to consolidate unauthorized groups" was found to have been "conclusory [and] without supporting details." The reversal also noted that the "hearing officer should have made further inquiry to develop a record of facts that supported the determination reached." The other decision was reversed because Bennett had not been supplied with documentary evidence that he had requested. Both reversals required prison officials to expunge references to the adverse decisions from Bennett's record.
Following these reversals, Bennett sought to be transferred from Attica back to a medium-security prison. He complained to defendant Kelly, Superintendent of Attica, and defendant Goord, Commissioner of DOCS. In response to one complaint, an assistant commissioner wrote on Goord's behalf that Bennett had been "found unsuitable for retention" at Collins. (Dec. 5, 1997 letter from Roy to Bennett.) Another letter, written on behalf of Kelly, informed Bennett that he had been "deemed unsuitable for reduced security," "[b]ased both on recent information and [] past history." (Oct. 29, 1997 mem. from McCray to Bennett.) To make matters worse, according to Bennett, references to the Collins hearing rulings remained on his record and, when he appeared before the parole board while at Attica, the references led, he alleges, to his serving additional years in custody.
Proceeding pro se, Bennett filed his initial complaint in June 1998, alleging unlawful retaliation by Collins and Attica prison officials in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.1 He attached supporting documentation, including copies of the disciplinary charges, their reversals, and the letters denying his transfer requests. Around the time his complaint was filed, Bennett was transferred from Attica to Gowanda Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison, but one which is in the same "hub system" as Attica.2 He immediately filed a grievance, asserting a right to be transferred out of the Attica hub. In July 1998, the grievance was unanimously accepted by the reviewing committee, which stated:
We believe that the Grievant was not afforded the opportunity to be fairly evaluated for an Out-of-Hub Transfer to an area of preference. And we believe that this may be the result of miscommunication and/or misinformation.3
While awaiting transfer, Bennett underwent medical treatment and HIV counseling at Gowanda. During a discussion with an unnamed defendant "head nurse," Bennett alleges that defendant Rutski, a corrections officer, entered the examination room. Asserting that his right to confidentiality concerning HIV counseling had been violated, Bennett filed another grievance.
Three days later, defendant Grange, a corrections officer, charged Bennett with the possession of a home-made weapon, which Bennett alleges officers had planted in his cell. The weapon was allegedly discovered during a search conducted by defendants Grange, Osgood, and Lavocci and authorized by defendant Maternowski. Bennett claims that the search was triggered by his latest grievance over the violation of his privacy in the examination room. DOCS acknowledges that Bennett's grievance triggered the search, but contends that the search was not conducted with a retaliatory motive, but rather in a legitimate effort to uncover a DOCS employees' manual that Bennett had referenced in his grievance, a document which Bennett was not authorized to possess. (See Defs. Br. at 8.) Following a disciplinary hearing, Bennett was found guilty of possession of a weapon. As a result, he was transferred again, this time to the Cayuga Correctional Facility. Once again, however, the decision was reversed on administrative appeal.
In September 1998, Bennett filed a verified first amended complaint, adding new allegations of retaliation based on events occurring after his initial complaint and attaching additional corroborating documentation. In November 1999, although no substantial discovery had occurred, DOCS moved for summary judgment, asserting that Bennett's claims were conclusory and meritless and, in any event, that the officials were entitled to qualified immunity. Bennett opposed the motion with a handwritten memorandum, an affidavit, and additional documentation. The Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation largely agreeing with DOCS that Bennett's claims were both conclusory and meritless.4 He rejected Bennett's claims that the initial disciplinary charges and the transfer to Attica occurred in retaliation for his earlier lawsuit primarily because "[t]he stipulation of settlement was not even submitted to the court until after [Bennett] was transferred to Attica." (Mar. 22, 2001 Rep. & Rec. at 8.) He found the retaliation claim concerning the weapon inadequate as a matter of law because "[t]he search was not ordered in retaliation for the complaint, it was ordered because the complaint led the officials to believe that [Bennett] might be in possession of unauthorized material[,...
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