Cantley v. West Va. Reg'l Jail and Corr. Facility Auth.

Decision Date05 August 2010
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 3:09-0758
Citation728 F.Supp.2d 803
PartiesMichael CANTLEY, individually, and on behalf of a Class of others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. The WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AUTHORITY; and Terry L. Miller, both individually and in his official capacity as Executive Director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of West Virginia

D. Aaron Rihn, Robert Peirce & Associates, Pittsburgh, PA, Daniel R. Karon, Goldman Scarlato & Karon, Cleveland, OH, Donna F. Solen, Gary E. Mason, Nicholas A. Migliaccio, The Mason Law Firm, Washington, DC, Elmer Robert Keach, III, Law Offices of Elmer Robert Keach, III, Amsterdam, NY, Elgine Heceta McArdle, McArdle Law Office, Wheeling, WV, for Plaintiff.

David J. Mincer, Joshua K. Boggs, Bailey & Wyant, Charleston, WV, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT C. CHAMBERS, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss by Defendants The West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority (WVRJA) and Terry L. Miller. [Doc. No. 16]. Upon consideration of the arguments by the parties, the Court DENIES Defendants' motion.

I.FACTS

On October 9, 2009, Plaintiff Michael Cantley, individually and on behalf of a Class of others similarly situated, filed his First Amended Complaint. In his First Amended Class Action Complaint, Plaintiff asserts he was arrested on or about September 28, 2008, on non-felony charges of violating a domestic violence protection order. Plaintiff states he was at his formerwife's house in violation of the order, but he did not harm her or anyone else while there. Following his arrest, Plaintiff was taken into custody and placed in a holding cell at the Western Regional Jail, where Plaintiff states he has been in custody on several previous occasions. According to Plaintiff, Defendant WVRJA is responsible for the policies, practices, supervision, implementation, and conduct of all matters pertaining to the West Virginia Regional Jail System, which includes the Western Regional Jail. Defendant Miller is the duly appointed Executive Director and a policy maker for the WVRJA.

After several hours of custody, Plaintiff was required to undergo a visual cavity strip search (vcs) 1 and delousing pursuant to a WVRJA policy. Although Plaintiff claims his arrest was void of any reasonable suspicion he possessed any weapons or contraband, the policy required him to completely disrobe in front of a correctional officer of the same sex for a visual inspection. During the inspection, Plaintiff had to lift his arms and legs, spread his butt cheeks, lift up his testicles and bend at the waist. The correctional officer then sprayed a delousing solution on him and required him to shower in view of the officer. Plaintiff claims that correctional officers receive no medical training in applying the delousing solution and the delousing policy is enforced without any medical evaluation to determine if lice are present. Based upon information and belief, Plaintiff further asserts that the WVRJA uses "Liceall," which Plaintiff alleges is a caustic solution that can, and often does, cause chemical burns, especially when applied to African-Americans. Following his shower, Plaintiff was issued prison clothing to wear. Plaintiff remained incarcerated until on or about November 6, 2008, when all charges against him were dismissed.

Plaintiff argues the strip search and delousing policy as applied to pretrial detainees charged with misdemeanors or other minor crimes is unconstitutional under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. As a result of the policy, Plaintiff claims to have suffered psychological pain, humiliation, suffering, and mental anguish. Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of himself and others similarly situated seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and attorneys' fees and costs. On the other hand, Defendants contend that the strip search policy and the delousing procedures are necessary for safety and health reasons. Thus, Defendants argue the policies do not violate the Fourth Amendment.

II.STANDARD OF REVIEW

In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), the United States Supreme Court disavowed the "no set of facts" language found in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), which was long used to evaluate complaints subject to 12(b)(6) motions. 550 U.S. at 563, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In its place, courts must now look for "plausibility" in the complaint. This standard requires a plaintiff to set forth the "grounds" for an "entitle[ment] to relief" that is more than mere "labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Accepting the factual allegations in the complaint as true (even when doubtful), the allegations "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level...." Id. (citations omitted). If the allegations in the complaint, assuming their truth, do "not raise a claim of entitlement to relief, this basic deficiency should ... be exposed at the point of minimum expenditure of time and money by the parties and the court." Id. at 558, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), the Supreme Court explained the requirements of Rule 8 and the "plausibility standard" in more detail. In Iqbal, the Supreme Court reiterated that Rule 8 does not demand "detailed factual allegations [.]" 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). However, a mere "unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation" is insufficient. Id. "To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). Facial plausibility exists when a claim contains "factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (citation omitted). The Supreme Court continued by explaining that, although factual allegations in a complaint must be accepted as true for purposes of a motion to dismiss, this tenet does not apply to legal conclusions. Id. "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Id. (citation omitted). Whether a plausible claim is stated in a complaint requires a court to conduct a context-specific analysis, drawing upon the court's own judicial experience and common sense. Id. at 1950. If the court finds from its analysis that "the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged-but it has not 'show[n]'-'that the pleader is entitled to relief.' " Id. (quoting, in part, Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)). The Supreme Court further articulated that "a court considering a motion to dismiss can choose to begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth. While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations." Id.

III.DISCUSSION
A.The Strip Search Policy

The issue facing the Court in this case is whether the alleged blanket strip search and delousing policy is constitutional. The parties agree that this issue is controlled by the United States SupremeCourt's benchmark decision in Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). In Bell, the Court was asked to consider the constitutional rights of pretrial detainees who were subject to a variety of correctional conditions and practices at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). 441 U.S. at 523, 99 S.Ct. 1861.2 The Court began by recognizing that, under the Due Process Clause, a condition of confinement for a pretrial detainee cannot amount to a punishment. Id. at 535-36 n. 16, 99 S.Ct. 1861. However, the Court was careful to state that not every restriction placed upon a pretrial detainee is a punishment under the Constitution. Clearly, the government must have the power to effectuate detention when necessary. "Loss of freedom of choice and privacy are inherent incidents of confinement in such a facility." Id. at 537, 99 S.Ct. 1861. The fact that confinement interferes with a detainee's comfort and restraint levels "does not convert the conditions or restrictions of detention into 'punishment.' " Id.

In determining when the constitutional line is crossed, "[a] court must decide whether the disability is imposed for the purpose of punishment or whether it is but an incident of some other legitimate governmental purpose." Id. at 538, 99 S.Ct. 1861 (citation omitted). If there is no expressed punitive intent, the decision generally will rest on " 'whether an alternative purpose to which [the restriction] may rationally be connected is assignable for it, and whether it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purposes assigned [to it].' " Id. (citations omitted). If a condition or restriction is reasonably related to a legitimate governmental goal, "it does not, without more, amount to 'punishment.' " Id. at 539, 99 S.Ct. 1861 (footnote omitted). On the other hand, if a condition is arbitrary or purposeless or otherwise not reasonably related to a governmental objective, a court "may infer that the purpose of the governmental action is punishment that may not constitutionally be inflicted upon detainees qua detainees." Id. (citation and footnote omitted).

When deciding whether a particular policy is constitutional, courts also must be mindful of the government's interest in maintaining security and order at the...

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