Cardinal v. Metrish

• Decision Date: 24 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 08-1562.,08-1562.
• Citation: 564 F.3d 794
• Parties: Gerald William CARDINAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Linda METRISH, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

564 F.3d 794

Gerald William CARDINAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Linda METRISH, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 08-1562.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Submitted: December 2, 2008.

Decided and Filed: April 24, 2009.

ON BRIEF: Gerald William Cardinal, Detroit, MI, pro se.

Before: BOGGS, Chief Judge; CLAY, Circuit Judge; BERTELSMAN, District Judge.^*

BERTELSMAN, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which BOGGS, C.J., joined. CLAY, J. (pp. 803-04), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

BERTELSMAN, Judge.

Plaintiff Gerald William Cardinal appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant Linda Metrish, the warden where he was incarcerated. The district court dismissed plaintiff's claims alleging an Eighth Amendment violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1 et seq. We AFFIRM.

BACKGROUND

The plaintiff was an inmate confined at the Hiawatha Correctional Facility and a participant in the kosher meal program. On March 2, 2005, the plaintiff received several misconduct charges and was placed in temporary segregation. Because the Hiawatha facility could only house inmates in temporary segregation for eight hours, the plaintiff was transferred to the Kinross Correctional Facility. Kinross, however, does not serve kosher meals.

While at the Kinross facility, the plaintiff refused the non-kosher meals. On Saturday, March 5, 2005, after the plaintiff refused to eat for 72 hours, the staff contacted Health Services, as required by Michigan Department of Corrections policy. On Monday, March 7, 2005, Defendant Metrish, the warden of both facilities, learned that the plaintiff was refusing non-kosher meals. On March 8, 2005, the defendant transferred the plaintiff to Chippewa Correctional Facility, which provides both kosher meals and temporary segregation.

The plaintiff filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan asserting a § 1983 claim against the defendant, in her individual capacity, for a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights, and asserting a violation of RLUIPA against the defendant in her official capacity. The plaintiff sought damages in excess of $10,000 on each claim for the defendant's failure to provide him with kosher food, which resulted in his not eating for eight days.¹ The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. The district court adopted the report and recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge and granted summary judgment to the defendant. The plaintiff appeals.²

ANALYSIS

The District Court did not Abuse its Discretion in Denying Discovery.

We review for an abuse of discretion a district court's decision to enter summary judgment without permitting discovery. Short v. Oaks Corr. Facility, 129 F. App'x 278, 280 (6th Cir.2005). Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides the "mechanism for a plaintiff and the courts to give effect to the well-established principle that `the plaintiff must receive "a full opportunity to conduct discovery" to be able to successfully defeat a motion for summary judgment.'" Id. at 281 (quoting Ball v. Union Carbide Corp., 385 F.3d 713, 719 (6th Cir.2004)). Rule 56(f) provides that the plaintiff is required to file an affidavit or motion explaining what material facts he hopes to uncover by the requested discovery. Id. If the plaintiff makes only general and conclusory statements in his affidavit regarding the needed discovery, lacks any details or specificity, it is not an abuse of discretion for the district court to deny the request. Id.

Here, the plaintiff argues that the district court erred in not permitting him to obtain the requested discovery, i.e., production of entries in the Kinross segregation log book from March 2, 2005 through March 8, 2005. The defendant introduced portions of the log book as exhibits in support of her motion for summary judgment. Upon receipt of these materials, the plaintiff filed a Rule 56(f) affidavit with his response to the motion for summary judgment, explaining that he did not know that a log book existed and requesting that the district court order the disclosure of the missing pages. The plaintiff's Rule 56(f) affidavit explained that through the additional discovery he hoped to discover:

(1) that a staff member logged in an earlier date, reporting to Defendant Metrish that Plaintiff was going without food, (2) to see if Defendant, or someone in her office, contacted segregation staff about Plaintiff, (3) to see if staff logged in how many meals plaintiff didn't have, and (4) to see if segregation staff logged in when they were informed about Plaintiff's kosher food needs.

(District Court Docket Entry 28, ex. 2).

The issue of whether the defendant was notified that the plaintiff was going without food prior to March 7, 2005 goes to the heart of the defendant's defense. Even if there were additional entries in the segregation staff's log book regarding plaintiff's refusal to eat, these entries would not establish that the defendant had been informed of plaintiff's situation. Accordingly, we hold that the district court's order denying the plaintiff's request for additional discovery was not an abuse of discretion.

The Defendant is Entitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on the RLUIPA Claim.

Plaintiff seeks monetary damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting that the defendant violated RLUIPA by not providing him with kosher meals while he was incarcerated at the Kinross facility. RLUIPA provides:

[n]o government shall impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution . . . even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the government demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person — (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc-1(a). RLUIPA defines "government" as including States and their agencies and departments, as well as persons acting under color of State law. 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-5(4)(A). Plaintiff's RLUIPA claim against the defendant, a State official, in her official capacity is considered a claim against the State of Michigan. See Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25, 112 S.Ct. 358, 116 L.Ed.2d 301 (1991). Accordingly, any immunity available to the State is available to the defendant in her official capacity. Id.

The plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the defendant for the alleged RLUIPA violation. The plaintiff, however, has been transferred from the Kinross facility to a facility that offers kosher meals. In addition, the Hiawatha facility has since changed its policy to preclude transferring participants in the kosher meal program to the Kinross facility. Therefore, we find that the plaintiff's request for declaratory and injunctive relief is rendered moot. Kensu v. Haigh, 87 F.3d 172, 175 (6th Cir.1996) (holding prisoner's claim for injunctive and declaratory relief mooted by his transfer to new facility).

The district court found that the plaintiff's claim for monetary damages against the defendant in her official capacity should be dismissed because the State of Michigan has not waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity to claims for damages under RLUIPA. The plaintiff argues that, by accepting federal funds for its prisons, the State waived its immunity for RLUIPA claims.

By accepting federal prison funds, States consent to provide "appropriate relief" to prisoners who suffer a RLUIPA violation. 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc-2(a), 2000cc-1(b)(1) (requiring all states that receive federal prison funds to comply with RLUIPA). RLUIPA provides that "[a] person may assert a violation of this chapter as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief against a government." 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-2(a). The issue before us is whether monetary damages are "appropriate relief" for violations of RLUIPA.

Neither the United States Supreme Court nor this court has ruled on the issue. There is also no consensus among the other Circuits as to whether a State's acceptance of federal prison funds constitutes a waiver of its sovereign immunity as to RLUIPA claims for damages. The Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth and Fifth Circuits, along with a district court from this Circuit, have concluded that the States are immune from claims for monetary damages under RLUIPA. See Sossamon v. Lone Star State of Texas, 560 F.3d 316, 330-332 (5th Cir.2009) (designated for publication); Scott v. Beard, 252 Fed.Appx. 491, 492-93 (3d Cir.2007); Madison v. Virginia, 474 F.3d 118, 122-23 (4th Cir.2006); Porter v. Caruso, No. 1:05-cv-562, 2008 WL 3978972, at *3-7 (W.D.Mich. Aug.22, 2008), appeal docketed, No. 08-2314 (6th Cir. Oct. 14, 2008). See also Webman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 441 F.3d 1022, 1026 (D.C.Cir.2006) (holding language in Religious Freedom Restoration Act, similar to that in RLUIPA, permitting suit for "appropriate relief," did not waive federal government's immunity to suits for damages). The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, however, takes the opposite view and ruled that a State's receipt of federal prison funds constitutes a waiver of its sovereign immunity for suits seeking monetary damages under RLUIPA. Smith v. Allen, 502 F.3d 1255, 1271 (11th Cir.2007).

In Madison v. Virginia, the plaintiff sued the Commonwealth of Virginia, alleging it violated RLUIPA by denying him kosher meals. Madison, 474 F.3d at 122-23. The district court held that by accepting federal prison funds, the Commonwealth of Virginia had waived its sovereign immunity for RLUIPA claims, including those for monetary damages. Id. at 123. The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit disagreed,...