Crum v. Dodrill, 9:06-CV-586.

• Citation: 562 F.Supp.2d 366
• Decision Date: 04 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 9:06-CV-586.,9:06-CV-586.
• Parties: Joseph A. CRUM, Plaintiff, v. Scott DODRILL, Regional Director; Christine Sullivan, Unit Manager; and D. Ryan, Disciplinary Hearing Officer, Defendants.
• Court: United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of New York

562 F.Supp.2d 366

Joseph A. CRUM, Plaintiff, v. Scott DODRILL, Regional Director; Christine Sullivan, Unit Manager; and D. Ryan, Disciplinary Hearing Officer, Defendants.

No. 9:06-CV-586.

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

June 4, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Joseph A. Crum, Forrest City, AR, pro se.

Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Barbara D. Cottrell, Esq., Assistant U.S. Attorney, of Counsel, Syracuse, NY, for Defendants.

ORDER

DAVID N. HURD, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Joseph A. Crum, brought this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In a Report Recommendation dated March 17, 2008, the Honorable George H. Lowe, United States Magistrate Judge, recommended that defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, or in the alternative, their motion for summary judgment be granted. Objections to the Report Recommendation have been filed by the plaintiff.

Based upon a de novo review of the portions of the Report-Recommendation to which the plaintiff has objected, the Report-Recommendation is accepted and adopted. See 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1).

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that

1. Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED;

2. Plaintiffs complaint is DISMISSED in all respects; and

3. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

REPORT-RECOMMENDATION

GEORGE H. LOWE, United States Magistrate Judge.

This pro se prisoner civil rights action, commenced pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), has been referred to me for Report and Recommendation by the Honorable David N. Hurd, United States District Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Local Rule 72.3(c) of the Local Rules of Practice for this Court. Generally, Plaintiff Joseph Anthony Crum ("Plaintiff) alleges that, while he was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution at Ray Brook ("FCI Ray Brook"), three employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") — BOP Regional Director Scott Dodrill, FCI Ray Brook Unit Manager Christine Sullivan, and FCI Ray Brook Disciplinary Hearing Officer D. Ryan ("Defendants") — violated his due process rights under the United States Constitution when, between June 20, 2005, and June 27, 2005, they committed misconduct during two disciplinary hearings to which Plaintiff was subjected for allegedly assaulting another prisoner on March 20, 2005. (See generally Dkt. No. 1 [Plf.'s Compl.].)

Currently pending before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief might be granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), or, in the alternative, motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. (Dkt. No. 13.) For the reasons that follow, I recommend that Defendants' motion be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Summary of Plaintiffs Complaint

Liberally construed, Plaintiffs Complaint (Dkt. No. 1) alleges as follows.

On March 20, 2005, at 4:20 p.m., Plaintiff was interviewed, strip searched, and photographed in a lieutenant's office at FCI Ray Brook as part of an investigation into whether he was involved in the assault of another inmate. During this time, prison officials failed to discover "bruises, scars or visible wounds of any kind that would implicate plaintiff in the assault in question. Plaintiff was then handcuffed and sent to the Facility's Medical Unit for further examination. After Plaintiff had waited for thirty minutes in handcuffs, a physician's assistant examined Plaintiff and noted redness on Plaintiffs knuckles. Plaintiff told the physician's assistant that the redness was due to the tightness of the restraints that he had' been wearing. Plaintiff was then placed in the Facility's Special Housing Unit ("SHU") where he was "under investigation for approximately 89 days, before ... [receiving] an Incident Report."

On June 17, 2005, Plaintiff received an Incident Report, charging him with having committed the assault in question.

On June 22, 2005, Plaintiff attended a Unit Disciplinary Committee ("UDC") Hearing regarding the assault charge. During the UDC Hearing, according to Plaintiff, Defendant Sullivan "altered and falsified" the UDC Hearing Report in order to "disguise the untimel[iness] [of the] hearing" and "proceed [sic] the case against Plaintiff." In addition, according to Plaintiff, Defendant Sullivan "decided the disposition of the case before the hearing took place by releasing the victim from SHU." The stated UDC Hearing disposition was to refer the assault charge to a Disciplinary Hearing Officer ("DHO") for further hearing.

On June 27, 2005, Plaintiff attended a DHO Hearing conducted by Defendant Ryan. According to Plaintiff, when he attempted to point out how Defendant Sullivan falsified the UDC Hearing Report, Defendant Ryan failed to further address or investigate the matter. In addition, according to Plaintiff, Defendant Ryan "deprived plaintiff the right of calling witnesses and presenting physical evidence" at the DHO Hearing "that would of [sic] corroborated [Plaintiffs] defense." At the conclusion of the hearing, Defendant Ryan convicted Plaintiff of the assault offense with which he had been charged.

On July 22, 2005, Plaintiff appealed the DHO decision to Defendant Dodrill, who, according to Plaintiff, "failed to remedy a wrong after lear[n]ing of it through report or appeal, [and] by doing so he created or allowed a pol[i]cy under which the violation occurred and was grossly negligent in managing the subordinates who caused the wrong doing."

As a result of this misconduct, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants committed the following procedural due process violations: (1) Defendant Sullivan falsified hearing documents to hide the fact that Plaintiffs UDC Hearing was untimely; (2) Defendant Sullivan determined the results of Plaintiffs UDC Hearing before it had taken place; (3) Defendant Ryan did not allow Plaintiff to call witnesses or present documentary evidence at Plaintiffs DHO Hearing; and (4) Defendant Dodrill had knowledge of the aforementioned events and failed to remedy the situation, and/or allowed prison policies to be violated, and/or failed to properly supervise his subordinates.

As compensation for the constitutional violations resulting from these various instances of misconduct, Plaintiff seeks money damages in the amount of $250,000 (not including costs and fees), as well as the "expungement of [his] disciplinary record." (See generally Dkt. No. 1 [Plf.'s Compl.].)

B. Summary of Defendants' Motion

Generally, Defendants' motion is based on two alternative grounds: a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief might be granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6); and, in the alternative, a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. (Dkt. No. 13.)

More specifically, in their motion, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs Complaint should be dismissed for three reasons. (Dkt. No. 13, Part 7, at 9-16 [Defs.' Memo of Law].) First, argue Defendants, Plaintiffs claims — the success of which imply the invalidity of his disciplinary conviction — are barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), which requires that before such claims may succeed, there must have been an invalidation of his disciplinary conviction, which there has not been in this case (based on an analysis of either Plaintiffs factual allegations under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), or the undisputed record evidence Fed.R.Civ.P. 56). Second, argue Defendants, they are protected from liability as a matter of law by the doctrine of qualified immunity (based on an analysis of the undisputed record evidence under Fed. R.Civ.P. 56). Third, argue Defendants, Plaintiffs claims fail on the merits (based on an analysis of the undisputed record evidence under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56) in two regards: (1) Plaintiffs UDC Hearing was "held within three work[ing] days from the time [prison] staff became aware of the inmate's involvement in the incident," as required by 28 C.F.R. § 541.15(b); and (2) Plaintiff's due process rights to present witnesses and documentary evidence at his hearing were not violated because he chose to proceed with the hearing without calling his previously requested witnesses and without requesting the introduction of such documentary evidence.

II. GOVERNING LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Recently Clarified Legal Standard for Motions to Dismiss

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) of the. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant may move to dismiss a complaint for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). It has long been understood that a defendant may base such a motion on either or both of two grounds: (1) a challenge to the "sufficiency of the pleading" under Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2);¹ or (2) a challenge to the legal cognizability of the claim.²

Rule 8(a)(2) requires that a pleading include "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). Such a statement must "give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests."³ The purpose of this rule is to "facilitate a proper decision on the merits."⁴ A complaint that fails to comply with this rule "presents far too a heavy burden in terms of defendants' duty to shape a comprehensive defense and provides no meaningful basis for the Court to assess the sufficiency of [plaintiffs] claims."⁵

The Supreme Court has long characterized this pleading requirement under Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) as "simplified" and "liberal," and has repeatedly rejected judicially established pleading requirements that exceed this liberal requirement.⁶ However, it is well established that even this liberal notice pleading standard "has its limits."⁷ As a result, several Supreme Court decisions, and Second Circuit decisions, exist holding that a pleading has...