Deaton v. Montgomery County, Ohio

• Decision Date: 01 April 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-3302,92-3302
• Citation: 989 F.2d 885
• Parties: Elaine DEATON, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 885

989 F.2d 885

Elaine DEATON, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 92-3302.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued Nov. 12, 1992.

Decided April 1, 1993.

Thomas W. Condit (argued and briefed), Condit & Dressing, Cincinnati, OH, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Victor T. Whisman (argued and briefed), Christopher Van Schaik, Frances Elaine McGee-Cromartie, Office of the Pros. Atty., Dayton, OH, for defendants-appellees.

Before: BOGGS and SILER, Circuit Judges; and LAMBROS, Chief District Judge. ^*

LAMBROS, Chief District Judge.

This case requires this court to determine whether a county, which contracts with a municipality to manage and operate its jail facilities and temporarily house county prisoners, may be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for constitutional deprivations resulting from custom, policy or practice of the municipality. Furthermore, we must determine whether a county ratified the unconstitutional conduct of a municipality, to which care of county prisoners has been delegated, if the county knew or should have known of such conduct but failed to take steps to protect its prisoners temporarily housed in a facility operated by the municipality.

Plaintiffs appeal from an order denying their motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability and granting defendants' motion for summary judgment. Contrary to plaintiffs' contention that defendants were deliberately indifferent to plaintiffs' rights and safety when: 1) defendants failed to ensure that proper procedures would be followed by the staff at the Dayton Human Rehabilitation Center, and 2) defendants failed to take any action after learning of the strip searches, the district court held that the County may assume that the Municipality operates the facility in accordance with state law and such an assumption does not amount to deliberate indifference. In addition, the district court held that even if the defendants demonstrated deliberate indifference by failing to act after learning that plaintiffs had been strip searched, this indifference would be the proximate cause of injury to subsequent prisoners, not these plaintiffs.

I

There is little dispute with regard to the facts in this case. On January 13, 1987, the Board of County Commissioners of Montgomery County (hereinafter the County) entered into a lease agreement with the City of Dayton (hereinafter the City) whereby the County would construct and maintain a regional Female Misdemeanant Facility located at the City's Human Rehabilitation Center, and upon completion, the City agreed to manage and operate the facility. The purpose of this agreement was to alleviate overcrowding at the County Jail. The agreement further provided that:

[t]he City shall hold County free and harmless from any and all liability arising from City's operation of the Regional Female Facility. County shall hold City free and harmless from any and all liability arising from the ownership of the Regional Female Facility and for the construction of same.

On March 24, 1989, the plaintiffs were arrested in Kettering, Ohio and charged with criminal trespassing for blocking the entrance of an abortion clinic. The plaintiffs were held in Kettering for several hours until they were transported to Montgomery County Jail. The plaintiffs were never booked, housed or otherwise incarcerated while at the County Jail; they were, however, informed that they were being charged with contempt of court for violating an anti-picketing injunction issued by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge John Meagher.

Because of overcrowding at the County facility, plaintiffs were transported to the Female Misdemeanant Facility at the Dayton Human Rehabilitation Center (hereinafter DHRC). The plaintiffs were held at DHRC for six to eleven days. While incarcerated at the facility, plaintiffs were subjected to at least one strip and/or visual body cavity search by DHRC staff even though the plaintiffs' conduct was not threatening and the DHRC staff had no reason to suspect that they were a threat to security or that they were carrying contraband. The searches were conducted by City employees without participation from any agent of the County.

Prior to the filing of plaintiffs' suit, Sheriff Haines of the Montgomery County jail never heard of illegal searches being conducted at DHRC and assumed that the Center was in compliance with Ohio law regarding strip and visual body cavity searches.

On March 22, 1991, plaintiffs filed suit against Montgomery County, Sheriff Gary Haines, individually and as sheriff, the Board of County Commissioners of Montgomery County and ten Jane Does, individually and as Montgomery County jail employees, ¹ alleging violation of Ohio Revised Code § 2933.32 and violation of plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights giving rise to liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants filed an answer on May 13, 1991, followed by a motion for summary judgment filed on July 16, 1991. On January 28, 1992, the district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment, denied plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and dismissed the state law claims without prejudice.

II

Upon review, this court of appeals is to apply the same test in passing upon an award of summary judgment as that utilized by the trial court to grant the motion. Glenway Industries Inc. v. Wheelabrator-Frye Inc., 686 F.2d 415, 417 (6th Cir.1982) (citing Howard v. Russell Stover Candies, Inc., 649 F.2d 620 (8th Cir.1981)). In other words, summary judgments are reviewed de novo on appeal. Higgins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 863 F.2d 1162, 1166 (4th Cir.1988).

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for summary judgment where:

the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

See also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "[T]his standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (emphasis in original).

When presented with a summary judgment motion, "the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts ... must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)); see also Gutierrez v. Lynch, 826 F.2d 1534 (6th Cir.1987). On summary judgment, "[f]actual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The Court must turn to the substantive law in determining which facts are material. Id.

III

The Ohio Revised Code imposes a duty on counties to maintain jail facilities. Section 307.01(A) states in pertinent part: "[a] ... jail ... shall be provided by the board of county commissioners when, in its judgment, [one is] needed." Furthermore, the county may enter into an agreement with a municipal corporation to carry out the duty arising under O.R.C. § 307.01(A). Ohio Revised Code § 307.15 states:

[t]he board of county commissioners may enter into an agreement with the legislative authority of any municipal corporation, ... whereby the legislative authority of any municipal corporation undertakes, and is authorized by the board, to exercise any power, perform any function, or render any service, in behalf of the county or the board, which the county or the board may exercise, perform, or render.

A city, like the board of commissioners, is permitted to establish, erect, maintain and regulate jails pursuant to O.R.C. § 715.16.

IV

Both governmental entities, the County and the City, are permitted to maintain jail facilities, and each entity is permitted, under Ohio law, to enter into agreements with each other concerning the maintenance of such facilities. In 1987, Montgomery County and the City of Dayton entered into such an agreement and pursuant to that agreement, the County erected the facility and maintained the physical plant and the City managed and operated the facility. There is no question the County was in accordance with Ohio law and the agreement between the two governmental entities is valid.

Plaintiffs argued that the agreement did not require the City to be in compliance with state law. We think it is irrelevant that the agreement between the County and the City did not set forth any standards for the City to follow in maintaining and operating the facility because the City's standards for operation are, to some extent, governed by Ohio law and, specifically, the standard for body cavity and strip searches as set forth in O.R.C. § 2933.32 governs the City's procedures. This statute prohibits these type of searches save for legitimate medical or hygienic reasons or where probable cause to do so exists.

The City and County are both required to comply with this statute regardless of whether any agreement provides for compliance. It seems logical to us that one may assume that a governmental entity, housing prisoners, is in compliance with state law.

V

While plaintiffs rely heavily on the Eleventh Circuit case of Ancata v. Prison Health Services Inc., 769 F.2d 700 (11th Cir.1984), where the court held the County cannot absolve itself from liability for Constitutional violations against prisoners by contracting away, with private entities, the duty owed to the prisoners, we distinguish this case from the instant case.

In Ancata, plaintiff,...