Ephraim v. Angelone

• Decision Date: 03 March 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-CV-610.,01-CV-610.
• Citation: 313 F.Supp.2d 569
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
• Parties: Lionell Elijah EPHRAIM, Plaintiff, v. Ronald J. ANGELONE, et al, Defendants.

313 F.Supp.2d 569

Lionell Elijah EPHRAIM, Plaintiff, v. Ronald J. ANGELONE, et al, Defendants.

No. 01-CV-610.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division.

March 3, 2003.

Lionell Elijah Ephraim, Victoria, VA, pro se.

William Wayne Muse, Office of Attorney General of Virginia, Richmond, VA, for Defendants.

OPINION AND FINAL ORDER

DOUMAR, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Lionell Elijah Ephraim, a Virginia inmate, brings this pro se action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to redress alleged violations of his constitutional rights. Plaintiff claims that Defendants violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the law and his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that he was denied equal protection of the law when Defendants refused his religious dietary request. Plaintiff further alleges that his right to freely exercise his religion has been abridged by the failure of Defendants to provide him with a diet that comports with his religious beliefs and by Defendants' continued use of his former name in correspondence. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief as well as compensatory and punitive damages. Defendants have moved for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons discussed herein, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Accordingly, this case is hereby DISMISSED.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff is currently in the custody of the Virginia Department of Corrections and is incarcerated at Lunenburg Correctional Center in Victoria, Virginia. Since 1992, Plaintiff has been a "devout Christian of the Charismatic persuasion." Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 15.

Upon Plaintiff's request, the Circuit Court for the County of Lunenburg entered an order on January 10, 2001, changing Plaintiff's name from Lionell Elizah Williams to Lionell Elijah Ephraim. Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 16. On February 28, 2001, Plaintiff filed an informal complaint alleging that the commissary was still addressing him by his old name on bags, cart sheets, and receipts. Unsatisfied with the response to his informal complaint, Plaintiff filed a Level I grievance of March 5, 2001. In relevant part, the grievance states "[c]ommissary's refusal to identify me by my new legal name forces me to respond to and conduct business by a name that is religiously offensive, in order to receive the benefits of the commissary." On March 14, 2001, the Warden responded and stated that he found Plaintiff's complaint to be unfounded. The Warden acknowledged Plaintiff's name change but noted that Plaintiff has not been denied any rights or privileges because of his new name. The Warden's response further stated, "[t]he Commissary operation is computer driven. When your number is entered, your sentenced name will show on their paperwork." Plaintiff appealed this decision by filing a Level II grievance, and it was denied on April 26, 2001. See Pl.'s Verification of Exhausted Admin. Remedies (providing copies of Plaintiff's grievances with their corresponding responses).

While the above complaint was pending, Plaintiff requested that the correctional facility provide him with a vegetarian diet that comports with his religious beliefs. More specifically, Plaintiff stated that his religion required him to refrain from consuming foods containing flesh, white sugar products, or high concentrations of animal fat. Pl.'s Ex. D in Support of Pl.'s Motion for T.R.O. and Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiff maintains that his religion requires him to "undertake a vegetarian diet consisting of (1) raw vegetables, (2) fresh fruit, (3) nuts, (4) honey, (5) whole wheat bread, (6) milk and cheese, and (7) grains." Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 20. Plaintiff's request for such a diet was denied by Assistant Warden of Programs Graham. Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 18. Plaintiff filed grievances to Defendants Larsen and Rogers, and these grievances were subsequently denied. Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 19. See also, Pl.'s Verification of Exhausted Admin. Remedies.

While his grievances were pending, Plaintiff sent a "Notification of Legal and Religious Premise for Religious Dietary Request" to Defendants. Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 21. This request was denied on February 14, 2001. Id. Plaintiff also sought a transfer to Bland Correctional Center, which has a Common Fare Program. Pl.'s Compl. at ¶ 22. Plaintiff's transfer was initially approved at the institutional level by the Institutional Classification Authority, but it was subsequently denied by the Central Classification Board on the ground that Plaintiff's "stated religious affiliation does not require the diet." Id. See also, Pl.'s Verification of Exhausted Admin. Remedies.

On July 18, 2001, Plaintiff filed the present action in the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. For the purpose of administrative convenience, this case was then transferred to the Norfolk Division on August 8, 2001. Plaintiff filed a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction on September 24, 2001. The Court denied this motion on April 9, 2002, because Plaintiff had failed to adequately demonstrate that ex parte relief should be granted. On May 28, 2002, the Court held that the Virginia Department of Corrections (hereinafter "VDOC") is immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment. Therefore, the Court ordered that the VDOC be dismissed as a party to this action. Plaintiff appealed this Court's Order dismissing the VDOC to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied Plaintiff's appeal on October 1, 2002. Meanwhile, Defendants filed an Answer and a Motion for Summary Judgment with a memorandum in support thereof on August 22, 2002. Plaintiff filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment on September 30, 2002. As required, Plaintiff exhausted his administrative remedies.

On November 14, 2002, the Court ordered Plaintiff to clarify his Fourth Cause of Action, submit exhibits showing correspondence to his old name, and set forth specific facts underlying his claims that he was compelled to respond by his old name in order to receive privileges and that he was compelled to pay his religiously required tithes in his old name. The Court also ordered Defendants to advance a legitimate penological justification for the failure, if any, to include Plaintiff's new legal name in addition to his committed name on any correspondence addressed to Plaintiff.

In response to the Court's Order, Plaintiff submitted a Supplemental Pleading on November 29, 2002. Defendants filed a Supplemental Brief on January 9, 2002. On January 29, 2003, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Enlargement of Time, seeking an additional ten days to reply to Defendants' Supplemental Brief. Plaintiff subsequently filed his reply brief on February 7, 2003. Since Plaintiff submitted his reply within the additional ten days that he had requested, the Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Enlargement of Time. Accordingly, the Court will consider Plaintiff's reply brief.

In light of the foregoing, this matter is now ripe for judicial review.

II. Summary Judgment Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) provides that summary judgment should be granted where "the pleadings, depositions [and] answers to interrogatories ... show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." The Supreme Court has construed Rule 56(c) to "mandate the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The Court explained that "[i]n such a situation, there can be no genuine issue as to any material fact, since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, a court views the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. United States v. Lee, 943 F.2d 366, 368 (4th Cir.1991). The moving party has the threshold burden of informing the court of the basis of the motion and of establishing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Catawba Indian Tribe v. South Carolina, 978 F.2d 1334, 1339 (4th Cir.1992). Once the moving party satisfies this threshold showing under Rule 56(c), the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the non-moving party. Id. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The non-moving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by [his] own affidavits, or by `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Catawba Indian Tribe, 978 F.2d at 1339. In meeting this burden, the non-moving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). To prevent entry of summary judgment for the movant, the non-moving party must demonstrate that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.

III. Legal Analysis

Plaintiff's complaint alleges that Defendants violated his constitutional rights in two distinct ways: (1) By denying him equal protection of the law under...