Etheridge v. Evers

• Decision Date: 04 June 2004
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 03-CV-72514-DT.
• Parties: Lamont C. ETHERIDGE, Plaintiff, v. Brian EVERS, Christina Bates, and Laura Dotson, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

326 F.Supp.2d 818

Lamont C. ETHERIDGE, Plaintiff, v. Brian EVERS, Christina Bates, and Laura Dotson, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 03-CV-72514-DT.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

June 4, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Lamont C. Etheridge, Coldwater, MI, pro se.

Christine M. Campbell, Michigan Department of Attorney General Corrections Division, Lansing, MI, for Defendants.

ORDER AFFIRMING MAGISTRATE JUDGE MONA K. MAJZOUB'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

O'MEARA, District Judge.

The Court having reviewed the Magistrate Judge's Order, as well as any objections thereto filed by the parties, and being fully advised, now therefore;

IT IS ORDERED that the Court affirms the magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

MAJZOUB, United States Magistrate Judge.

RECOMMENDATION: This Court recommends that Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgement be GRANTED as Plaintiff has failed to establish a violation of his constitutional rights.

* * *

Plaintiff, currently confined at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan, filed the instant complaint, pro se, on June 27, 2003 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges various constitutional violations by Defendant Brian Evers, a Resident Unit Manager (RUM) at Gus Harrison Correctional Facility (ARF), in Adrian, Michigan, Christina Bates, a Correctional Officer at ARF, and Laura Dotson, former Manager of Prisoner Affairs for MDOC. Defendant Dotson has yet to be served with a copy of this complaint. The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel, Jr., for all pretrial proceedings. On October 8, 2003, the Defendants Evers and Bates filed a Rule 56(b) Motion For Summary Judgment and on February 9, 2004, this Court issued Administrative Order 04-AO-10 reassigning the instant action from Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel, Jr., to Magistrate Judge Mona K. Majzoub.

On October 12, 2000, Resident Unit Officer Krauss was instructed to search Plaintiff's cell. Krauss found and confiscated $189.72 in store goods plus an additional $285.60 in United States postage stamps (Exhibit 2, Administrative Hearing Report, attached to Plaintiff's Complaint). Defendant Evers provided Plaintiff with a Notice of Intent To Conduct An Administrative Hearing to determine the disposition of the goods and postage stamps (Exhibit 1, Id.). Following the administrative hearing, Plaintiff was to receive $65.00 worth of store goods of his choosing and $10.00 in postage stamps pursuant to Policy Directive (PD) 04.07.112 (limits prisoners to no more than $75.00 worth of expendable or consumable merchandise)(Exhibit 2, Administrative Hearing Report). The remaining $275.60 worth of postage stamps was to be turned over to the Prisoner Benefit Fund because the rightful owners could not be determined, pursuant to PD 04.07.112. Id. The remaining store goods were to be sent out of the prison at Plaintiff's direction and expense. Id.

On October 26, 2000, Plaintiff filed an administrative grievance (ARF 00-10-2202-07-A) complaining of Defendant Ever's decision to confiscate his store goods and postage stamps. Plaintiff's grievance was appealed and denied at all three steps of the grievance process (Defendant Laura Dotson signed the Step III grievance response).

Next, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Evers "denied [him] the privilege of ordering a pair of shoes, of which was clearly my right to do so as MDOC Policy Directive states in P.D. 04.07.112" (Plaintiff's Complaint, pg. 2, ¶ 16). Plaintiff filed an administrative grievance asserting that although he was entitled to three pairs of shoes, he then had only two pairs. His Step I grievance was denied and Plaintiff appealed to Step II of the grievance process. The grievance officer, Thomas Bell, reversed the Step I decision and determined that Plaintiff was entitled to a third pair of shoes. Thus, the grievance was resolved in Plaintiff's favor (Exhibit H, attached to Plaintiff's Complaint).

On November 10, 2000, Plaintiff alleges that he was subjected to a "shakedown/pack-up" of his cell. Plaintiff alleges that he was asked, but refused, to sign a document attesting to the fact that his legal property was in excess of prison policy (Plaintiff's Complaint, Exhibit J). Specifically, Plaintiff asserts that:

On 11-13-2000 [Defendant] Evers came in to work, and while performing his duties saw that I had refused to sign the document mentioned above and at some point told C/O Bates to do another pack-up on me. It was at that time that she was told to take my Legal Property along with my foot-locker that he (RUM Evers) considered as contraband. C/O Bates then informed Rum Evers that my personal property was not in any kind of excess; however, RUM Evers stated to me, and I quote "You have to[o] much property and I will not give you your legal property back until such time as a hearing can be held."

(Plaintiff's Exhibit J). Plaintiff's foot-locker was removed from his cell. Plaintiff was issued a Notice of Intent To Conduct An Administrative Hearing to determine if, under prison policy, Plaintiff was permitted to keep the foot-locker (Plaintiff's Exhibit I). Before an administrative hearing was held, Plaintiff filed an administrative grievance seeking the return of his legal papers that were contained inside of the confiscated foot-locker. The response to the administrative grievance indicated that the matter was resolved and Plaintiff's legal papers had been returned to Plaintiff's possession (Plaintiff's Exhibit J).

On December 4, 2000, Plaintiff alleges that he gave his prison identification card to Defendant Bates who, in return, gave him a television remote control (Plaintiff's Complaint, pg. 3, ¶ 21). Plaintiff then alleges that:

When I went to return the remote, RUO Bates had left the unit. I gave the remote to the officer who was working the unit with [Defendant] Bates. The officer did not know where my I.D. card was, and told me that I would have to wait until [Defendant] Bates returned back to the unit to get my I.D. card back. Chow was called for the unit, the officer told me to go to chow, knowing that I didn't have my I.D. card. The proper procedure would have been for the officer to write me a pass, since I did not have my I.D. card. He didn't write a pass and since he gave me permission to go to chow, I had no reason to believe that I was committing an offense. Upon leaving the chow hall, I was stopped by Officer Gallagher, who asked me for my I.D. card. Officer Gallagher, knew that I didn't have my I.D. card on my as Sgt. Knight told him to shake me down.

(Plaintiff's Complaint, pg. 3, ¶¶ 21-27). Officer Gallagher wrote Plaintiff a major misconduct ticket for Plaintiff being "out of place".

Plaintiff's final complaint is that on January 12, 2001, Defendant Evers searched Plaintiff's cell and confiscated $2.11 in postage stamps (Plaintiff's Exhibit M). Defendant Evers issued Plaintiff a Notice of Intent To Conduct Administrative Hearing to determine the disposition of the stamps. During the administrative hearing held on January 19, 2001, it was determined that Plaintiff was on a funds limitation and his account history showed no store purchases since the implementation of the last funds limitation on October 13, 2001. Plaintiff asserted that he "borrowed part [of the postage stamps] from [prisoner] Harrell and part from [prisoner] Big Tiny, I gave him my chicken" (Plaintiff's Exhibit 11). The disposition of the stamps was detailed in the hearing report:

Due to prisoner Etheridge being on the funds limitation prisoner Etheridge had to find other means to obtain the stamps. These other means include exploitation (based on a confidential statement) and corruption of other prisoners. The stamps in question are to be donated to the Prisoner Benefit Fund.

(Plaintiff's Exhibit 11). Thus, the stamps were disposed of according to prison policy. On April 17, 2001, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Office of the Legislative Correctional Ombudsman regarding all of the aforementioned events.

Plaintiff comes to this Court contending that the shakedowns and seizure of his stamps and personal property were in violation of MDOC policy and that the Defendants conspired and engaged in a pattern of harassment in violation of his due process rights. Consequently, Plaintiff seeks monetary damages of $275.60 and punitive damages of $10,000 from each defendant. Defendants contend, however, that they are entitled to summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(b) because the Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and there is no genuine issue of material fact.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate 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." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party has the burden of showing an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party's case. Covington v. Knox County Sch. Sys., 205 F.3d 912, 914 (6th Cir.2000). Once the moving party has met its burden of production, the non-moving party must come forward with significant probative evidence showing that a genuine issue exists for trial. Id. A mere scintilla of evidence is insufficient to defeat a supported motion for summary judgment; rather, "there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-moving party]." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). While the evidence itself need not be the sort admissible at trial, the evidence must be more than the non-movant's own pleadings and affidavits. Ashbrook v. Block, 917 F.2d 918, 921 (6th Cir.1990); see also Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479 (6th Cir.1989) (explaining that the non-moving party may not rely on the hope that...