Fields v. Gander, N83-55C.
| Decision Date | 12 August 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. N83-55C.,N83-55C. |
| Parties | David FIELDS, Plaintiff, v. Gerald GANDER, etc., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri |
Rory Ellinger, Legal Services of Northeast Missouri, Hannibal, Mo., Michael L. Lyons, St. Charles, Mo., for plaintiff.
David Fields, pro se.
Carl D. Kraft, Evans & Dixon, St. Louis, Mo., Steven E. Raymond, Pros. Atty., Shelbyville, Mo., for defendant.
Before the Court are motions (1) of plaintiff for an order pursuant to Rule 23 that this action be maintained and certified as a class action, and (2) of defendant to dismiss or for summary judgment.
In November, 1982, plaintiff received a one year sentence for second degree burglary and stealing. Two months later, on January 13, 1983, plaintiff was confined in the Shelby County Jail where he remained until May 31, 1983 when he was transferred to another jail. On the day he was transferred, this suit against the Sheriff of Shelby County was filed seeking declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief on allegations relating to the conditions of his confinement. Plaintiff is now on parole.
Although this suit was filed by plaintiff in his individual capacity alone and was not instituted by him as a representative of a class, the complaint contains allegations relating to his desire to maintain a class action. However, it was not until almost two months later that he filed a motion that this action be maintained as a class action. The "class" is alleged to consist of all persons who are confined or who will be confined at the Shelby County Jail either being detained while awaiting trial or following conviction of offenses against the State of Missouri. Initially we note that plaintiff is not a pretrial detainee. In effect, plaintiff is now (long after he ceased to be affected by any of the matters complained of) seeking to join himself as a representative of a class. Rule 23(c) provides for the determination now sought by plaintiff only if the action is brought as a class action. This suit was not so brought.
We add that the class action claim purporting to be alleged in the body of the complaint is grounded on conditions of confinement alleged to be violative of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. However, it is clear to us, after sifting through the generalities of the complaint (drafted by counsel), in light of the affidavits submitted by the parties, that the physical and other conditions in this rural jail located in the county courthouse, although undesirable, are not such as to be intolerable or punitive in nature.
In our judgment, plaintiff is not presently a member of the class of persons confined or to be confined in the Shelby County Jail and was not such on the day this suit was instituted. A class action may be maintained only by a member of the class and then only upon a finding that he will fairly and adequately protect the interest of the class he seeks to represent. No such situation is here present.
Accordingly, for all the foregoing reasons, plaintiff's motion for an order that this action be maintained as a class action is hereby DENIED.
We turn next to plaintiff's individual claim. He complains of the seepage of water into the jail after "large" rainstorms, as well as the existence of exposed wiring. As to the water seepage, defendant's uncontroverted affidavit demonstrates not only that much work has been done to eliminate the problem but that no inmate is or was kept or confined in the area in which such seepage occurred. As for the exposed wiring, plaintiff...
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Fields v. Gander, 83-2360
...certification and dismissed his individual claims on Shelby County Sheriff Gerald Gander's motion for summary judgment. Fields v. Gander, 572 F.Supp. 63 (E.D.Mo.1983). Fields appeals insofar as the court dismissed his claim for monetary relief from Gander for wantonly delaying dental care f......