Grinder v. Gammon

• Decision Date: 10 January 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-2290,95-2290
• Citation: 73 F.3d 793
• Parties: Larry GRINDER, Plaintiff, Edward A. Loetel, Appellant, v. James A. GAMMON; Dora B. Schriro, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 793

73 F.3d 793

Larry GRINDER, Plaintiff, Edward A. Loetel, Appellant, v. James A. GAMMON; Dora B. Schriro, Appellees.

No. 95-2290.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Nov. 7, 1995.

Decided Jan. 10, 1996.

Edward A. Loetel, pro se.

Christine A. Alsop, Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Louis, MO, for appellee.

Before WOLLMAN, MAGILL, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Edward A. Loetel appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 action. We reverse and remand for a de novo review of the magistrate judge's report and recommendation.

While incarcerated at Moberly Correctional Center (MCC), Loetel filed this section 1983 action against defendants James A. Gammon, Superintendent at MCC, and Dora B. Schriro, Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC). Loetel sought monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief from the health risks associated with inadequate ventilation of the facility, including exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), in violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. He also claimed MCC violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Missouri Indoor Clean Air Act (MICAA).

Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing they were entitled to qualified immunity prior to June 1993 when the Supreme Court decided Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 113 S.Ct. 2475, 125 L.Ed.2d 22 (1993), identifying excessive exposure to ETS as a violation of a prisoner's rights, and that their post-Helling conduct did not violate Loetel's rights.

The evidence submitted to the district court, when considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, indicated the following with regard to the ventilation system in the housing unit Loetel occupied. Of approximately forty-five documented ventilation system repair/maintenance requests, work orders showed forty-four specific instances of air handler/exhaust fan malfunctions, and fourteen requests for cleaning or maintaining fans. In the fall of 1993, when inspecting air handler units, inmate maintenance worker Carl Bounds observed the units lacked the filters necessary for cleaning the air. According to Bounds, new filters were ordered in November 1993 yet remained uninstalled and in their original shipping containers in April 1994. The evidence also revealed the following with regard to ETS levels in Loetel's housing unit. Although DOC's smoking policy required inmates to smoke in their cells and staff to smoke outside, cigarette smoke was pervasive throughout the common area. Smoke entered Loetel's cell from the common area via spaces at the top and bottom of his cell door. During cooler months, the air handler units drew air from the common areas to be heated and recirculated; due to the cold weather, cell windows were impractical means of ventilation. As a result of Loetel's exposure to ETS, Loetel experienced severe irritation to his eyes, nose, and throat, as well as restricted breathing, increased respiratory illness, headaches, and an overall decline in his health.

The magistrate judge recommended granting summary judgment to the defendants. On the Eighth Amendment claim, the magistrate judge agreed the defendants enjoyed qualified immunity prior to the June 1993 Helling decision. With regard to the period after June 1993, the magistrate judge determined Loetel raised a genuine issue of fact regarding the adequacy of MCC's ventilation system, the severity of MCC's ETS levels, and whether Loetel was exposed to unreasonably high levels of ETS. The magistrate judge, however, concluded there was no similar issue of material fact regarding the defendants' lack of deliberate indifference because: (1) defendants relied on DOC's smoking policy which allowed smoking only in cells and outside; (2) the work orders served as a mechanism for monitoring maintenance and repair of the ventilation system; (3) if some repairs were not made in a timely manner, nothing in the record suggested the delay was attributable to defendants; and (4) Loetel's request to be housed with a nonsmoker was accommodated. The magistrate judge also found Loetel's MICAA and Equal Protection arguments meritless.

The district court granted Loetel an extension to file his objections to the magistrate judge's report through March 28, 1995. Loetel's objections were filed with the district court on March 29; the court granted leave to file them out of time. In any event, the objections were timely because Loetel delivered them to prison officials on March 24 with instructions that they be delivered to the court. See Hamm v. Moore, 984 F.2d 890, 892 (8th Cir.1992) (applying "mailbox rule" to court filings submitted by prisoners).

In his objections, Loetel challenged the magistrate judge's conclusions that defendants responded promptly to work orders and enforced the smoking policy. Loetel argued his evidence raised a genuine dispute as to whether inmates and staff routinely violated the DOC smoking policy by smoking in the common areas of his housing unit. Loetel argued defendants must have known he was exposed to excessive ETS levels both directly and through a ventilation system lacking adequate filtering capabilities, which recirculated ambient air from those areas where the smoking policy was not enforced.

On March 31, 1995, the district court adopted the magistrate judge's recommendations and granted defendants' motion for summary judgment on all counts, noting that "Plaintiffs ... have not filed objections." On appeal, Loetel...