Janis v. Ashcroft, 02-6506.
| Decision Date | 05 November 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-6506.,02-6506. |
| Citation | 348 F.3d 491 |
| Parties | Gust Marion JANIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. John ASHCROFT, Attorney General; Al Herrera, Warden, U.S. Penitentiary, Lompoc, CA; Kathleen Hawk, Director, Bureau of Prisons; David Woody; Victor A. Flores; Federal Bureau of Prisons, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Gust Marion Janis (briefed), Lompoc, CA, pro se.
Before: MARTIN and SUTTON, Circuit Judges; MILLS, District Judge.*
Gust Marion Janis, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals a district court order dismissing his civil complaint filed pursuant to the settlement agreement in Washington v. Reno, Lexington Civil Action Nos. 93-217 and 93-290 (E.D.Ky.), which concerned the propriety of prison telephone system policies. The settlement agreement afforded inmates an opportunity to enforce a specific portion of the agreement within the Eastern District of Kentucky. This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 34(j)(1). Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a).
On April 2, 2001, the defendants implemented new telephone policies which limited all Federal Bureau of Prison inmates to "300 minutes per calendar month for collect-call and/or dial direct telephone calls." On April 29, 2002, Janis filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Kentucky against United States Attorney General John Ashcroft; Warden Al Herrera, United States Penitentiary — Lompoc, California; Director Kathleen M. Hawk Sawyer, Federal Bureau of Prisons; Chief David Woody, Federal Bureau of Prisons Trust Fund Systems; Inmate Trust Fund Supervisor Victor Flores, United States Penitentiary — Lompoc, California; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The complaint alleged that the defendants implemented the new telephone restrictions in retaliation against the inmates for pursuing the Reno litigation. According to Janis, the defendants acted in bad faith and committed a fraud upon the court when they settled the Reno lawsuit, because at the time of the settlement they intended to punish the inmates in the future for having brought the lawsuit. Janis also challenged numerous conditions of his confinement at the United States Penitentiary in Lompoc, California, where he is incarcerated. Janis sought enforcement of the settlement agreement approved in Reno, as well as injunctive, declaratory, and monetary relief.
The district court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction and dismissed the complaint sua sponte pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The district court subsequently denied Janis's motion for reconsideration. Janis filed a timely notice of appeal. Janis also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order with this Court.
We review de novo a district court's dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See Friends of Crystal River v. United States Envtl. Prot. Agency, 35 F.3d 1073, 1077-78 (6th Cir.1994).
Upon review, we conclude that the district court improperly dismissed Janis's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Certainly, the district court was correct in concluding that Janis had not sought enforcement of any provision of the settlement agreement and thus, jurisdiction could not be established "under the alleged guise of being vaguely linked to [the] enforcement of the [ ] settlement agreement." Indeed, Janis's complaint did not identify any specific provision of the settlement agreement that he desired the court to enforce.
However, inasmuch as the district court dismissed Janis's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, but...
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