Jordan v. Kendall
| Docket Number | 365270 |
| Decision Date | 02 November 2023 |
| Parties | RONALD JORDAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DENNIS L. KENDALL, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
UNPUBLISHED
Court of Claims LC No. 22-000140-MZ.
Before: LETICA, P.J., and HOOD and MALDONADO, JJ.
Plaintiff Ronald Jordan appeals as of right the order of the Court of Claims granting summary disposition in favor of defendant Dennis L. Kendall. We affirm.[1]
This case originates with Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) personnel confiscating personal property from Jordan. Relevant here, the property included a bottle of Gorilla Glue[2] and a pair of sheepskin mittens. It appears that the confiscation of the various items belonging to Jordan occurred when Jordan was transferred from one MDOC facility to another. Jordan was previously held at "LRF," also known as the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon County, but then transferred to "ARF," also known as the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Lenawee County. Jordan appears to have arrived at ARF in early June 2021, and relevant to this appeal, it is where prison staff confiscated the personal property at issue in this case.
MDOC has several policies related to prisoner personal property and hobbycraft materials. Relevant here are MDOC policy directive (PD) 04.07.112 and PD 05.03.102. PD 04.07.112 governs prisoner personal property and, relevant here relates to Jordan's mittens. PD 04.07.112 states, in relevant part:
MDOC PD 05.03.102 governs the hobbycraft program within correctional facilities. According to PD 05.03.102(C), hobbycraft materials, supplies, and projects are "subject to prisoner property limits set forth in" PD 04.07.112. Relevant here, PD 05.03.102 also states:
When Jordan arrived at ARF in early June 2021, a prison employee identified as "T. Skelton" confiscated Gorilla Glue from Jordan. Skelton found that the Gorilla Glue was "not water based" nor "non-toxic," and noted that the bottle's label identified it as "an eye and skin irritant" and waterproof. Skelton believed it should be "handled as contraband per PD 04.07.112[.]" In mid-July 2021, Kendall held an administrative hearing related to the Gorilla Glue. At the hearing, Jordan stated he was "authorized to order[]" the glue at his previous facility. Kendall noted that Jordan had a receipt for the glue, but found that although he was "allowed to order this product[,] it [did] not meet the criteria" under PD 05.03.102(N)(6). Kendall found that the glue was contraband, concluding that the glue was "not water based" and noting the warning label that the glue was an eye and skin irritant. He indicated in his report that Jordan could either send the glue home "at his expense" or have it destroyed under prison policy.
A day after the administrative hearing, Jordan filed a Step I appeal of Kendall's decision, asserting that the glue was not contraband because he was previously authorized to purchase and possess the glue as a hobbycraft item. In early August 2021, two individuals identified as J. Lundy and A. Thomas upheld Kendall's decision, noting that although Jordan was authorized to purchase the glue at LRF, this was a violation of prison policy and, regardless, Jordan was "no longer at LRF ...." Lundy and Thomas concluded the glue was contraband under the policy directives because it was not water-based.
In mid-August 2021, Jordan filed a Step II appeal, claiming that because the Step I decision "admit[ted]" that he had authorization to purchase and possess the glue it did not meet the definition of contraband. Shortly after Jordan filed the appeal, the warden of ARF, "S. Campbell," reviewed it and determined that Thomas and Lundy properly addressed the issue, concluding that the glue was not permitted by prison policy because it was not water-based.
In late August 2021, Jordan filed a Step III appeal, reiterating his position that, under prison policy, a prisoner could "possess any item(s) authorized by staff" and he "had staff authorization." In late October 2021, Richard D. Russell, manager of the Grievance Section of the Office of Legal Affairs within the MDOC, denied Jordan's Step III appeal, determining that his claims were "considered, investigated, and a proper decision was rendered."
A few days after Skelton confiscated Jordan's glue, MDOC Officer Baldwin conducted a "ride in property"[3] for Jordan and found several items that he identified as contraband. Relevant here, this included a "pair of brown suede mittens not allowed," i.e., the sheepskin mittens. The same day these items were confiscated, Jordan wrote a letter to Baldwin identifying the items Baldwin withheld as including the "Brown Gloves." Jordan requested return of the items, "or an explanation for withholding."
In early July 2021, Kendall held a hearing relating, in part, to the mittens. Jordan "was present for this hearing" and indicated he had" 'receipts for these things.'" In his findings, Kendall cited PD 04.07.112(L)(10), the policy directive prohibiting leather or suede gloves or mittens, and identified the gloves at issue as "suede," indicating they were "sent home[.]"
Jordan filed a Step I appeal of Kendall's decision in mid-July 2021, contending that his mittens were not suede and explaining they were "[s]heepskin with fur inside; suede does not have fur on one side of [s]heepskin." He argued that prison policy allowed him to "possess 'Winter gloves/mittens'" and that Kendall's refusal to return the mittens violated policy. Jordan also claimed that Kendall admitted at the hearing that the mittens were sheepskin. In late July 2021, an MDOC employee identified only as "Condon" interviewed Jordan. Condon found that Jordan failed to provide evidence supporting a violation of prison policy with respect to the mittens.
Jordan then filed a Step II appeal in early August 2021, arguing that Condon's decision was "clearly erroneous because [the] grievance makes [an] unrefuted claim" that prison policy (PD 04.07.112(L)(10)) authorized prisoners to possess winter gloves and mittens. Campbell, the ARF warden, denied Jordan's Step II appeal. He concluded that the "grievance was appropriately addressed at Step I," concluding that PD 04.07.112 prohibited winter gloves or mittens "made of suede, leather, and similar artificial material" and found that "[s]heepskin is leather."
In mid-August 2021, Jordan filed his Step III appeal with the MDOC. He explained the basis for his appeal as follows: "Kendall violated policy because item NOT contraband." Russell (the manager of the Grievance Section of the MDOC's Office of Legal Affairs) denied Jordan's Step III appeal, concluding that, after review, the issues were "considered, investigated, and a proper decision was rendered." This decision was mailed to Jordan in late October 2021. Notably, aside from referencing having receipts for the items seized in his administrative hearing, Jordan did not raise the argument that he purchased the mittens prior to 1998 at Step I, II, or III of the administrative grievance process.
In mid-May 2022, Jordan sued Kendall in Lenawee Circuit Court raising claim-and-delivery claims related to the sheepskin mittens and Gorilla Glue. He alleged that he was suing Kendall "in his individual capacity." Jordan further alleged that, under MCL 600.5507(2), he had "previously filed 257 civil actions or appeals" and that he had "exhausted all administrative remedies by filing an administrative grievance through all three steps." Regarding the claim-and-delivery claims, Jordan alleged that Kendall had "no lawful right to refuse [to] return" the mittens and glue that Jordan "legitimately owned and possessed" and that Kendall's "taking and retention of [those] items" was unlawful. He alleged that he had a "legal right to [the] continued possession" of his mittens and glue and that Kendall "undermined [that right] by refusing return of [Jordan's] property items." Jordan sought return of the mittens and glue or $71.53 in compensatory damages,...
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