Lacedra v. Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility
| Citation | 334 F.Supp.2d 114 |
| Decision Date | 13 September 2004 |
| Docket Number | C.A. No. 99-458L. |
| Parties | Glenn P. LACEDRA, Plaintiff, v. DONALD W. WYATT DETENTION FACILITY; Cornell Corrections Corp; Cornell Corrections of Rhode Island, Inc.; Chief Wayne Salisbury; Jean Singleton; Lieutenant Sharon Johnson; and other known and unknown employees of the Cornell Corporation, et al, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island |
Glenn P. LaCedra, Revenue, MA, Pro se.
Dennis T. Grieco, II, Gidley, Sarli & Marusak, Providence, RI, for Defendants.
DECISION AND ORDER
This case involves constitutional claims filed by Glenn P. LaCedra ("Plaintiff"). He alleges that while he was incarcerated at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility ("Wyatt Facility"), Defendants, Cornell Corrections Corporation, Cornell Corrections of Rhode Island, Inc. ("Cornell Defendants"), Chief Wayne Salisbury ("Salisbury"), Jean Singleton ("Singleton"), Lieutenant Sharon Johnson ("Johnson"), and other known and unknown employees of the Cornell Defendants deprived him of his rights under the First, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Plaintiff presents this Court with statutory causes of action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 and also appears to assert claims pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971)(hereinafter "Bivens"). See Am. Compl., at para. 5 (). The matter is here on the Cornell Defendants' objection to a Report and Recommendation issued by Magistrate Judge David L. Martin on January 16, 2001, pertaining to Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Cornell Defendants' additional motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules 12(b)(2), (4), and (5) for lack of jurisdiction over the person, insufficiency of process and insufficiency of service of process.
Judge Martin recommended that this Court grant the motion to dismiss all claims against Salisbury, Johnson, and Singleton on statute of limitations grounds. Report & Recommendation, at 28-29. As to the Cornell Defendants, Judge Martin recommended that this Court grant the motion to dismiss Plaintiff's claims based on exposure to second-hand smoke and his claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, but deny the motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Bivens claims and his constitutional claims based on violations of Plaintiff's privacy rights by female officers. Id., at 29. Judge Martin also recommended that the Cornell Defendants' motions to dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(2), (4), and (5) be denied and that the Wyatt Facility be dismissed from this litigation. Id.
The Cornell Defendants objected to the Report and Recommendation, arguing that their motion to dismiss should be granted in toto because the claims set forth against them in the Amended Complaint do not relate back to the date that the original Complaint was filed and, therefore, are barred by the statute of limitations. Mem. of Law in Supp. Of Defs.' Cornell Corrs. of R.I., Inc. & Cornell Corrections, Corp., Objection to the Report & Recommendation of Jan. 16, 2001, ) at 1. Alternatively they argue that, in any event, Plaintiff cannot assert Bivens claims against them.
For the reasons that follow, this Court agrees with Judge Martin's conclusion that the Amended Complaint satisfies the requirements set forth in Rule 15(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and relates back to the date that Plaintiff filed his original Complaint. Therefore, the claims asserted against the Cornell Defendants are not time barred and that objection to the Report and Recommendation is overruled. Since Plaintiff's claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 and Bivens remain against the Cornell Defendants, this Court must also address Judge Martin's conclusions regarding the validity of those claims.
This writer agrees with Judge Martin's conclusion that Plaintiff is unable to state a claim for relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981 against the Cornell Defendants. However, this Court disagrees with Judge Martin's conclusion that Plaintiff has no cause of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, but does have viable Bivens claims including a constitutional claim for violation of his privacy rights. Therefore, this Court writes separately on each claim in order to expound upon this subject matter and bring a modicum of clarification to this muddled area of the law. The final result in the present case is that judgment will be entered for all Defendants on Plaintiff's Amended Complaint.
Plaintiff, Glenn P. LaCedra, is a Massachusetts resident who was confined at the Wyatt Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, from January 26, 1996, until April 6, 1997. Plaintiff was detained at the Wyatt Facility while awaiting trial in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in the case of United States v. Glenn P. LaCedra. The trial took place between late September and early October 1996. Plaintiff was convicted, sentenced to a lengthy prison term and then incarcerated at F.M.C. Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.
The Wyatt Facility is a unique creature of state law.1 On July 11, 1991, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the Municipal Detention Facility Corporations Act ("MDFCA"), R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-54-1, et seq (1991). The MDFCA's purpose was to promote economic development in Rhode Island by allowing the construction of a prison which would provide the United States Marshals Service with space to house federal pretrial detainees. The MDFCA authorized a municipality to create a corporation that would own and operate a detention facility.
The Central Falls City Council passed a resolution that adopted a plan enabling the City of Central Falls to construct a prison facility pursuant to the MDFCA. That City created the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation ("CFDFC") which became the owner of the Wyatt Facility. Although the CFDFC is characterized as an instrumentality and agency of the City of Central Falls, it is a public corporation with a legal existence distinct from the City.
The CFDFC is a public corporation with five members on its board of directors who are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Central Falls and serve on a voluntary basis. The CFDFC is not part of the City of Central Falls, and is only controlled by the City in two aspects. The CFDFC must follow the City's procurement requirements with respect to any non-federal contracts that the CFDFC enters into, and the City may informally transfer property to the CFDFC if needed.
After receiving financing for the construction of the Wyatt Facility from the Rhode Island Port Authority, the CFDFC contracted with Cornell Corrections, Inc., a private corporation, to employ a staff and conduct daily operations at the Wyatt Facility. This contract gave Cornell Corrections2 the exclusive use, possession, control of and authority to operate the Wyatt Facility. The CFDFC also made an arrangement with the United States Marshals Service to house federal pretrial detainees on a per diem basis at the Wyatt Facility. At times, state prisoners are also incarcerated there. The CFDFC opened the prison in 1993 and named it the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in honor of the then United States Marshal for the District of Rhode Island who was a moving force in its creation.
Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed his original Complaint on August 18, 1999, in the United States District Court in Massachusetts. The Complaint describes events that allegedly occurred during Plaintiff's detention at the Wyatt Facility. The original Complaint named the Wyatt Facility and its other known and unknown employees as defendants.
On September 15, 1999, Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of that Court issued a Memorandum and Order concluding that Rhode Island was the proper venue for this case and directed that the case be transferred to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The case was transferred on September 20, 1999, and it appears that the papers arrived at this Court a few days later. The case was assigned to this writer.
On February 9, 2000, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Service because he was encountering difficulties serving his Complaint on the Wyatt Facility and its known and unknown employees. This writer granted Plaintiff's Motion for Service and ordered the Clerk to sign the Summons and the United States Marshal to serve the Wyatt Facility. On February 24, 2000, the United States Marshal served the Wyatt Facility with a copy of the Summons and Complaint by delivering those documents to Salisbury, who was at the Wyatt Facility. On March 6, 2000, Plaintiff sent the Wyatt Facility courtesy copies of the Complaint, Summons, and this Court's Order of February 9, 2000.
On March 25, 2000, Plaintiff moved for an entry of default against the Wyatt Facility and its known and unknown employees for their failure to answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint. A deputy clerk entered a default against the Wyatt Facility on March 27, 2000, and Plaintiff then moved for entry of default judgment. The CFDFC, although not a party to the case, moved to vacate the default against the Wyatt Facility and filed objections to Plaintiff's motion for default judgment on May 19, 2000.
Magistrate Judge Martin held a hearing on these motions on June 29, 2000. During that hearing, counse...
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