Lembach v. State of Indiana

• Decision Date: 14 November 1997
• Docket Number: No. 1:97-CV-2.,1:97-CV-2.
• Citation: 987 F.Supp. 1095
• Parties: Thomas G. LEMBACH, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF INDIANA, Indiana Department of Correction, D. Bruce Jordan, Warden of the Indiana State Farm, a member of the Indiana Department of Correction, in his individual capacity, and Alice Culver, Nursing Superintendent at the Indiana State Farm, in her individual capacity, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

987 F.Supp. 1095

Thomas G. LEMBACH, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF INDIANA, Indiana Department of Correction, D. Bruce Jordan, Warden of the Indiana State Farm, a member of the Indiana Department of Correction, in his individual capacity, and Alice Culver, Nursing Superintendent at the Indiana State Farm, in her individual capacity, Defendants.

No. 1:97-CV-2.

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Fort Wayne Division.

November 14, 1997.

Linda Peters Chrzan, Harold W. Myers, Wyss McNellis Riebenack and Myers, Fort Wayne, IN, for Plaintiff.

Thomas D. Quigley, Office of Indiana Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendants.

ORDER

WILLIAM C. LEE, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the court on the Second Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendants Indiana Department of Correction ("IDOC"), D. Bruce Jordan ("Jordan"), and Alice Culver ("Culver") on August 26, 1997. Plaintiff Thomas Lembach filed a response to the motion on September 22, 1997, and the IDOC filed a reply on October 10.¹ For the following reasons, the Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.

DISCUSSION

Thomas Lembach brought this action on January 3, 1997, alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On January 28, 1997, the IDOC filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that it was entitled to 11th Amendment immunity. Lembach filed no response to that motion. Instead, on February 27 (well beyond the deadline for filing a response to the motion) Lembach filed a motion to amend his complaint. The court, Magistrate Judge Roger B. Cosbey, granted Lembach's motion on March 10 and the amended complaint was filed on that same day. In his amended complaint, Lembach named as Defendants D. Bruce Jordan, the Warden of the Indiana State Prison (now known as the Putnamville Correctional Facility), and Alice Culver, the Nursing Supervisor at the prison. Both were sued in their individual capacities. By Order entered on March 24, the court granted the motion to dismiss as to the IDOC and the State of Indiana. In addition to 11th Amendment immunity, the court noted that a state and state agencies (the IDOC is an arm of the State of Indiana, since it is established as part of the executive branch of state government) are not "persons" for purposes of § 1983 and so cannot be sued under that statute. Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989). Accordingly, the court dismissed with prejudice all of Lembach's constitutional claims against the State of Indiana and the IDOC. Lembach's constitutional claims against Jordan and Culver survived that initial motion, as did his supplemental state law tort claim arising out of the same underlying facts.

In the present motion to dismiss, the IDOC argues that 11th Amendment immunity protects it from being sued on Lembach's state claim as well as his constitutional claims. Jordan and Culver argue that the suit should be dismissed because Lembach's claims against them are "barred by the state statute of limitations." Memorandum in Support of Second Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint, p. 3 ("Defendants' Memorandum"). Despite the fact that Lembach filed this action before the statute of limitations expired, Jordan and Culver argue that since they were never sued or served until after the limitations period expired this action against them is time barred.

1. Eleventh Amendment Immunity

As the court explained in its March 24 Order, the State of Indiana and the IDOC are entitled to 11th Amendment immunity from a suit for damages. Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 104 S.Ct. 900, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984); Moore v. State of Indiana, 999 F.2d 1125 (7th Cir.1993). While states can waive that immunity, Indiana has expressly not waived its 11th Amendment immunity. I.C. § 34-4-16.7-3. Accordingly, this court dismissed Lembach's § 1983 claims against the State and the IDOC since the 11th Amendment divests the court of "subject matter jurisdiction with regard to any damage claims against the State of Indiana [or] the Indiana Department of Correction ..." Moore, 999 F.2d at 1129.² In its March 24 Order, the court held that since this action remained in this court as a result of Lembach's constitutional claims against Jordan and Culver, the court could exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Lembach's state law claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. However, the IDOC argues that Lembach's state law claims were asserted only against the State of Indiana and the IDOC. Complaint, Exhibit A, Notice of Tort Claim. As the IDOC correctly points out, the 11th Amendment would therefore act as a jurisdictional bar to these claims also. Defendants' Memorandum, pp. 4-5. In Pennhurst, the Supreme Court addressed this issue and held as follows:

[N]either pendent jurisdiction nor any other basis of jurisdiction may override the Eleventh Amendment. A federal court must examine each claim in a case to see if the court's jurisdiction over that claim is barred by the Eleventh Amendment. We concluded above that a claim that state officials violated state law in carrying out their official responsibilities is a claim against the State that is protected by the Eleventh Amendment.... We now hold that this principle applies as well to state-law claims brought into federal court under pendent jurisdiction.

Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 121, 104 S.Ct. at 919. Accordingly, this court is without subject matter jurisdiction over Lembach's state law claims against the IDOC and the State of Indiana and those claims must be dismissed.³

There is one final point with regard to Lembach's claims against the IDOC and the State of Indiana. Since these claims must be dismissed for want of subject-matter jurisdiction, the dismissal must be without prejudice. T.W. and M.W. by Enk v. Brophy, 124 F.3d 893, 898 (7th Cir.1997). A dismissal with prejudice "would bar, by operation of the doctrine of res judicata, the relitigation of the suit on the merits even though the district court, by definition of not having subject-matter jurisdiction, could not resolve the merits." Id. To the extent that Lembach may be able to assert any claims against the IDOC or the State of Indiana in state court, his claims against those entities in this case must be dismissed without prejudice. In its March 24 Order, the court dismissed Lembach's constitutional claims against the IDOC and the State of Indiana with prejudice. The court hereby vacates the dismissal of those claims with prejudice and now enters dismissal of those claims without prejudice.

2. Statute of Limitations as to Jordan and Culver

As Defendants properly point out, "[t]he statute of limitations for actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is the forum state's statute for recovery of damages for personal injuries." Defendants' Memorandum, p. 3 (citing Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 276, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1947, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985)). In their memorandum, Jordan and Culver state that Lembach claims that his 8th Amendment rights were violated between January 8, 1995 and February 21, 1995. They further state that "Plaintiff served the amended complaint upon Defendants Jordan and Culver on July 31, 1997. Consequently, the federal and state claims against these two defendants are barred by the state statute of limitations." Defendants' Memorandum, p. 3. Lembach filed his complaint in this case on January 3, 1997, prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Thus, at first glance it would appear that the argument pressed by Jordan and Culver is without merit, since it is the date of the filing of a lawsuit, and not the date service is effected, that determines whether a suit was filed timely. However, as Defendants explain more thoroughly in their reply brief, the issue of the statute of limitations as it applies to Jordan and Culver is not that simple.

Lembach argues that the whole matter is a non-issue, since Jordan and Culver were brought into this action via an amended complaint. Lembach states that the Defendants' "contention fails to take into consideration Trial Rule 15(c)." Plaintiff's Response, p. 2. Rule 15(c) provides, in relevant part, as follows:

(c) Relation Back of Amendments. An amendment of a pleading relates back to the date of the original pleading when

(1) relation back is permitted by the law that provides the statute of limitations applicable to the action, or

(2) the claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleading, or

(3) the amendment changes the party or the naming of the party against whom a claim is asserted if the foregoing provision (2) is satisfied and, within the period provided by Rule 4(m) for service of the summons and complaint, the party to be brought in by amendment (A) has received such notice of the institution of the action that the party will not be prejudiced in maintaining a defense on the merits, and (B) knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action would have been brought against the party.

Thus, argues Lembach, the statute of limitations does not bar his claims against Jordan and Culver, since they were brought into the suit by amended complaint and the relation back rule applies. Lembach further argues as follows:

Because Plaintiff's Amended Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights and Pendant State Claims filed on March 10, 1997, does not assert a new claim but simply more clearly delineates Plaintiff's original claim by further specifically identifying the wrongdoers to include Jordan ... and Culver ...; because the facts alleged against Defendants Jordan and Culver arose out of the same conduct, transaction and occurrence set forth, or attempted to be set forth, in the original Complaint; because Culver and Jordan received notice of the institution of this action upon its filing and are therefore not prejudiced in maintaining a defense on the merits; and because...