Lile v. Tippecanoe County Jail

• Decision Date: 28 February 1992
• Docket Number: Civ. No. L90-11(AS).
• Citation: 844 F. Supp. 1301
• Parties: William Leon LILE, Jr. and Andre J. LeBlanc, Plaintiffs, v. TIPPECANOE COUNTY JAIL, Dave Heath, Sheriff, Lt. Steve Grant, Bill Balser, John Ricks, Doug Caldwell, Vince Andrews, Gary Dowell, Bret Stump, John Robbins, and Jack Hahn, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

844 F. Supp. 1301

William Leon LILE, Jr. and Andre J. LeBlanc, Plaintiffs, v. TIPPECANOE COUNTY JAIL, Dave Heath, Sheriff, Lt. Steve Grant, Bill Balser, John Ricks, Doug Caldwell, Vince Andrews, Gary Dowell, Bret Stump, John Robbins, and Jack Hahn, Defendants.

Civ. No. L90-11(AS).

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, LaFayette Division.

February 28, 1992.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

William Leon Lile, Jr., pro se.

Andre J. LeBlanc, pro se.

Lawrence B. O'Connell, James A. Gothard, Gothard & O'Connell, Lafayette, IN, for defendants.

ORDER

ALLEN SHARP, District Judge.

On January 7, 1992, United States Magistrate/Judge Robin D. Pierce filed his Report and Recommendation which was served on all parties and counsel appropriately. No objections have been filed thereto and the time for the same has now expired.

This court is thoroughly familiar with the record in this case which has now been pending since March 5, 1990, and 64 entries have been made on the docket sheet. Magistrate/Judge Pierce is to be complimented for the careful, thorough and correct manner of dealing with the claims in this case. These plaintiffs are pretrial detainees within the meaning of Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979).

With regard to the suicide attempt by a fellow inmate, a recent decision is instructive. See Leffler v. Meer, 936 F.2d 981 (7th Cir. 1991). Martin v. Tyson, 845 F.2d 1451 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 863, 109 S.Ct. 162, 102 L.Ed.2d 133 (1988), is also highly instructive. See also Salazar v. Chicago, 940 F.2d 233, 240 (7th Cir.1991). In the last analysis, the most important concept involved is the evolutionary one of deliberate indifference, tracing its origins back at least to Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976). This court dealt with that subject in an evidentiary context in Musgrove v. Broglin, 651 F.Supp. 769 (N.D.Ind.1986), and Burris v. Kirkpatrick, 649 F.Supp. 740 (N.D.Ind.1986). Given the reasoning and result in McGill v. Duckworth, 944 F.2d 344 (7th Cir.1991), petition for cert. filed, 60 U.S.L.W. 2217 (U.S. December 16, 1991) (No. 91-1119), it is impossible to rationalize a genuine issue of material fact under the concept of deliberate indifference. It is of no small moment that Richardson v. Penfold, 839 F.2d 392 (7th Cir.1988), is no longer the applicable standard in this circuit, given the specifics of the McGill, 944 F.2d at 344.

When it is all said and done, the Magistrate is correct. Judgment should be entered for the defendants. Each party will bear its own costs. The Clerk shall enter appropriate judgment.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

PIERCE, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiffs William Leon Lile, Jr. and Andre J. LeBlanc filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the defendants, which include the Tippecanoe County Jail (the "Jail"), Sheriff Dave Heath, and a number of jail officers or guards, violated their constitutional rights while they were pre-trial detainees, and later while they were convicted prisoners. This case is presently before the court on defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons which follow, it is recommended that defendants' motion be granted.

Background

Plaintiff Lile was incarcerated at the Jail following his arrest on November 9, 1988. He remained confined through the date of his conviction on August 21, 1989, until his transfer to the Indiana Department of Corrections' Reception and Diagnostic Center ("RDC") on November 16, 1989. Plaintiff LeBlanc's confinement at the Jail began on June 23, 1989. He remained in custody through the date of his conviction on October 19, 1989, until November 13, 1989, when he was transferred to the RDC.

Plaintiffs' complaint raises claims of alleged mistreatment by jail personnel and includes challenges to various conditions of confinement. More particularly, the complaint alleges that plaintiffs suffered "mental anguish" when another inmate who had been placed in their unit attempted suicide by biting through his wrist. According to the complaint, plaintiffs were splattered with blood during the suicide attempt, they were later "bribed" by jail personnel into cleaning up the inmates' cell with promises of extra coffee and tea rations, and their subsequent requests for AIDS testing were refused. The complaint further alleges that plaintiffs were forced to live in an "unhealthy atmosphere due to lack of sunlight," the absence of a drain cover in the shower in D-Cellblock, "no prevention of slippage in or out of the shower," overcrowded conditions in D-Cellblock and the rest of the Jail, lack of provisions for physical exercise, and unhealthy food handling. In addition, they allege that they were forced to inhale smoke "every day from people smoking," with a lack of ventilation and operable exhaust fans, and that on one occasion they had to remain in "deadlock," without ventilation, breathing smoke which resulted from a fire set by another inmate. Lastly, Mr. Lile alleges that he was deprived of proper medical care and treatment for nose polyps, and that his receipt of prescribed medication was delayed. The complaint seeks $250,000 in damages and asks that prisoners "be treated more humanely from now on."

Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A party seeking summary judgment bears the initial responsibility of informing the court of the basis for the motion, and identifying "those portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.'" Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). However, once a properly supported motion for summary judgment is made, the party that bears the burden of proof on a particular issue at trial cannot resist the motion by merely resting on its pleadings. U.S. v. Lair, 854 F.2d 233, 235 (7th Cir.1988). Rather, the party opposing the motion must "affirmatively demonstrate, by specific factual allegations, that there is a genuine issue of material fact which requires trial." Beard v. Whitley County REMC, 840 F.2d 405, 410 (7th Cir. 1988); Valley Liquors, Inc. v. Renfield Importers, Ltd., 822 F.2d 656, 659 (7th Cir. 1987). "A genuine issue for trial only exists when there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmovant for a jury to return a verdict for that party." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. "Summary judgment is properly entered in favor of a party when the opposing party is unable to make a showing sufficient to prove an essential element of a case on which the opposing party bears the burden of proof." Common v. Williams, 859 F.2d 467 (7th Cir.1988). "If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Flip Side Productions, Inc. v. Jam Productions, Ltd., 843 F.2d 1024, 1032 (7th Cir.1988). The inquiry involved in ruling on a motion for summary judgment implicates the substantive evidentiary standard of proof, for example, preponderance of the evidence, that would apply at trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. 251-53, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. All factual inferences must be drawn in favor of the non-moving party. Valley Liquors, 822 F.2d at 659. In this case, the court has considered the defendants' answers to the plaintiffs' interrogatories, together with the depositions of both plaintiffs taken in July, 1990.

Standards of Liability Under § 1983

The plaintiffs' action is premised on 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which provides:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress....

In order for the plaintiffs to prevail on their claims under § 1983, they must establish that: "`(1) they held a constitutionally protected right; (2) they were deprived of this right in violation of the constitution; (3) the defendants intentionally caused this deprivation; and (4) the defendants acted under color of state law.'" Patrick v. Jasper County, 901 F.2d 561, 565 (7th Cir.1990), quoting Donald v. Polk County, 836 F.2d 376, 379 (7th Cir.1988). It is fundamental that in the absence of a violation of a federal right, there is no basis for liability under § 1983. Clark v. Link, 855 F.2d 156, 161-63 (4th Cir.1988); Moore v. Marketplace Restaurant, Inc., 754 F.2d 1336, 1349 (7th Cir. 1985) ("... an alleged violation of a state statute does not give rise to a corresponding § 1983 violation, unless the right encompassed in the statute is guaranteed under the United States Constitution."). Moreover, as the Supreme Court has recently emphasized, "§ 1983 `is not itself a source of substantive rights,' but merely provides `a method for vindicating federal rights elsewhere conferred.'" Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989), quoting Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 144 n. 3, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2694 n. 3, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979).

The complaint in this case does not specify which of the plaintiffs' constitutional rights were violated, but it is clear that the various claims relating to their...