Magwood v. Beem
| Decision Date | 27 January 2015 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 4:14cv314-MW/CAS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida |
| Parties | BOBBY L. MAGWOOD, Plaintiff, v. OFFICER BEEM, et al., Defendants. |
Seventeen of the named Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint, doc. 24, and adopted thereafter by Defendant Suttles.1 Defendants' motion for leave to file excess pages, doc. 26, and motion to stay discovery, doc. 25, were granted. Doc. 28. Plaintiff was directed to file his response in opposition to the motion to dismiss, doc. 28, and his response was timely filed. Doc. 30.
This case was removed from state court to federal court, doc. 1, and additional service efforts were made on those Defendants who were unserved at the time ofremoval. Doc. 7. Plaintiff was required to provide clarification of the identities of several Defendants, and service of process was eventually carried out on all but two Defendants. See docs. 13, 16, 17, 22, 23, and 27. Neither Defendant Coston nor Defendant Hawkins has been served in this case. See docs. 7, 13, and 22. The Department of Corrections was requested to provide assistance with locating Defendant Hawkins. Doc. 7. The Department advised that Defendant Hawkins had left the State of Florida, and had not left a forwarding address, but a confidential address was provided to the United States Marshals Service where service could again be attempted. Doc. 16. Plaintiff was directed to use discovery to attempt to locate Defendant Hawkins and advised that it was his responsibility to file a motion for additional service efforts to be made on that Defendant if he obtained an address. Doc. 17. Nothing has been filed concerning Defendant Hawkins.
As for Defendant Coston, Plaintiff was permitted to use discovery methods limited solely to determining the full or correct name for Defendant Coston, who was identified by Plaintiff as an Institutional Inspector at Santa Rosa Correctional Institute, and obtaining an address where that Defendant may be served. Doc. 28. That Order was entered in late August 2014, but Plaintiff has not filed any document since then concerning the identity for Defendant Coston. Accordingly, Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Coston and Hawkins should be dismissed because those Defendants have not been served with process as required by FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m), and 12(b)(5).
Additionally, Defendant Michael D. Crews resigned as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections in December 2014. On January 5, 2015, Julie Jones was appointed Secretary of the Department. Julie Jones should be automatically substitutedfor Defendant Crews pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), and the Clerk of Court is directed to correct the docket to reflect this change.
After remand, Plaintiff's complaint was separately filed from the other state court pleadings, doc. 7, and is document 8. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, doc. 8 at 1, as well as compensatory damages of $25,000.00 against each Defendant and punitive damages of $50,000.00. Doc. 8 at 17.
Plaintiff's complaint concerns a series of events which took place at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution between February and July of 2013. In January of 2013, Plaintiff completed his required time (six months) on Close Management,2 Level I, and he was downgraded to Level II. Doc. 7 at ¶27. Plaintiff asserts that change caused "security" to initiate a "mission of retaliation" and return him to Level I. Id.
Plaintiff contends that on February 1, 2013, Defendant Bence took two "personal laundry bags from Plaintiff, taking away all means of cleaning his bedlinens and clothes, forcing him to live in unsanitary conditions until May 6, 2013. Doc. 8 at ¶28. During that time, Bence allegedly "harassed and retaliated against Plaintiff for filing grievances" by taking the laundry bags, a dictionary, a book, and "physically abusing Plaintiff several times while putting on and taking off the handcuffs while escorting Plaintiff back and [forth] to the showers." ¶29.
Between March 16 - 19, 2013, Plaintiff claims he was denied eleven straight meals by Defendant Beem. From March 27-30, 2013, Beem "forced Plaintiff to live in a contaminated cell where the commode had backed up and flooded the cell . . . ." ¶30. Plaintiff's cellmate was moved to another cell, and Beem turned off the water to the cell, but did not move Plaintiff and "made no effort to decontaminate the cell." Id.
On May 16, 2013, Defendant Moore read Plaintiff's legal mail and tried to throw Plaintiff's mail in the toilet. ¶32. Moore threatened Plaintiff "with having a big X on his back." Id.
On May 21, 2013, Defendant Sims refused to feed Plaintiff his breakfast meal. ¶33. Later that day, Defendants Moore and Carr threatened Plaintiff with "more acts of retaliations." Id. On May 22, 2013, Defendant Sims threw Plaintiff's breakfast tray on the floor, and called Plaintiff a racially derogative name. ¶34.
Plaintiff alleges that after he unsuccessfully attempted to contact Defendants Comerford (the Warden) and Coston (the Inspector), and received no response, he went on a hunger strike on May 23, 2013. ¶35.
Plaintiff alleges that on May 25, 2013, Defendants Covan and Sims, along with two other unidentified officers, took all of Plaintiff's property out of his locker, put it on the bed and wet it down with water from the commode. ¶36. Plaintiff contends they also wet down his mattress, and destroyed all of Plaintiff's "important personal papers and some important legal papers" as well. Id. Plaintiff contends his soap, soap dish, and deodorant were destroyed, and his prayer beads and 30 stamps were taken. Id. When Defendant Sims returned to serve Plaintiff his breakfast, he threw the "food tray in Plaintiff's cell." Id.
Later that day, Defendant Carr was handcuffing Plaintiff and he allegedly tried to "break Plaintiff's fingers and wrists by twisting his fingers and bending his wrists back against the cuffs." ¶37.3 Defendant Carr threatened Plaintiff, again using racial slurs and verbal sexual harassment. ¶38. Defendant Moore laughed at Carr's threats. Id. Plaintiff alleged that he filed a grievance about the sexual harassment, and Defendant Infinger responded by telling Plaintiff that the incident was referred to the institutional inspector, Defendant Coston. Id. Plaintiff contends that there has been no response.
Later that day, May 25, 2013, when Defendant Carr served Plaintiff his noon meal, Carr "threw the cup of juice in" Plaintiff's cell. ¶39. Defendant Suttles "put Plaintiff on strip for four (4) days" with nothing but his boxer shorts and the steel bunk bed to sleep on, presumably meaning the mattress was removed. Id. Defendant Moore allegedly falsified a disciplinary report for the "incident," and Defendant Carr wrote another "bogus" disciplinary report on Plaintiff when he was "trying to save some of [his] property." Id. Plaintiff does not allege what he was charged with in the disciplinary reports nor indicate the results of the disciplinary hearing(s).
While Plaintiff was being escorted from the shower back to his cell, Defendant Moore again verbally threatened Plaintiff. ¶41. Defendant Moore tried to push Plaintiff into the sharp corner of the steel bunk as they were going into the cell. Id. He also "tried to break Plaintiff's fingers and wrists by bending and twisting them back against the cuffs." Id.
Plaintiff complains that when he tried to get help from the medical station for pain and numbness in his left hand and arm, Defendant Hawkins (a nurse) refused to evaluate Plaintiff and said he would note in Plaintiff's medical file "that nothing was wrong with Plaintiff." ¶42.
Plaintiff alleged that when he was "placed on strip," Defendants Carr and Moore inventoried Plaintiff's property. ¶44. He claims that they destroyed "every big legal envelop" and mixed up his papers. Id. Plaintiff further contends that some pages of legal work were missing when it was returned to him. Id.
On May 26, 2013, Plaintiff contends that Defendants Sims and Covan directed the inmate orderlies who were serving breakfast to "throw the food tray and juice cups in Plaintiff's cell." ¶45. Plaintiff also claims that when he went to sick call on May 31, 2013, Defendant Johnson went into Plaintiff's cell and destroyed more legal documents. ¶46. Defendant Johnson "hung a racial symbol from Plaintiff's top bunk in the cell representing a klansman hanging a black man." Id. Plaintiff alleges there was no response made to his informal grievances filed about the actions of Defendants Carr, Moore, Johnson, or Covan. Id.
On June 3, 2013, Plaintiff claims Officer Brown (not a named Defendant) threw Plaintiff's food tray into his cell when being served the dinner meal. ¶48. On June 8, 2013, Defendant Carr was beating and kicking on Plaintiff's cell door for approximately two minutes, "then sent the shift Lieutenant to Plaintiff's cell in an attempt to get him gassed." Id. Plaintiff claimed that later that day, Defendants Carr and Moore "physically abused Plaintiff to and from a medical callout." Id.
On June 18, 2013, Defendant Infinger threatened Plaintiff "with retaliation for writing grievances" against Defendants Johnson, Carr, and Moore. ¶49. Plaintiff claims the threats were carried out on June 20th when "Plaintiff was illegally gassed" by Defendants Infinger and Lee. ¶50. Plaintiff alleges Defendant Infinger told Plaintiff the reason he was being gassed was because Infinger "was tired of Plaintiff writing stupid grievances and being on a hungry [sic] strike." Id.
Plaintiff contends that when he was gassed, the back window to his cell was taped up before chemical agents were administered. ¶51. Plaintiff states that was "the only source of air in the cell," and that doing so violated Departmental rules. Id. He further claims three large cans of chemical agents were administered, also a violation of the rules. Id. He...
To continue reading
Request your trial