Morris v. Livingston

• Citation: 739 F.3d 740
• Decision Date: 10 January 2014
• Docket Number: No. 12–50848.,12–50848.
• Parties: Robert Charles MORRIS, Individual and Ward of the State of Texas, Plaintiff–Appellant v. Brad LIVINGSTON, Executive Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

739 F.3d 740

Robert Charles MORRIS, Individual and Ward of the State of Texas, Plaintiff–Appellant

v.Brad LIVINGSTON, Executive Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 12–50848.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Jan. 10, 2014.

Robert Charles Morris, Cuero, TX, pro se.

Celamaine Cunniff, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Austin, TX, for Defendant–Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before KING, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.

KING, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff–Appellant Robert Charles Morris brings this suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of the Texas statute providing that inmates must pay a $100 annual health care services fee when they receive medical treatment in the prison system. The district court granted Defendant–Appellee Brad Livingston's motion to dismiss. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff–Appellant Robert Charles Morris is an inmate in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ”), confined in TDCJ's Stevenson Unit in Cuero, Texas. He has been in TDCJ custody since 2005. Morris challenges the collection of the health care services fee (“fee”) under Texas Government Code § 501.063.

Section 501.063 provides that “[a]n inmate confined in a facility operated by or under contract with the [TDCJ] ... who initiates a visit to a health care provider shall pay a health care services fee to [TDCJ] in the amount of $100.” Tex. Gov't Code § 501.063(a)(1) (2013). The payment of the health care services fee “covers all visits to a health care provider that the inmate initiates until the first anniversary of the imposition of the fee.” Id. § 501.063(a)(2) (emphasis added). The inmate pays the fee out of his inmate trust fund. Id. § 501.063(a)(3). If the balance in the fund is insufficient, then “50 percent of each deposit to the fund shall be applied toward the balance owed until the total amount owed is paid,” leaving the other fifty percent available for the inmate's use. Id. Section 501.063 expressly provides that TDCJ “may not deny an inmate access to health care as a result of the inmate's failure or inability to pay a fee under this section.” Id. § 501.063(c).¹ The Texas Legislature amended § 501.063 in 2011 to increase the fee from $3 to its current $100. See Act of July 19, 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 4, § 65.02, 2011 Tex. Gen. Laws 5333. The 2011 amendment also removed language from the section that had granted exemptions to inmates for emergency care, routine follow-up care, prenatal care, and chronic care. Id.

In August 2011, before § 501.063's effective date the following month, prison officialsposted notices at the prison about the statute's amendment.² The notice listed several exemptions, even though § 501.063 did not provide for any exemptions.³ Morris admits that notice “was provided by TDCJ” and “posted on housing units.” In March 2012, TDCJ promulgated an administrative directive concerning the changes to the statute.⁴ The directive provided that an inmate “who initiates a visit to health care staff shall pay an annual health care services fee to the TDCJ in the amount of $100 unless the visit is specifically exempt in accordance with this directive or the offender has already paid a $100 annual health care services fee within the last 12 months.” The directive also listed several exemptions, including for emergency care, diagnosis or treatment of a communicable disease, mental health reviews, follow-up visits, or prenatal services, among other exemptions.

Morris alleges that he injured his knee in September 2005, that his treatment requires that he take prescription medications on a regular basis, and that some of those medications must be renewed every six months. Morris filed this § 1983 action in federal district court in August 2011, when he learned that he would be charged the health care services fee each year for medical care under the amended statute, beginning in September 2011. Morris named Governor Rick Perry as the defendant, in his individual and official capacities.

In his complaint, Morris alleged that he understood “his medical issues would no longer be considered ‘chronic care’ ... under the new standards,” requiring him to pay the $100 fee each year for his receipt of prison medical services. Morris maintained that “[t]he charging of prisoners or wards of the State of Texas a medical co-pay” violates the Eighth Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Ex Post Facto Clause, and the Fourth Amendment. He asked the district court to enter both a declaratory judgment that § 501.063 violated his constitutional rights, and preliminary and permanent injunctions preventing the State of Texas or Governor Perry from charging medical co-payments to prisoners. Morris also applied to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and filed a separate motion for a preliminary injunction.

The magistrate judge granted Morris IFP status, and the district court denied his motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding that he failed to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Governor Perry moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, asserting that he was entitled to absolute immunity in his individual and official capacities for his legislative actions. He also contended that any claim against him in his official capacity was barred by the Eleventh Amendment, since he was not responsible for enforcing § 501.063. Lastly, Governor Perry asserted that Morris failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because § 501.063 did not violate the Constitution.

Morris opposed the motion to dismiss. He clarified that he was not challenging Governor Perry's legislative actions, but naming Governor Perry as a defendant “in his Executive duty and as the legal Guardian of the plaintiff.” Morris also defended against the motion to dismiss on the merits, asserting that he had stated a claim for the deprivation of his constitutional rights. He contended that Governor Perry had failed to provide a legitimate penological interest for the seizure of Morris's money, and asserted that TDCJ should allow prisoners “a modest balance” in their trust fund accounts “to buy the simple personal commodities like toiletries available at the commissary.”

The magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation that Governor Perry's motion to dismiss be granted in part. The magistrate judge recommended that the district court dismiss Governor Perry as the defendant, since he was not responsible for enforcing § 501.063 and the Eleventh Amendment therefore barred the official capacity suit against him. The magistrate judge recommended that the district court substitute as the defendant Brad Livingston, the executive director of TDCJ. On the merits, the magistrate judge noted that “Morris does not allege that he might be denied medical services if he is unable to pay the copayment fee, but instead acknowledges that the statute and TDCJ Notice provide that medical services will not be denied in such a circumstance.” Accordingly, the magistrate judge concluded that Morris “does not allege that prison officials will be deliberately indifferent to any serious medical needs,” and thus there was no Eighth Amendment violation. The magistrate judge recommended finding no due process violation because TDCJ's notice was sufficient and because § 501.063 bears a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest. The magistrate judge recommended finding no ex post facto violation because the health care services fee was not “punitive” in nature. Finally, the magistrate judge recommended finding no unreasonable seizure because, although inmates have a property interest in their prison trust fund accounts, “[t]he collection of funds is directly tied to a reasonable goal on the part of the state legislature and TDCJ—that is, to reduce the state's costs in delivering health care services to prisoners by delegating minor financial responsibility to the inmate-patients—and is reasonable under the circumstances.”

Morris objected to the report and recommendation. He admitted that substituting Livingston as a defendant was proper, but he argued that Governor Perry should not have been dismissed because he was Morris's legal guardian. He repeated his contentions in support of his claims on the merits and, for the first time, alleged that “TDCJ does not provide all hyg[ie]ne necessities.” He did not specify what hygiene necessities are not provided. The district court accepted the report and recommendation, and granted Governor Perry's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The district court warned Morris that the filing of three actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous or for failure to state a claim would bar him from bringing new IFP civil actions. Morris timely appealed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

“When a Rule 12(b)(1) motion is filed in conjunction with other Rule 12 motions, the court should consider the Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attack before addressing any attack on the merits.” Randall D. Wolcott, M.D., P.A. v. Sebelius, 635 F.3d 757, 762 (5th Cir.2011). This court “review[s] a district court's dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction de novo.” Id.; seeFed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3). “The party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden of proof for a 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss.” Wolcott, 635 F.3d at 762. We review claims of sovereign immunity de novo. Delta Commercial Fisheries Ass'n v. Gulf of Mex. Fishery Mgmt. Council, 364 F.3d 269, 273–74 (5th Cir.2004).

Likewise, we review a district court's dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo, “accepting all well-pleaded facts as true and viewing those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs.” Wolcott,...