Robinson v. Comm'r Carl Danberg

• Decision Date: 05 August 2010
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 10-362-SLR
• Citation: 729 F.Supp.2d 666
• Parties: Gregory F. ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. Commissioner Carl DANBERG, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

729 F.Supp.2d 666

Gregory F. ROBINSON, Plaintiff,

v.Commissioner Carl DANBERG, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 10-362-SLR.

United States District Court,

D. Delaware.

Aug. 5, 2010.

Gregory F. Robinson, James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, Smyrna, DE, Pro Se Plaintiff.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SUE L. ROBINSON, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Gregory F. Robinson ("plaintiff"), a prisoner incarcerated at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center ("VCC"), Smyrna, Delaware, filed his complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.¹ He proceeds pro se and has been granted leave to proceed without prepayment of fees.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff's complaint names forty-seven defendants and consists of 209 numbered paragraphs with allegations of occurrences from May 25, 2008 to March 15, 2010. (D.I. 2) Plaintiff was a pretrial detainee during the initial allegations, convicted on October 22, 2008, and sentenced on December 10, 2008. ² ( See Robinson v. Phelps, Civ. No. 10-577-SLR, D.I. 1, ¶ 2) Attached to the complaint is a six inch stack of exhibits including grievances, disciplinary reports, and letters. The complaint contains a litany of allegations detailing acts that involve plaintiff and other individuals whom he considers to have violated his rights. Plaintiff alleges constitutional violations, including the First,Fourth, Fifth, Six, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, as well as state tort claims. He seeks injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages. He also requests counsel. (D.I. 5, 7)

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This court must dismiss, at the earliest practicable time, certain in forma pauperis and prisoner actions that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) (in forma pauperis actions); 28 U.S.C. § 1915A (actions in which prisoner seeks redress from a governmental defendant); 42 U.S.C. § 1997e (prisoner actions brought with respect to prison conditions). The court must accept all factual allegations in a complaint as true and take them in the light most favorable to a pro se plaintiff. Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 229 (3d Cir.2008); Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). Because plaintiff proceeds pro se, his pleading is liberally construed and his complaint, "however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers." Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. at 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197 (citations omitted).

An action is frivolous if it "lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact." Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989). Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) and § 1915A(b)(1), a court may dismiss a complaint as frivolous if it is "based on an indisputably merit less legal theory" or a "clearly baseless" or "fantastic or delusional" factual scenario. Neitzke, 490 at 327-28, 109 S.Ct. 1827; Wilson v. Rackmill, 878 F.2d 772, 774 (3d Cir.1989); see, e.g., Deutsch v. United States, 67 F.3d 1080, 1091-92 (3d Cir.1995) (holding frivolous a suit alleging that prison officials took an inmate's pen and refused to give it back).

The legal standard for dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) and § 1915A(b)(1) is identical to the legal standard used when ruling on Rule 12(b)(6) motions. Tourscher v. McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir.1999)(applying Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) standard to dismissal for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)). However, before dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to the screening provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915 and 1915A, the court must grant plaintiff leave to amend his complaint unless amendment would be inequitable or futile. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 114 (3d Cir.2002).

A well-pleaded complaint must contain more than mere labels and conclusions. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The assumption of truth is inapplicable to legal conclusions or to "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action supported by mere conclusory statements." Id. at 1949. When determining whether dismissal is appropriate, the court conducts a two-part analysis. Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.2009). First, the factual and legal elements of a claim are separated. Id. The court must accept all of the complaint's well-pleaded facts as true, but may disregard any legal conclusions. Id. at 210-11. Second, the court must determine whether the facts alleged in the complaint are sufficient to show that plaintiff has a "plausible claim for relief." ³Id. at 211. In other words,the complaint must do more than allege plaintiff's entitlement to relief; rather it must "show" such an entitlement with its facts. Id. "[W]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than a mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged-but it has not shown-that the pleader is entitled to relief." Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).

IV. DISCUSSION

A. Personal Involvement

The caption of the complaint names several defendants who are not mentioned in the body of the complaint. A civil rights complaint must state the conduct, time, place, and persons responsible for the alleged civil rights violations. Evancho v. Fisher, 423 F.3d 347, 353 (3d Cir.2005) (citing Boykins v. Ambridge Area Sch. Dist., 621 F.2d 75, 80 (3d Cir.1980); Hall v. Pennsylvania State Police, 570 F.2d 86, 89 (3d Cir.1978)). Nurse Amin ("Amin"), Lt. Stanley Baynard ("Baynard"), C/O Andrew Chase ("Chase"), C/O Kenwyn D'Heureux ("D'Heureux"), C/O Orlando DeJesus ("DeJesus"), Nurse Divine Ebwelle ("Ebwelle"), Sgt. Everett ("Everett"), Staff Lt. Stephen Furman ("Furman"), C/O Hicks ("Hicks"), C/O William Morris ("Morris"), C/O George Pierce ("Pierce"), Major Scaroborough ("Scaroborough"), Sgt. Keshaw Travies "(Travies"), and Sgt. Valez ("Valez") are named as defendants, but they are not mentioned in the complaint and it contains no allegations directed towards them.

Plaintiff alleges that despite his numerous notes and letters to Commissioner Carl Danberg ("Danberg") and Warden Perry Phelps ("Phelps"), they did nothing to stop the "torrent of abuse aimed at [him]." (D.I. 2, ¶ 207) Contemporaneous, personal knowledge and acquiescence, not after the fact knowledge, is required for the imposition of § 1983 liability. See Rode v. Dellarciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir.1988); Evancho v. Fisher, 423 F.3d 347 (3d Cir.2005). Hence, plaintiffs allegations that Danberg and Phelps did nothing after they became aware of his complaints fail to rise to the level of constitutional violations. See e.g., Brooks v. Beard, 167 Fed.Appx. 923, 925 (3d Cir.2006) (not published) (allegations that prison officials and administrators responded inappropriately to inmate's later-filed grievances do not establish the involvement of those officials and administrators in the underlying deprivation). For the stated reasons, the court finds that the claims against defendants Amin, Baynard, Chase, D'Heureux, DeJesus, Ebwelle, Everett, Furman, Hicks, Morris, Pierce, Scaroborough, Travies, and Valez do not meet the pleading requirements of Twombly and Iqbal. In addition, the claims against Danberg and Phelps have no arguable basis in law or in fact. Therefore, the court will dismiss the foregoing defendants and claims against them as frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and § 1915A(b)(1).

B. Eleventh Amendment Immunity

The Delaware Department of Correction ("DOC"), an agency of the State of Delaware, is named as a defendant. Plaintiff named the DOC as a defendant for the express purpose of the imposition of injunctive relief. (D.I. 2, ¶ 205) "Absent a state's consent, the Eleventh Amendment bars a civil rights suit infederal court that names the state as a defendant." Laskaris v. Thornburgh, 661 F.2d 23, 25 (3d Cir.1981) (citing Alabama v. Pugh, 438 U.S. 781, 98 S.Ct. 3057, 57 L.Ed.2d 1114 (1978)). The Eleventh Amendment protects states and their agencies and departments from suit in federal court regardless of the type of relief sought. Pennhurst State School and Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 100, 104 S.Ct. 900, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984); see Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139, 146, 113 S.Ct. 684, 121 L.Ed.2d 605 (1993) (noting the inapplicability of Ex Parte Young, that permits suits for prospective injunctive relief against state officials acting in violation of federal law, to state or state agencies which retain their immunity against all suits in federal court.).

The State of Delaware has not waived its sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. See Ospina v. Department of Corr., 749 F.Supp. 572, 579 (D.Del.1990). Hence, as an agency of the State of Delaware, the DOC is entitled to immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. See e.g. Evans v. Ford, C.A. No. 03-868-KAJ, 2004 WL 2009362, *4 (D.Del. Aug. 25, 2004) (dismissing claim against DOC, because DOC is state agency and DOC did not waive Eleventh Amendment immunity). Finally, states and state departments of corrections are not considered persons who can be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989); Lavia v. Pennsylvania Dep't of Corr., 224 F.3d 190, 195 (3d Cir.2000) (state departments of corrections are regarded as not having an existence apart from the state.). Plaintiff's claim against the DOC has no arguable basis in law or in fact inasmuch as it is immune from suit. The claim is frivolous and the DOC is dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and § 1915A(b)(1).

C. Failure to Train and Supervise

Absent direct involvement, ...