Schlobohm v. Ash
| Decision Date | 20 January 2023 |
| Docket Number | 23-3014-JWL |
| Parties | MATTHEW CHARLES SCHLOBOHM, Plaintiff, v. DONALD ASH, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Plaintiff Matthew Charles Schlobohm brings this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff is granted provisional leave to proceed in forma pauperis. Plaintiff is detained at the Wyandotte County Adult Detention Center (“WCADC”) in Kansas City Kansas. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff is ordered to show cause why his Complaint should not be dismissed.
In Count I of the Complaint (Doc. 1), Plaintiff alleges that despite “exhaustively” going over his “extensive” medical and psychiatric history with nursing staff upon intake, he has received “no adequate treatment for any existing medical or psychiatric conditions.” Doc. 1, at 5-6. Plaintiff further claims that he requested a COVID-19 vaccination upon intake but did not receive one. He goes on to assert that he felt particularly sick on December 21, 2022. He sought emergency care on multiple occasions throughout that day and every day until the day he prepared his Complaint (January 3, 2023) but “no treatment was provided or need assessed.” Id. at 6. Plaintiff also states that on December 23, 2022, he received a positive COVID-19 test result.
Plaintiff claims the nursing staff fabricated, falsified, and backdated Inmate Communication Forms (“ICFs”) and sick call requests to “give the impression” that they actually saw him. Plaintiff states that as of January 3, 2023, he had received “only seldom” doses of zinc and vitamin D supplements and 3-days of Tylenol, “which is contraindicated due to his Hep C which he also acquired while in custody of the WCADC,” and two doses of Mucinex. In connection with these allegations, Plaintiff alleges violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) of 2009, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment.
Count II of the Complaint alleges interference with Plaintiff's religious freedom. Plaintiff states that he is Jewish and was “explicitly denied his multiple requests to practice his religion in any way.” Id. at 5. He claims that “Miss Hill and Defendant Fewell knowingly, maliciously, and with corrupt intent and motive began Plaintiff on the Kosher diet for a few days only to surreptitiously remove Plaintiff from the Kosher diet without informing Plaintiff in any way.” Id. at 7. Plaintiff alleges that this required the “collusion” of Miss Hill, nursing staff, Programs staff, Major Patrick, Deputy Meador, and Deputy Ramirez, “with guidance and training provided by Sheriff Ash.” Id. When Plaintiff discovered on December 31, 2022, that he was not receiving a kosher diet, he protested to Defendant Meador and wrote grievances addressed to Programs and Medical. He refused meal service on January 1, 2023, and complained to Defendant Ramirez. Ramirez told Plaintiff to lockdown and made no effort to obtain a suitable meal for him. Plaintiff states that he informed the nursing staff when they “came to check my INR at 1 p.m.” Id. He further alleges that he requested use of the kiosk to file a grievance and written ICFs, but Ramirez denied his requests and refused to answer his intercom calls.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Ramirez “at all times, acts in overtly hostile and disrespectful ways” toward him and treats him “drastically, intentionally and sadistically worse than similarly situated inmates due to Plaintiff's sexual orientation.” Id. at 8. Plaintiff then goes on to say that such treatment by Ramirez and the nursing staff is in “retaliation for Plaintiff's filing of grievances and civil actions.” Id. at 9. He alleges the nursing staff threatened him that if he kept placing sick calls, they would make sure Plaintiff's jail employment “would be a no.” Id. Plaintiff further states that “[t]o this day Plaintiff has not received any medical care due to the retaliation he continues to experience.” Id.
Plaintiff states that the Programs staff, Defendant Lyons, and Defendant Miss Hill “concocted a specious excuse as to why Plaintiff was ‘mysteriously' . . . switched from Kosher to non-Kosher.” Id.
Plaintiff alleges that the described conduct violated his First, Fifth, Eight, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, the RLUIPA, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Due Process Clauses of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Last, as Count III, Plaintiff claims that he has been on 24-hour lockdown since he arrived at WCADC on December 4, 2022, and every day of his confinement despite his minimum security classification. He asserts that this violates his rights under the Due Process Clauses of the Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, the Equal Protection Clause, and the First and Fifth Amendments.
Plaintiff names the following defendants: Donald Ash, Sheriff of Wyandotte County, Kansas; FNU Fewell, Administrator of the WCADC; FNU Meador, Correctional Officer (“CO”) at the WCADC; FNU Ramirez, CO at the WCADC; the nursing staff at the WCADC, employed by Wellpath; the Programs staff at the WCADC; Miss T, commissary manager at the WCADC, employed by Aramark; Miss Hill, administrator of the kitchen at the WCADC, employed by Correct Care Solutions; the Wellpath Medical Care Team; Danny LNU, doctor at WCADC, employed by Wellpath; and FNU Lyons, CO at the WCADC.
Plaintiff seeks the following relief: an injunction to force the defendants to give Plaintiff his prescription medicine immediately; to provide him with a typewriter since his medical conditions make it difficult for him to write by hand; to provide him with a kosher diet with healthy, whole foods based on a varied, flavorful menu consisting of 3,000 calories per day; to send him to the University of Kansas Hospital Emergency Department for proper treatment of COVID and any other medical issue for as long as is necessary; to allow Plaintiff to text and email anyone for free without undue restriction, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; to require commissary items to cost no more than 125% of the MSRP; to add a function on the facility tablets that will initiate an emergency due process hearing based on factors entered by the inmate, which must be handled within one hour by the WCADC or else any involved staff will be held in contempt of court; and to ban the policy of discriminating against the disabled, Jews, gays, or anyone else of protected status. Plaintiff further seeks a declaratory judgment that his civil rights have been violated and compensatory and punitive damages of not less than $500,000.
Plaintiff attaches to his Complaint sixteen (16) ICFs. On December 5, 2022, Plaintiff asked to be removed from the gluten and dairy allergies diet, saying he had changed his mind and wanted to be on the standard menu. He also asked for double trays. On December 6, 2022, he complained about the nursing staff. On December 9, 2022, he said he wanted his prescriptions and telehealth visits with his personal doctors if the WCADC doctor is “unable or incapable or unwilling to provide treatment.” Doc. 1-1, at 3. He refers to a requirement for 60 days of medication sobriety as a specious, artificial obstruction. Id. Also on December 9, 2022, he requested a typewriter, 24-hour, 7-day a week access to a tablet, and his prescribed medications. On December 11, 2022, he requested to be taken off the special diet tray. He explains this referred to a gluten and dairy allergies diet. He asserts in the ICF that he is being punished by keeping him on this diet (even though he initially asked to receive this diet). On December 10, 2022, he stated that he required a special razor, face wash, and lotion due to his blood-clotting disorder. On December 13, 2022, he stated that he was ready to work. Also on December 13, 2022, he requested a typewriter, constant access to a tablet, and a hard copy of the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual. On December 14, 2022, he requested a mattress of at least 6-inch thickness and a well-balanced diet. Also on December 14, 2022, he requested a regular tablet, a typewriter, a hard copy of the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual, a notary stamp, and his medication. On December 15, 2022, he sent an ICF to Court Services complaining about his appointed counsel. Also on December 15, 2022, he complained about a nurse and an HIV/AIDS document that he states he was forced to sign without reading it. He demands to be hired at once. On January 2, 2023, he asked about care packages purchased by his brother, which he accused Miss T of stealing. On January 3, 2023, he again complained about the care packages and Miss T.
The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)-(2).
“To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law.” West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988) (citations omitted); Northington v. Jackson, 973 F.2d 1518, 1523 (10th Cir. 1992). A court liberally construes a pro se complaint and applies “less stringent standards than formal...
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