Smith v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 17 June 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00 Civ. 2521(DC).,00 Civ. 2521(DC).
• Parties: J.F. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

207 F.Supp.2d 209

J.F. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.

No. 00 Civ. 2521(DC).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

June 17, 2002.

J.F. Smith, Marianna, Florida, Plaintiff pro se.

James B. Comey, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, By: Sean H. Lane, Sean C. Cenawood, Assistant United States Attorneys, New York City, For Defendants.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

CHIN, District Judge.

Pro se plaintiff J.F. Smith claims that in the winter of 1998-1999 he was locked in a segregation cell so cold that at times he could see his own breath, his knees swelled and his arthritis worsened, and he suffered severe stress, anxiety, and panic attacks. In this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (the "FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346, 2671-2680, he charges that the Bureau of Prisons (the "BOP") breached its duty to provide him with "suitable quarters" as required by law. See 18 U.S.C. § 4042(a)(2).

This case was bifurcated and the issue of liability was tried to the Court on May 28 and 29, 2002. Judgment will be entered in favor of the defendant United States. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52, my findings of fact and conclusions of law follow.

FINDINGS OF FACT

A. Plaintiff

Plaintiff is a federal inmate enrolled in the Witness Protection Program, J.F. Smith is a pseudonym. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering in 1997. In July 2001, he was sentenced to ninety months in prison. Despite his plea, Smith has appealed, contending that he should have received a further downward departure based on his medical condition. (Tr. at 16-17).¹

Smith suffers from osteoarthritis in both knees. He developed the condition when he was 27, or more than 10 years before the period relevant to this claim. (Tr. at 35-36). The staff at FCI Otisville was aware of his medical condition, and he was receiving treatment. (Tr. at 18, 54).

In August 1998, Smith was transferred to protective custody in the Witness Security ("WitSec") Unit at FCI Otisville. He was assigned a job as a cook shortly after he arrived. On November 15, 1998, he was involved in a fight in the kitchen. He was transferred to administrative segregation, also known as the Classification Unit. (Tr. at 15, 19). Smith was angry about the transfer. (Tr. at 48). He thought it was unfair that the other inmate—who Smith claims was the aggressor—was allowed to remain in the general WitSec population while Smith was placed in isolation. (Tr. at 19, 48, 135).²

Smith was transferred to FCI Allenwood, in Pennsylvania, on February 7, 1999. (Tr. at 18).

B. Segregation Within the WitSec Unit

The WitSec Unit at FCI Otisville is a separate, self-contained housing area for inmates who are cooperating or have cooperated with the Government. (Tr. at 64). The building is V-shaped, with four tiers or cell ranges—two levels on each wing. WitSec inmates with discipline problems, or who otherwise need to be isolated, are confined to the Classification Unit, which contains three cells, numbered 200, 201, and 202. (Tr. at 66, 146). These cells are at one end of the facility, on the first floor. (Tr. at 99-100).

FCI Otisville houses roughly 1100 inmates. (Tr. 98). Two heating units serve the WitSec building. Unit HV10 heats the common areas and offices, and unit HV9 the two cell wings. Unit HV9 delivers heat to all the WitSec cells, including those in the Classification Unit. (Tr. at 96, 100, 190).

C. The Plaintiff in Segregation: How Cold Was It?

1. Smith's Complaints

As soon as Smith was moved to isolation on November 15, he complained to staff that his medical condition would be affected by the cold in his cell, and that he would be unable to get into his assigned upper bunk in cell 201. (Tr. at 21). The staff acted quickly, as Smith was transferred back to his former cell in the general WitSec population within three hours. The temperature was acceptable there at the time, although Smith had complained about that cell's temperature in the past. (Tr. at 23-24).

On November 18, 1998, plaintiff was returned to the classification unit and assigned to a lower bunk in cell 200. (Tr. at 24). Smith complained that the window in this cell was cracked and would not close properly. (Tr. at 25-26). None of the glass panes were cracked or missing, and although the latch handle was broken, the window could still be closed. (Tr. at 74, 196, 222-23; GX A-2, A-3, A-5).

After about two weeks, in response to his complaints, plaintiff was moved again, this time back to the unit's middle cell, 201. Smith remained there until late January, when he was transferred back to cell 200 for about a week prior to his transfer to FCI Allenwood. (Tr. at 28-30). Although the window in this cell may also have had a broken latch handle, the window still closed properly, and none of the panes were missing or cracked. (Tr. at 74, 196, 222-23).

Smith regularly complained about a perceived lack of heat. (Tr. at 165). He testified he did so "every day to every correction officer, every lieutenant, the duty officer, any unit team that would go back there, make rounds whenever they did, I complained to them." (Tr. at 28).

2. Objective Temperature Readings

In response to plaintiff's complaints, the staff from FCI Otisville's Facilities Department took temperature readings inside of cells within the classification unit on at least three separate occasions. Karl Lieb, the Facilities Department Supervisor of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning and S.L., an inmate living within the WitSec Unit who was assigned to assist the FCI Otisville Facilities Department, measured the temperature with a digital thermometer. On each occasion when temperature readings were taken, Lieb and S.L. measured the ambient air temperature in the middle of the cell and at the cell's heating vent. These readings showed that the ambient air temperature in the middle of the cell was between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit and the air coming out of the heating vent within the cell was approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit. (Tr. 89, 90-91, 191-94).

3. Subjective Temperature Observations

FCI Otisville houses inmates from all over the United States, and not surprisingly their preferences as to room temperature varied. At the same time that some inmates complained that it was too hot, others complained that it was too cold. (Tr. at 198). Accommodation by individual temperature adjustment was not possible. (Tr. at 108, 198).

During the period relevant to Smith's claim, the temperature in the WitSec Unit was maintained within a range that was reasonable, as a number of individuals with personal knowledge confirmed. Inmate S.L. lived in the WitSec Unit, in a cell heated by the same heating unit as plaintiff's. (Tr. at 190). S.L. never experienced insufficient heat at Otisville. (Tr. at 198). With Lieb, S.L. was responsible for maintaining the heating unit, and both confirmed that the unit functioned normally throughout the period. (Tr. at 88, 200).

A number of FCI Otisville employees with personal knowledge of Smith's complaints and of the temperature in his cell testified, and I so find, that it was never uncomfortable, either in his cell or just outside of it. These witnesses visited the classification cells on a regular basis during the relevant period. Corrections Officer Schlegel, for example, was responsible for conducting checks of the classification cells approximately every thirty minutes during his shift. He also entered plaintiff's cell regularly to transport him to exercise or shake down the cell's contents. (Tr. at 147-50; GX F). The Unit Manager, Mary Watts, visited the unit at least once a week, as did Warden Menifee, who visited every Thursday during weekly rounds. (Tr. at 58, 159).

D. Staff Responses to Smith's Complaints

The staff at FCI Otisville was responsive to plaintiff's complaints. Indeed, when plaintiff first complained about the conditions of his cell in segregation, he was immediately moved back to the general population. Later, once returned to segregation, he was placed in a different cell, and when he complained that he was cold Schlegel provided additional blankets and long underwear immediately. When plaintiff renewed his complaints about the temperature, he was moved again, to a different segregation cell in the middle of the unit. (Tr. at 23-25, 28, 144-45, 151).

To address leaks around cell windows, staff responded progressively by providing additional caulking, cardboard, duct tape, and plastic. (GX A-1). Although there was likely a draft from plaintiff's window— photographs of the cell show that the bunks abut a metal window frame set in a wall of cinder block, and Otisville is located in upstate New York—heat from the unit was sufficient to overcome it. (GX D1-D4; Tr. at 108, 194-95, 210). Later, staff introduced a heater outside of plaintiff's cell. (Tr. at 56-57).

The facilities staff adjusted the damper, reducing fresh, cold air flow from 20 percent to 10 percent, and raised the thermostat on the heating unit accordingly. (GX A-4; Tr. at 95). Both the facilities engineer, Karl Lieb, and S.L, the inmate helper, also responded by taking temperature readings on several occasions.

E. Plaintiff's Evidence

Plaintiff presented evidence, consisting principally of his own testimony and the testimony of another inmate, John Powers, who was housed in the WitSec segregation unit at the same time, to support his claim that the temperatures were unreasonably low. The evidence was unconvincing. At trial, Smith refused to make a specific estimate of the temperature in segregation, saying only that he believed that both cells were below "minimal standards," or 55 degrees. (Tr. at 21-23). Smith claimed that the cell window latches were broken and thus the windows were held shut—or not quite held shut—by a thick-gauge wire or string. In addition, Smith alleged that the insulation around the window was faulty, and that he could feel cold air coming from...