Wares v. Vanbebber
| Citation | 319 F.Supp.2d 1237 |
| Decision Date | 28 May 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-3362-JWL.,99-3362-JWL. |
| Parties | Mark A. WARES, Plaintiff, v. D.A. VANBEBBER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
Matthew C. Miller, Scott C. Nehrbass, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., Overland Park, KS, for Plaintiff.
Martha M. Snyder, Office of Attorney General, Topeka, KS, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Mark A. Wares brought this civil rights action alleging that defendants VanBebber, Green, Geither and Bruce substantially interfered with his right to freely exercise his religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment. In particular, Mr. Wares alleges that defendants interfered with his right to observe the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in 1997 through 2000 by failing to initially provide him with a Sukkah booth and, once one was provided, by failing to take measures to properly secure it in the prison yard. Mr. Wares seeks nominal and punitive damages to remedy these alleged violations.
The matter is presently before the court on defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. 142). Therein, defendants argue that summary judgment is proper because: (1) Mr. Wares failed to establish that prison officials violated his rights under the Free Exercise Clause; (2) defendants are entitled to qualified immunity; and (3) the Prison Litigation Reform Act ("PLRA") precludes Mr. Wares from recovering nominal and punitive damages. As set forth in more detail below, defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.
First, the court denies defendants' motion as to Mr. Wares' claims related to the observance of Sukkot in 1998, 1999 and 2000 because plaintiff has demonstrated a factual dispute as to whether defendants' conduct was reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. The court, however, grants summary judgment as to Mr. Wares' claim related to the observance of Sukkot in 1997 because he never requested any religious accommodations from prison officials. Second, the court denies defendants' motion for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity because the summary judgment evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to Mr. Wares, demonstrates that the defendants' conduct violated plaintiff's clearly established rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Finally, the court denies defendants' motion as to Mr. Wares' requested relief because the PLRA does not prevent prisoners from recovering nominal and punitive damages in a § 1983 action.
The following facts are either uncontroverted or construed in the light most favorable to Mr. Wares, the non-moving party. See, e.g., Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir.1998) ().
Mr. Wares is a convicted felon committed to the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections ("KDOC"). At all times relevant to his Amended Complaint, the four named defendants were employees of the KDOC, and Mr. Wares was confined to the Hutchinson Correctional Facility ("HCF").
On December 10, 1996, Mr. Wares officially acknowledged Judaism as "his way of life."1 On January 26, 1997, Mr. Wares filed a "Form B Change of Religion Request" with correctional officials, as required by Internal Management Policy and Procedure ("IMPP") 10-110. In his Form B, Mr. Wares changed his religious affiliation from "Assembly of Yahweh" to "Judaism (Jewish Study Group)." Since his conversion, Mr. Wares has attempted to comply with some of the strictest tenets of Chassidic Judaism.
Sukkot is one of the holidays observed by followers of Judaism. Sukkot is a Jewish autumn festival of double thanksgiving (one of the three Pilgrim festivals of the Old Testament) that begins on the 15th Day of Tishri (in September or October), five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During the Sukkot holiday, observant Jews take their meals and/or reside inside a Sukkah, which is a booth or tent comprised of a walled structure and a roof.
On September 26, 1997, defendant D.A. VanBebber, the supervisory chaplain at HCF (through September of 1999), issued a memorandum to the Captain's office discussing the Jewish holidays that observant prisoners would celebrate in October of that year. In particular, Chaplain VanBebber described Sukkot as the "Feast of Booths," and explained that it would begin after sundown on October 15, 1997, and end at sundown on October 17, 1997. The memorandum further informed HCF officials that Mr. Wares would take part in this observance. While the memorandum identified certain dietary and work accommodations associated with the holiday, it did not contemplate that observant prisoners would take their meals in a Sukkah booth.
If an inmate at HCF wishes to have access to a special item that has not been previously approved or routinely provided for his religious observance, IMPP 10-110 requires him to file a Form C "Request for Accommodation of Religious Practices" at least fifteen (15) days prior to the particular observance. Mr. Wares did not file a Form C or any other written request for a Sukkah booth before the 1997 holiday. Similarly, Mr. Wares did not orally request such an accommodation from any prison official. While he did not take his meals in a Sukkah, Mr. Wares participated in other Sukkot activities that year.
On September 15, 1998, Mr. Wares orally requested that Chaplain VanBebber provide HCF inmates with a Sukkah booth for the 1998 holiday. Admittedly, Mr. Wares did not submit a Form C or any other formal written request for a Sukkah, but Chaplain VanBebber had previously responded to inmates' oral requests for religious accommodations. In fact, Chaplain VanBebber did respond to Mr. Wares' oral request and discussed the issue with a Rabbi. Chaplain VanBebber ultimately denied Mr. Wares' request for a Sukkah, stating that the Rabbi informed him that Mr. Wares could comply with the requirements of Sukkot by dining with a napkin on top of his head.
Skeptical of this alternative accommodation, Mr. Wares sent an "Inmate Request to Staff Member" to Chaplain VanBebber the next day. Therein, he stated (Emphasis in original). In response, Chaplain VanBebber indicated that
On September 28, 1998, Chaplain VanBebber issued another memorandum to the Captain's office that set forth the Jewish holidays that would take place in October of that year. Therein, Chaplain VanBebber explained that Jewish inmates would observe Sukkot from October 5, through October 11, 1998; that Mr. Wares would be one of the participants; and that during the holiday, the "men may place a napkin on their head to signify eating in a booth." Mr. Wares participated in other Sukkot activities in 1998, but did not dine in a Sukkah as none was provided.
On March 8, 1999, Mr. Wares filed a grievance complaining that prison officials failed to provide him with a Sukkah in October of 1998, and that Chaplain VanBebber had lied regarding the acceptable substitute. HCF Warden Hannigan responded to the grievance in writing, indicating that there had been a misunderstanding between Chaplain VanBebber and Rabbi Aloof regarding the head covering, and that Chaplain VanBebber apologized for the error. The warden stated that prison officials would reevaluate the need for a Sukkah booth for the 1999 holiday.
Plaintiff Wares questions the motives of Chaplain VanBebber because the Chaplain admittedly distinguishes "real jews" (jews by birth) from "wannabe jews" (jews by conversion) such as Mr. Wares. Chaplain VanBebber has also admitted that he grew frustrated with the demands of the "wannabe Jews," and believes that the "real jews" are a lot easier to work with. Chaplain VanBebber has characterized the "wannabe jews" as mean, bitter, spiteful, resentful, and hateful.
On August 19, 1999, the defendants met with Rabbi Aloof and Rabbi Friedman to discuss several concerns regarding Jewish observances. At that meeting, the Rabbis stated that prison officials should provide the practicing inmates with a Sukkah during the holiday. Shortly after that meeting, prison officials ordered a Sukkah booth from the Aleph Institute.
In preparation for Sukkot of 1999, prison officials set up the Sukkah in the prison yard. Inmates in the Jewish callout group requested stakes and ropes to tie it down, but prison officials denied the request, claiming that the stakes posed a threat to security, even though there were wooden boards staked down with wooden stakes in the same yard where the Sukkah was located. Because the Sukkah was not tied down, it blew around the prison yard for two days, and the elements caused it to tip or blow over.
Mr. Wares filed a grievance pertaining to the prison's refusal to secure the Sukkah in 1999, which prison officials denied. In the Secretary of Corrections' response to Mr. Wares grievance, Secretary William L. Cummings explained that his office had "been advised that at the next use of this booth, staff will devise some method of further securing [the Sukkah]."
Prior to Sukkot of 2000, defendants provided a Sukkah for inmate use, but once again, refused to secure or tie it down. As a result, the Sukkah blew over for the first five days of the holiday. Thereafter, prison officials staked down the Sukkah, despite their earlier contention that this accommodation would create a security risk. While other members of the Jewish callout group used the Sukkah after prison officials staked it down, Mr. Wares refused to participate, arguing that the booth had...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Dodge v. Shoemaker
...would not be precluded from recovering nominal or punitive damages should she prevail on the merits. See, e.g., Wares v. VanBebber, 319 F.Supp.2d 1237, 1253 (D.Kan.2004). 3. Qualified Defendants have raised the defense of qualified immunity as to any claims asserted against them. Under the ......
- Rameses, Inc. v. County of Orange
-
Manolios v. Macomb Cnty.
...free exercise claims brought by inmates. (See ECF No. 10 at Pg ID 241-43, citing Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972); Wares v. Vanbebber, 319 F. Supp. 2d 1237 (D. Kan. 2004).)6 These prisoner cases do not provide clearly established law applicable to the situation confronted by Defendants. Th......
-
Sisney v. Reisch
...585 F.3d 1097, 1109 (8th Cir.2009). Sisney argues that the right to a succah was clearly established by relying upon Wares v. VanBebber, 319 F.Supp.2d 1237 (D.Kan.2004): Here, Mr. Wares established a genuine issue of material fact that defendants refused to make reasonable meal and dining a......
-
Wares v. Vanbebber.
...District Court OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE Wares v. Vanbebber, 319 F.Supp.2d 1237 (D.Kan. 2004). A state inmate filed a [section] 1983 action alleging that prison officials interfered with his right to observe a Jewish holiday. The court granted summary judgment for the defendants in part, and ......