Watson v. McGinnis, 96 Civ. 7212(LAK).
| Decision Date | 01 May 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96 Civ. 7212(LAK).,96 Civ. 7212(LAK). |
| Citation | 964 F.Supp. 127 |
| Parties | Anthony WATSON, Plaintiff, v. John McGINNIS Superintendent, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Anthony Watson, Sonyea, NY, pro se.
Annemarie Prudenti, New York City, for Defendants.
By report and recommendation dated April 16, 1997, Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck recommended that (1) the complaint be dismissed without prejudice as to defendants McGinnis and Many for lack of personal involvement, (2) the complaint be dismissed as to defendant Decker without prejudice for failure to timely serve process on him, and (3) the motion to dismiss be denied as to Correction Officer Ruiz. The plaintiff has filed objections, dated April 21, 1997. The State Attorney General's office has filed opposition papers to plaintiff's objections, dated April 29, 1997.
Magistrate Judge Peck plainly is correct in his view that the complaint is sufficient as to Officer Ruiz and insufficient as to defendants McGinnis and Many. There is no reason to deny plaintiff the opportunity to amend in an effort to state a claim against the latter defendants, so his report and recommendation with respect to these three defendants will be adopted.
Magistrate Judge Peck recommends also that the complaint be dismissed as to defendant Decker for failure to make timely service. It appears from the objections, however, that plaintiff has made some efforts to effect service. Accordingly, while Judge Peck's recommendation certainly is not out of order, the Court will grant a further extension of time within which to effect service.
Based on the foregoing, (1) the motion to dismiss as to defendant Ruiz is denied, (2) the motion to dismiss as to defendants McGinnis and Many is granted, (3) plaintiff may serve and file an amended complaint within 21 days of the date hereof in an effort to state a legally sufficient claim against defendants McGinnis and Many, and (4) plaintiff's time to effect service on defendant Decker is extended until June 15, 1997.
SO ORDERED.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, pro se plaintiff Anthony Watson seeks monetary damages of over $10 million and "administrative protection" from the superintendent, a captain and two corrections officers at Downstate Correctional Facility for alleged violations of Watson's constitutional rights. (Complaint, dated April 14, 1996, § V.) Watson alleges that defendant Corrections Officer Ruiz told other inmates that Watson was a "snitch," and defendant Corrections Officer Decker watched while another inmate attacked Watson, cutting Watson's throat. (Cplt. § IV.) Watson alleges that he had written to Superintendent John McGinnis1 about Officer Ruiz's action and that Captain William Many had responded that they would look into it.
Defendants McGinnis, Many and Ruiz move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Officer Decker, who no longer works for the Department of Corrections, does not appear to have been served with the summons and complaint.
For the reasons set forth below, I recommend that the Court grant the motion to dismiss without prejudice as to defendants Supt. McGinnis and Capt. Many for lack of personal involvement, and deny the motion to dismiss as to defendant Corrections Officer Ruiz. I also recommend sua sponte that the Court dismiss the complaint without prejudice as to Corrections Officer Decker for failure to serve him within 120 days as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(m).
On a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept the well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true. E.g., Cosmas v. Hassett, 886 F.2d 8, 11 (2d Cir.1989). The Court will summarize the allegations in Watson's complaint without resort to the phrase "plaintiff alleges" before each statement from the complaint.
On March 26, 1996,2 Corrections Officer Ruiz questioned Watson concerning a broken television set. (Watson Br. at 1; Cplt. § IV.) When Watson said he had no knowledge, Corrections Officer Ruiz locked Watson in his cell and told the other inmates that: (1) Watson said that they had broken the television set and (2) Ruiz had placed Watson in "keeplock" so the other inmates would not "hurt him ... for being a snitch." (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 1.) After other inmates told Watson about Ruiz's comments, Watson wrote to Superintendent McGinnis that he was "in some trouble with the inmates" due to Officer Ruiz's actions. (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 1.) Watson's brief alleges that his imminent and grave danger should have been apparent to Supt. McGinnis because of the "unwritten rule" in prisons that "snitches are much hated." (Watson Br. at 1.)
The following day, March 27, 1996, Watson received a letter from Captain William Many, Acting Deputy Superintendent for Security, stating that Watson's letter had been received and would be handled "appropriately." (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 2.) Later that evening, Officer Decker told Watson to "step out of his cell" to "get some air by the steps." (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 2.) About an hour later, Watson was approached by another inmate, Lewis McGraw, who threatened that "snitches get stitches!" (Cplt. § IV.) McGraw slashed Watson's neck with a weapon while Officer Decker watched without intervening. (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 2.)
After the attack, Officer Decker locked Watson back in his cell, saying his wounds "didn't look too bad," and left. (Cplt. § IV; Watson Br. at 2.) Watson was treated later at the prison hospital, where photographs of his injuries were taken. (Cplt. § IV-A.)
Watson seeks "in excess" of $10 million damages "and administrative protection from the carelessness of the state officials and employees." (Cplt. § V.) He requests a jury trial. (Id.)
"To prevail in a § 1983 case, a plaintiff must show that he has been denied a constitutional or federal statutory right and that the deprivation occurred under color of state law." Zamakshari v. Dvoskin, 899 F.Supp. 1097, 1104 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (Peck M.J.) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 1983;3 West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 2254-55, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988)). "In order to maintain a cause of action against any official, a plaintiff must show that the defendant was personally involved in the alleged deprivation of his constitutional rights, since the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply to § 1983 actions." Zamakshari v. Dvoskin, 899 F.Supp. at 1109 (citing Johnson v. Glick, 481 F.2d 1028, 1034 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1033, 94 S.Ct. 462, 38 L.Ed.2d 324 (1973)); Al-Jundi v. Estate of Rockefeller, 885 F.2d 1060, 1065 (2d Cir.1989); accord, e.g., McCray v. Kralik, 96 Civ. 3891, 1996 WL 378273 at *3 (S.D.N.Y. July 1, 1996) (Peck, M.J.); Dean v. Abrams, 94 Civ. 3704, 1995 WL 791966 at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 26, 1995) (Peck, M.J.). "Thus, a supervisor who has not directly participated in the alleged deprivation of constitutional rights cannot be found liable for damages, with three exceptions: (1) if after learning of the deprivation through a report or appeal, the supervisor failed to remedy the wrong; (2) if the supervisor created a policy or custom under which unconstitutional practices occurred, or allowed such a policy or custom to continue; or (3) if the supervisor was grossly negligent in managing the subordinates who caused the unlawful condition or event." Zamakshari v. Dvoskin, 899 F.Supp. at 1109 (citing Williams v. Smith, 781 F.2d 319, 323-24 (2d Cir.1986)); accord, e.g., McCray v. Kralik, 1996 WL 378273 at *3.
It is undisputed that Supt. McGinnis and Capt. Many were not personally involved in Officers Ruiz's and Decker's actions that lead to an inmate slashing Watson. Watson, therefore, has no claim against McGinnis and Many unless one of the above exceptions apply. Watson's complaint against McGinnis and Many alleges that they did not respond appropriately to his letter requesting help. (Cplt. § IV.) However, according to Watson's own complaint, as soon as Supt. McGinnis received the letter he forwarded it to Capt. Many, who immediately informed Watson that the matter would be investigated. (Id.) Thus, none of the exceptions are applicable here.
Moreover, even if Supt. McGinnis and Capt. Many had ignored Watson's letter, that would not be sufficient to establish supervisory liability. The law is clear that allegations that an official ignored a prisoner's letter are insufficient to establish liability. See, e.g., Wright v. Smith, 21 F.3d 496, 501 (2d Cir. 1994); Morrison v. O'Connel, 93 Civ. 8852, 1995 WL 386478 at *2 (S.D.N.Y. June 28, 1995); Greenwaldt v. Coughlin, 93 Civ. 6551, 1995 WL 232736 at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 19, 1995) (); Cepeda v. Coughlin, 91 Civ. 2469, 1995 WL 23566 at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 19, 1995); Clark v. Coughlin, 92 Civ. 0920, 1993 WL 205111 at *5 n. 2 (S.D.N.Y. June 10, 1993) (), aff'd mem., 17 F.3d 391 (2d Cir. 1993); Garrido v. Coughlin, 716 F.Supp. 98, 100 (S.D.N.Y.1989).
Accordingly, I recommend that the Court dismiss Watson's complaint against Superintendent McGinnis and Captain Many, without prejudice to Watson filing an amended complaint against these defendants within 30 days if he can allege further facts that would justify a cause of action.
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