West v. Palmer

Decision Date17 August 2017
Docket NumberNo. C14-4102-LTS,C14-4102-LTS
PartiesCORY BLAKE WEST Plaintiff, v. CHARLES PALMER, BRAD WITTROCK, CLINT FREDERIKSEN, REANN JACKSON, MIKE McDONALD and NATE REINERT, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION

Presently before the Court is defendant's motion for summary judgment. Doc. No. 25. Plaintiff has filed a resistance (Doc. No. 26) and defendants have filed a reply (Doc. No. 27). The plaintiff also filed a pro se supplement. Doc. No. 29. The motion is deemed fully submitted on the parties' written submissions.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

West is a patient at the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO), located in Cherokee, Iowa. The patients at CCUSO "have served their prison terms but in a separate civil trial have been found likely to commit further violent sexual offenses."1 The State of Iowa committed West after a string of sex crime convictions, including a "conviction [which] occurred in 2008 following his guilty plea to assaultwith intent to commit sexual abuse, in violation of Iowa Code §§ 708.1, 709.11, and 901A.2(2)." In re Det. of West, 829 N.W.2d 589 (Table), 2013 WL 988815 (Iowa Ct. App. 2013).

Since being committed to CCUSO, West has filed a variety of suits in this court. See, e.g., C12-4059-DEO. West filed the above captioned case on November 14, 2014. Doc. No. 1. Senior United States District Judge Donald E. O'Brien granted West's motion to proceed in forma pauperis and his motion to appoint counsel. Doc. No. 3. Around the same time, West filed a factually related case, C14-4098-MWB. That case was a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 case against a non-governmental entity, Tyson Foods, Inc. West later voluntarily dismissed that case. C14-4098-MWB, Doc. No. 4. However, West then refiled a factually identical case as an employment discrimination action. C15-4052-CJW. The parties in that case eventually entered into a stipulation of dismissal. C-15-4052-CJW, Doc. No. 27.

Shortly after filing the above captioned case, West filed another pro se complaint, C14-4125-DEO. In that complaint, West alleged various CCUSO defendants were opening his mail. Judge O'Brien consolidated C14-4125-DEO with the above captioned case. Doc. No. 10. Judge O'Brien then directed appointed counsel to file one consolidated amended complaint, which she did. Doc. No. 12.

III. RELEVANT FACTS

West's amended complaint contains five different claims. First, West alleges that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to a risk of sexual assault that West suffered while working at Tyson Industries. Next, West alleges that the defendants improperly forced him to disclose his mental health diagnosis to his Tyson employers. Third, West alleges that the defendants have read his legal mail. Fourth, West alleges that the defendants have engaged in retaliation for his past lawsuits. Finally, West alleges that the defendants have infringed on his religious liberty.

The parties agree to many of the relevant facts. As noted above, the State of Iowa committed West as a sexually violent predator in September, 2011. West, 2013 WL 988815 *1. West proceeded through the "phases" of treatment at CCUSO relatively quickly, earning "phase 5" in October, 2013.2 Phase 5, or transitional release, allowed West to get a job outside of the CCUSO facility. He obtained employment at Tyson's meat processing plant in Storm Lake, Iowa. However, in August 2014, West failed to return to the CCUSO facility after his work shift. A few days later the U.S. Marshals Service captured him in Oklahoma. Following that incident, the Iowa District Court revoked his transitional release and West plead guilty to escape related charges.

West claims he was sexually harassed and assaulted while at Tyson. He blames the treatment he received at Tyson as the reason he absconded. West alleges that Ricardo Perez, his supervisor, and Rick Lipai, a co-worker, harassed and intimidated him while he was at Tyson. West said they made graphic derogatory remarks related to his status as a sex offender. West further claims Lipai burned West with a steam valve and grabbed him while he was nude taking a work-related shower.

West asserts he reported the incidents to Perez per the "chain of command." Reporting incidents to your supervisor was generally consistent with Tyson's policy, although it stated that if you were harassed by your supervisor you could seek out a HR supervisor directly. Following his return to Iowa, West also filed a police report and a grievance with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Neither was resolved in West's favor. Tyson also internally investigated the situation but took no action. Both Lipai and Perez denied anything happened.

West testified that he told CCUSO employees Jeremy Rowenbeck and Clint Frederiksen about the initial harassment he encountered at Tyson. He also stated that he "briefly mentioned" the sexual assault to CCUSO employee Byron Kelley, but"didn't get a chance to go into the whole detail on it." The CCUSO employees testified that they did not recall West making specific complaints about working at Tyson, just general complaints about the nature of the work. West did not file any grievances with CCUSO about the situation, did not write any "kites" about it, nor did he request that he be allowed to get a different job. West also claims he kept a journal about the situation, but the defendants contend the journal West submitted is not accurate.

CCUSO directs patients to disclose their status as sex offenders when they are seeking employment. In addition, West's status as a committed sex offender is public record, as is the fact that he is required to register as a sex offender. The parties agree that Iowa Code § 229A.15 requires medical records to be sealed from the public. According to West, CCUSO employee Mike White told him to disclose that he was a sexual offender, with a mental abnormality of paraphilia not otherwise specified.

As will be discussed more below, CCUSO's general mail policy has been reviewed and approved by this court. Per the policy, CCUSO is directed to deliver legal mail unopened to the patients. On one instance, a piece of West's mail that should have been considered legal mail was opened outside West's presence. West filed a grievance consistent with CCUSO policy alleging his legal mail was opened outside his presence. That piece of mail was preserved and included in the parties' appendix. (Doc. No. 25-3 at 57.) CCUSO found, and I agree, that because of the way the return address was positioned on the envelope, it was impossible to see that letter was from the clerk of court. Instead, the letter appeared to be normal government correspondence. In an additional incident, defendant Reann Jackson allegedly read legal mail West was attempting to mail. Jackson denies this allegation. West filed a grievance. In response, defendant Wittrock sent an email to CCUSO staff reminding them that they were not allowed to read legal mail. West also claimed someone looked at legal documents in his room and on his flash drive.

The facts related to West's retaliation claim are sparse. He generally alleges that he was retaliated against for filing a lawsuit. He alleges he lost access to a DVD player. However, there were no disciplinary reports associated with this restriction. Additionally, West alleges that his lost access for religious materials was in retaliation for filing a lawsuit.

West belongs to a Pentecostal Christian church. At some point in the past, Pentecostal Pastor Jerry Greenwalt provided services at CCUSO, but had stopped doing so before the events giving rise to this case. West, upon earning transitional release, developed a relationship with Pastor Kevin Grimes and attended Grime's Pentecostal services in Spencer, Iowa. However, following his escape to Oklahoma, West was not allowed to leave CCUSO and was otherwise restricted to its highest security classification. Both his access to visitors and his access to the phone was restricted. At one point, he sought to call Pastor Grimes. Defendant Reinert initially told West that he could only call his attorney. However, within a few hours, West was informed he was allowed to call his pastor.

West also filed a kite asking for access to his pastor. However, CCUSO has no control over whether independent pastors are willing or able to work with CCUSO patients. The parties generally dispute the other religious services available at CCUSO, the frequency of the non-denominational services and the quality of the religious materials, such as books and vocational information, available. There is no real dispute that West has access to Bob Stout, the CCUSO chaplain, and to other common religious material at CCUSO. There is no dispute that West requested additional, in person, contact with a Pentecostal minister, but as Stout testified, CCUSO defendants have no control over whether outside pastors are willing to visit the CCUSO facility.

Related to both his free exercise and retaliation claims, a number of West's personal items were secured by CCUSO employees after his escape. Only certain items were returned to his direct control when he returned to CCUSO, as patients in CCUSO's secure facility are allowed less personal property than those who haveadvanced to the transitional release, non-secured, part of the facility. During this process, certain religious items were secured by CCUSO employees. However, it is undisputed that West failed to file "kites" formally asking that the property be returned.

IV. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

Any party may move for summary judgment regarding all or any part of the claims asserted in a case. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a...

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