Zatler v. Wainwright

• Decision Date: 17 October 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-3614,85-3614
• Parties: Greg ZATLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 397

802 F.2d 397

Greg ZATLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 85-3614.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Oct. 17, 1986.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Dec. 3, 1986.

Ben R. Patterson, Tallahassee, Fla., for plaintiff-appellant.

Charles T. Collette, Gary J. Anton, Douglas A. Mang, Tallahassee, Fla., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before FAY, CLARK and NIES, ^* Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Gregory L. Zatler, a former inmate of the State of Florida Department of Corrections, brought this civil rights action alleging that prison officials failed to protect him from sexual assault while he was in prison. He seeks monetary damages and declaratory and injunctive relief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 (1982) and the eighth and fourteenth amendments. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered an order dismissing this action. We affirm.

I.

Zatler, proceeding pro se, initiated this action by filing a complaint on March 4, 1982. The complaint alleged that Zatler had been sexually assaulted at three different institutions within the State of Florida in which he had been incarcerated. Zatler named as defendants the appellee, Louie L. Wainwright, as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, and Robert Medlock, a correctional officer at Florida State Prison. On November 21, 1983, the district court dismissed Medlock as a defendant in this action for failure to perfect service of process upon him. In so doing, the court noted that Zatler had failed to name the individuals who were responsible for his protection when he was assaulted. Accordingly, in view of defendant Medlock's dismissal, the court granted Zatler an opportunity to amend his complaint to name those individuals responsible for his protection at the various institutions in which he was assaulted.

On December 14, 1983, Zatler, represented by counsel, filed an amended complaint naming Wainwright, R.D. Massey, R.V. Turner, John Shaw, K.W. Helms, Ana Gispert and Clayton Strickland, Jr., as defendants. These six additional defendants were superintendents of the institutions in which Zatler had been incarcerated and in which he had been sexually assaulted. In the amended complaint, Zatler alleged that he had been forcibly raped by inmates at six different institutions on eight occasions. Zatler complained that as "a young, white, slightly built man," he was "a member of an identifiable group of prisoners who, because of their size, age, and race, suffer [sic] a pervasive risk of harm from sexual assault by other prisoners." The complaint stated that the defendants, by virtue of their positions, were required to provide Zatler with reasonable protection. The complaint alleged, however, that "[t]he Defendants acted with reckless disregard of [Zatler's] right to be free from violent attacks by fellow inmates, and were, therefore, deliberately indifferent, to his constitutional rights." Finally, Zatler complained that he suffered "embarrassment, humiliation, and great mental distress" as a result of the assaults upon him and "the Defendants' failure to prevent such attacks by either inadequate training or supervision of their staff, or improper classification of [Zatler]."

The defendants filed an answer on January 24, 1984. Discovery then commenced. ¹ On August 17, 1984, the defendants filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings and/or summary judgment. The defendants later filed a number of affidavits in support of the motion. On September 19, 1984, Zatler responded by filing a memorandum opposing the defendants' motion. Thereafter, Zatler's affidavit and the defendants' answers to Zatler's interrogatories were filed with the court.

On July 1, 1985, the district court entered an order dismissing all the defendants named in the action. ² The six superintendent defendants were dismissed, without prejudice, for insufficient service of process. Zatler does not appeal the dismissal of these defendants. The court also dismissed Wainwright. In so doing, the court pointed out that Wainwright was named because of his role as chief policy-maker of the Florida Department of Corrections. The court further noted that Zatler did not allege that Wainwright had any personal knowledge of the assaults. Accordingly, in view of the fact that the eighth amendment requires proof of a defendant's deliberate indifference and section 1983 requires proof of a causal connection between the actions of the defendant and the constitutional deprivation, the court dismissed Wainwright as a defendant in the action.

II.

Zatler's amended complaint added a claim for declaratory and injunctive relief. At the time the amended complaint was filed, Zatler was an inmate of the Florida correctional system. At the time the district court rendered its opinion, Zatler continued to be incarcerated, although he had been transferred to another correctional institution. Thereafter, on October 29, 1985, Zatler was released from prison. "This court is under a duty to review its jurisdiction of an appeal at any point in the appellate process." Wahl v. McIver, 773 F.2d 1169, 1173 (11th Cir.1985) (per curiam). In view of Zatler's subsequent release, we find that his claims for declaratory and injunctive relief are now moot. See id. ("Absent class certification, an inmate's claim for injunctive and declaratory relief in a section 1983 action fails to present a case or controversy once the inmate has been transferred."); Kellerman v. Askew, 541 F.2d 1089, 1090 n. 1 (5th Cir.1976) ³ (prisoner's motion for equitable relief deemed moot due to his having been paroled).

III.

The sole issue which remains on appeal, therefore, is whether Zatler's claim for damages against Wainwright, in both his individual and official capacities, was properly dismissed.

A.

Wainwright argues that the eleventh amendment ⁴ bars Zatler's claim for damages against Wainwright in his official capacity. Although Wainwright raised eleventh amendment immunity as an affirmative defense in his answer, the district court did not address this issue. Nevertheless, we are under a continuing duty to review our jurisdiction at any point on appeal, Wahl v. McIver, 773 F.2d 1169, 1173 (11th Cir.1985) (per curiam), and the eleventh amendment "partakes of the nature of a jurisdictional bar," Edelman v. Jordan 415 U.S. 651, 678, 94 S.Ct. 1347, 1363, 39 L.Ed.2d 662 (1974).

It is well established that the eleventh amendment immunizes an unconsenting state from suits brought in federal court by its citizens and citizens of other states. Id. at 662-63, 94 S.Ct. at 1355-56. Moreover, "even though a State is not named a party to the action, the suit may nonetheless be barred by the Eleventh Amendment." Id. at 663, 94 S.Ct. at 1355. " '[W]hen the action is in essence one for the recovery of money from the state, the state is the real, substantial party in interest and is entitled to invoke its sovereign immunity from suit even though individual officials are nominal defendants.' " Id. (quoting Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury, 323 U.S. 459, 464, 65 S.Ct. 347, 350-51, 89 L.Ed. 389 (1945)). See also Williams v. Bennett, 689 F.2d 1370, 1376-77 (11th Cir.1982) (the eleventh amendment has been applied to bar prisoner's section 1983 damage claims brought in federal court against prison officials in their official capacities), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 932, 104 S.Ct. 335, 78 L.Ed.2d 305 (1983). Therefore, "[a]bsent a legitimate abrogation of immunity by Congress or a waiver of immunity by the state being sued," Gamble v. Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, 779 F.2d 1509, 1511 (11th Cir.1986), Zatler may not maintain a suit against Wainwright in his official capacity.

It is clear that Congress did not intend to abrogate a state's eleventh amendment immunity in section 1983 damage suits. Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 340-45, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 1144-45, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979). Furthermore, after reviewing specific provisions of the Florida statutes, we recently concluded that Florida's limited waiver of sovereign immunity was not intended to encompass section 1983 suits for damages. ⁵ See Gamble, 779 F.2d at 1513-20. Accordingly, Wainwright is immune from suit in his official capacity.

B.

The eighth amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishments" requires that punishment be compatible "with 'the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.' " Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 102, 97 S.Ct. 285, 290, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976) (quoting Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101, 78 S.Ct. 590, 598, 2 L.Ed.2d 630 (1958)). Thus, it is well settled that a prison inmate has a constitutional right to be protected from the constant threat of violence and from physical assault by other inmates. Gullatte v. Potts, 654 F.2d 1007, 1012 (5th Cir.1981). See also Harmon v. Berry, 728 F.2d 1407, 1409 (11th Cir.1984) (per curiam); Jones v. Diamond, 636 F.2d 1364, 1373 (5th Cir.1981) (en banc). However, "[t]his does not mean that the constitutional rights of inmates are violated every time a prisoner is injured. It would not be reasonable to impose such an absolute and clearly unworkable responsibility on prison officials." Gullatte, 654 F.2d at 1012. " 'In order to state a Sec. 1983 cause of action against prison officials based on a constitutional deprivation resulting from cruel and unusual punishment, there must be at least some allegation of a conscious or callous indifference to a prisoner's rights, thus raising the tort to constitutional stature.' " Williams v. Bennett, 689 F.2d 1370, 1380 (11th Cir.1982) (quoting Wright v. El Paso County Jail, 642 F.2d 134, 136 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 932, 104 S.Ct. 335, 78 L.Ed.2d 305 (1983)). See also Martin v. White, 742 F.2d 469, 474 (8th Cir.1984) ("[P]rison officials may be liable where the...