Schofield v. Clarke

769 F.Supp.2d 42

Reverend Eugene SCHOFIELD, Plaintiff,

v.Harold CLARKE, Carol Mici, Paul F. Oxford, and James Saba, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 09–40204–NMG.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

March 10, 2011.

Charles W. Anderson, Jr., Boston, MA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

GORTON, District Judge.

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, pro se prisoner Reverend Eugene Schofield (“Schofield”) brings suit against various Massachusetts Department of Corrections (“DOC”) officials (collectively “the defendants”) seeking declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief for a variety of constitutional claims. Pending before the Court is the defendants' motion to dismiss.

I. BackgroundA. Factual Background

On November 12, 2009, Schofield filed a complaint against Harold W. Clark (“Clark”), the DOC's Commissioner, Carol Mici (“Mici”), Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Classification, Paul F. Oxford (“Oxford”), Chief of the DOC's Office of Investigative Services, and James Saba (“Saba”), Superintendent of the North Central Correctional Institution (“NCCI”).¹ The crux of the plaintiff's complaint is that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his need for protection from threats and assaults by other inmates and retaliated against him for filing numerous grievances and lawsuits against them.

At the time Schofield filed his complaint, he was confined at NCCI in Gardner, Massachusetts. He had previously been housed at several other state correctional facilities, including the Souza–Baranowski Correctional Center (“SBCC”) in Shirley and the Old Colony Correctional Center (“OCCC”) in Bridgewater. Schofield alleges that while he was at OCCC, he was threatened by several inmates and called a “snitch” for “ratting out some people in the chaplain's office”, although it is unclear who he purportedly ratted out or his reasons for doing so.

Sometime during the summer of 2008, Schofield was transferred from OCCC to SBCC for unstated reasons despite his pleas to remain at OCCC. Upon arrival at SBCC, Schofield refused to move into the general population, requesting instead to be placed in protective custody. He was disciplined for refusing to comply with his housing assignment and placed directly into SBCC's segregation unit.

On January 12, 2009, Schofield was transferred from SBCC to NCCI, also for unstated reasons. While at NCCI, he filed repeated grievances against various prison officials alleging racial threats, intimidation and verbal assault. He also filed several lawsuits on behalf of himself and other inmates and soon established a reputation as a “jailhouse lawyer.” Schofield claims that as a result of those filings, prison officials became hostile toward him and gave him the “evil eye.”

Schofield alleges that on or about October 10, 2009, he was physically assaulted without provocation by an inmate in his housing unit at NCCI. He claims that the investigating officer accused him of starting the fight and placed him in segregation, i.e. the Special Management Unit (“SMU”). Schofield wrote a letter to the Superintendent of NCCI, explaining that he was not responsible for the fight and requesting that he be placed back into the general population. He refused, however, to sign a release stating he could be safely housed in the general population. By contrast, the other inmate signed such a release and the Superintendent recommended that Schofield be transferred to another facility instead. After convening a reclassification hearing on October 28, 2009, the Classification Board recommended that Schofield be transferred to Massachusetts Correctional Institution–Norfolk (“MCI–Norfolk”).

B. Procedural History

In November, 2009, after the Classification Board announced its decision, Schofield promptly commenced the instant lawsuit, alleging eight counts against the defendants (in their personal and official capacities) for violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count I) and the First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution (Counts II–V), as well as negligent supervision (Count VI), vicarious liability (Count VII) and negligent infliction of emotional distress (Count VIII). The plaintiff requests compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to immediate injunctive relief precluding his transfer to MCI–Norfolk. The plaintiff's motion for a Temporary Restraining Order was denied as moot on February 8, 2010, 686 F.Supp.2d 124 (D.Mass.2010), because, inter alia, the plaintiff had already been transferred to MCI–Norfolk.

In March, 2010, the defendants moved to dismiss the case pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), contending that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all counts of the Complaint. The plaintiff opposed the motion in May, 2010. The Court addresses each of the counts seriatim.

II. Legal AnalysisA. Legal Standard

In order to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain factual allegations sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In considering the merits of a motion to dismiss, the Court may look only to the facts alleged in the pleadings, documents attached as exhibits or incorporated by reference in the complaint and matters of which judicial notice can be taken. Nollet v. Justices of the Trial Court of Mass., 83 F.Supp.2d 204, 208 (D.Mass.2000), aff'd, 248 F.3d 1127 (1st Cir.2000). Furthermore, the Court must accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. Langadinos v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 199 F.3d 68, 69 (1st Cir.2000). If the facts in the complaint are sufficient to state a cause of action, a motion to dismiss the complaint must be denied. See Nollet, 83 F.Supp.2d at 208.

Although a court must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in a complaint, that doctrine is not applicable to legal conclusions. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ––– U.S. ––––, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Threadbare recitals of the legal elements, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice to state a cause of action. Id. Accordingly, a complaint does not state a claim for relief where the well-pled facts fail to warrant an inference of any more than the mere possibility of misconduct. Id. at 1950.

B. Application

1. Sovereign Immunity

The Eleventh Amendment immunizes state officials acting in their official capacities from suits for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Wang v. N.H. Bd. of Registration in Med., 55 F.3d 698, 699 (1st Cir.1995). Therefore, all claims for damages against the defendants in their official capacities must be dismissed.

2. Section 1983 Claim (Count I)

Count I of the Complaint alleges a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 itself. Section 1983 states:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.

Section 1983 “merely provides a method for vindicating federal rights elsewhere conferred” and is not itself a source of substantive rights. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393–94, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). Count I will, therefore, be dismissed.

3. Federal Constitutional Claims (Counts II–V)

Counts II, III, IV and V assert deprivations of federal constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. To prevail on a claim pursuant to § 1983, the plaintiff must prove that his constitutional rights were violated by a person or persons acting under color of state law. Soto v. Flores, 103 F.3d 1056, 1061–62 (1st Cir.1997). Because the defendants do not dispute that they were acting under color of law, the Court will focus on whether their conduct deprived Schofield of rights secured by the United States Constitution or federal law.

a. First Amendment Claim (Count II)

Schofield alleges in Count II that the defendants transferred him from NCCI to MCI–Norfolk in retaliation for his filing of grievances and lawsuits against them.

The constitutional rights of prisoners “are more limited in scope than the constitutional rights held by individuals in society at large.” Shaw v. Murphy, 532 U.S. 223, 229, 121 S.Ct. 1475, 149 L.Ed.2d 420 (2001). Prisoners, however, have a First Amendment right to petition the prison for the redress of grievances and prison officials may not retaliate against prisoners for exercising that right. Brown v. Corsini, 657 F.Supp.2d 296, 305 (D.Mass.2009). To establish a retaliation claim, the prisoner must allege that: 1) he engaged in constitutionally protected conduct, 2) prison officials took adverse action against him, 3) with the intent to retaliate against him for engaging in the constitutionally protected conduct and 4) he would not have suffered the adverse action “but for” the prison officials' retaliatory motive. Partelow v. Massachusetts, 442 F.Supp.2d 41, 51 (D.Mass.2006).

Wide-ranging deference, however, is given to prison administrators in the pursuit and preservation of prison safety, order and discipline. See Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 547–48, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979); Sires v. Berman, 834 F.2d 9, 14 (1st Cir.1987). Prison administrators are afforded “extremely broad” latitude in making transfer decisions. McDonald v. Hall, 610 F.2d 16, 18 (1st Cir.1979). Thus, even if the officials had an impermissible reason for the action taken, they may not be held liable if they also had an independent, permissible reason for doing so. See Puleio v. Comm'r of Corr., 52 Mass.App.Ct. 302, 753 N.E.2d 814, 820–21 (2001) (citing Scarpa...