Paul Thompson, Jr. v. Harold Clarke

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Motion disposition in opinion--denying Motion to appoint/assign counsel [999677717-2]; denying Motion for other relief [999651127-2]; denying Motion to schedule oral argument [999636561-2]; denying Motion to expedite decision [999636561-3]; denying Motion for stay pending appeal [999613046-2]; denying Motion for injunctive relief pending appeal (FRAP 8) [999613046-3] Originating case number: 2:14-cv-00086-RBS-DEM Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999768815]. Mailed to: appellant. [15-6817]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-6817

PAUL C. THOMPSON, JR.,
Plaintiff – Appellant,
v.
HAROLD W. CLARKE, Director, VDOC; DAVID B. EVERETT,
Regional
Operations
Chief,
VDOC
Eastern
Region;
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA; THE GEO GROUP, INC., Contractor
with VDOC to operate and manage LVCC employees and staff to
provide medical care to plaintiff; E. WRIGHT, Warden at
LVCC; SHAW, Assistant Warden at LVCC (female); SHAW,
Assistant Warden at LVCC (male); FANT, Unit Manager of
Building #50 and the Therapeutic Community Program of
Addictions Treatment; DAVIS, Unit Manager for Building #70;
GRAVES, Unit Manager of Segregation; BOONE, Supervisor of
Segregation; GOODE, Health Services Administrator of the
LVCC Medical Department; KELLY, Law Library at LVCC; NURSE
LUCY, Nurse; UNKNOWN MEDICAL STAFF TO BE NAMED LATER,
Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Norfolk.
Rebecca Beach Smith, Chief
District Judge. (2:14-cv-00086-RBS-DEM)

Submitted:

October 30, 2015

Decided:

March 7, 2016

Before GREGORY, DIAZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by unpublished
per curiam opinion.

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Paul C. Thompson, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Richard Carson Vorhis,
Senior Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia; Mark
Richard Colombell, Michael Gordon Matheson, THOMPSON MCMULLAN
PC, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Paul Cleveland Thompson, Jr., appeals the district court’s
order denying relief on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012) complaint.
Thompson

asserts

Defendants’

that

motion

to

the

district

dismiss

denying him leave to amend.

and

court
abused

erred
its

in

granting

discretion

in

We affirm in part, vacate in part,

and remand for further proceedings.
We review de novo the grant of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)
motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Epps v. JP

Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 675 F.3d 315, 320 (4th Cir. 2012).

“To

survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient
factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief
that is plausible on its face.’”

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.

662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
544, 570 (2007)).

We review the denial of a motion for leave to

amend for abuse of discretion.

Tatum v. RJR Pension Inv. Comm.,

761 F.3d 346, 370 (4th Cir. 2014).
In

his

complaint,

Thompson,

a

former

inmate

at

the

Lawrenceville Correctional Center in Virginia (“LVCC”), alleged,
among other things, that officials at LVCC retaliated against
him, in violation of his constitutional rights, for filing legal
complaints against LVCC and LVCC officials.
Thompson

claimed

leading

to

that

sleepless

he

was

denied

nights

and
3

More specifically,

psychiatric
a

medication,

destabilizing

mental

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This retaliation, he asserted, also violated the

Virginia Tort Claims Act (“VTCA”), Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-195.1 to
195.9 (Westlaw through 2015 Reg. Sess.).
Retaliation against an inmate for the exercise of his First
Amendment right of access to the courts can support a claim for
relief under § 1983.
(4th Cir. 1978).

Hudspeth v. Figgins, 584 F.2d 1345, 1348

A plaintiff’s assertion that the retaliatory

act was taken in response to the exercise of a constitutionally
protected right, when supported by specific facts, is sufficient
to state a retaliation claim.
(4th Cir. 1994).

Adams v. Rice, 40 F.3d 72, 75

The facts alleged must warrant concern that

the claimed retaliation was intended to have a chilling effect
on the exercise of the plaintiff’s right to access the courts.
Am. Civ. Liberties Union v. Wicomico Cty., 999 F.2d 780, 785-86
& n.6 (4th Cir. 1993).
or

even

partially

to

The prisoner need not succumb entirely
the

threat;

it

is

sufficient

that

the

retaliation was intended to limit the prisoner's right of access
to the courts and was reasonably calculated to have that effect.
Hudspeth, 584 F.2d at 1348.
In

light

of

these

authorities,

and

after

reviewing

the

record, we conclude that Thompson should be permitted to amend
his

complaint

supporting

to

detail

identify
for

his

specific
§ 1983

defendants

claim

that

he

and
was

provide
denied

medical treatment in retaliation for pursuing legal action.
4

On

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remand, Thompson may also amend the analogous VTCA claim to name
the Commonwealth of Virginia as the appropriate defendant and
provide any further facts as to that claim.
We have reviewed Thompson’s remaining claims and perceive
no reversible error in their dismissal by the district court.
Accordingly, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand for
further proceedings.

We deny as moot Thompson’s motions for a

stay pending appeal and for a ruling on his motion for a stay or
injunction, and we deny his motions for expedited oral argument
and for appointment of counsel.

We dispense with oral argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented
in the materials before this court and argument would not aid
the decisional process.
AFFIRMED IN PART,
VACATED IN PART,
AND REMANDED

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