Lolley v. Louisiana Correctional Services et al

Filing 34

Order, dismissing as moot plaintiff's ceremonial grounds claim. Signed by Judge Callie V. S. Granade on 6/12/2012. (copy to pltf) (mab)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHERN DIVISION
DANIEL KEITH LOLLEY,
Plaintiff,
vs.
LOUISIANA CORRECTIONAL
SERVICES,
Defendant.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 09-0555-CG-B

ORDER
On September 29, 2011, this Court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s report and
recommendation to grant Defendant’s motion for summary judgment with respect to all
but one of Plaintiff’s claims. (Docs. 32 & 33). The Magistrate Judge concluded that a
genuine issue of material fact existed with regard to whether the Perry County
Correction Center (“PCCC”) had ceremonial grounds during the relevant time period
and recommended that summary judgment be denied as to Plaintiff’s lack of
ceremonial grounds claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 32 at 27).
Upon further inquiry, this Court concludes that Plaintiff is not entitled to
§ 1983 relief. In his Amended Complaint, Plaintiff demanded punitive damages in
the amount of $50,000 and a transfer to Staton Correctional Facility (“Staton”).
(Doc. 4 at 9). This court, in adopting the Report and Recommendation, dismissed
Plaintiff’s prayer for punitive damages (Docs. 32 at 29, 33), and Plaintiff is, as of the

1

date of this Order, housed at Staton.1 See Ala. Dep’t of Corr., Inmate Search
Results, available at
http://www.doc.state.al.us/inmresults.asp?AIS=207815&FirstName=Daniel&LastN
ame=Lolley (last visited June 12, 2012). Whereas Plaintiff has not alleged that he
will or is likely to return to the PCCC, his claim for injunctive relief is moot. Wahl
v. McIver, 773 F.2d 1169, 1173 (11th Cir. 1985) (“[A]n 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.”); Harrison v. Culliver, 2008 WL 2788352, at
*3 (S.D. Ala. Jul. 17, 2008) (same); see also Harkless v. Toney, 2012 WL 1946506, at
*6 (S.D. Ala. Mar. 16, 2012) (“Because a claim for injunctive relief is a prospective
remedy, when the threat of future harm dissipates, the plaintiff’s claims for
equitable relief become moot because the plaintiff no longer needs protection from
future injury.”) (quoting Adler v. Duval Cnty. Sch. Bd., 112 F.3d 1475, 1477 (11th
Cir. 1997) (internal punctuation omitted)).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s ceremonial grounds claim be
DISMISSED AS MOOT. Judgment shall be entered in favor of Defendant Louisiana
Correction Service and against Plaintiff Daniel Keith Lolley.
DONE and ORDERED this the 12th day of June, 2012.
/s/ Callie V. S. Granade
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1 It appears that Plaintiff has been housed at Staton since May 2010. See Doc. 12 (notifying this
Court of Plaintiff’s change of address to Staton in a letter dated May 17, 2010).
2