Gyden v. Dixson et al

Filing 25

ORDERED: The official-capacity claims against Defendants Sabatier-Smith and T. Bowden are dismissed as duplicative. This action will proceed solely as to Plaintiff's claim against Secretary Dixon in his official capacity. Service of the second amended complaint will be ordered by separate order. Signed by Senior Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell on 11/25/2024. (JDE)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
BERNARD E. GYDEN, II,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No.

8:22-cv-2980-CEH-AAS

RICKEY DIXON, et al.,
Defendants.
__________________________/
ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s second amended civil rights complaint filed under 28
U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 21). Plaintiff, a Florida prisoner, alleges that Defendants (Rickey Dixon,
Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections; T. Bowden, Dixon’s representative; and
Paul Sabatier-Smith, the chaplain at Hardee Correctional Institution) violated his First
Amendment right to free exercise of religion. Specifically, he alleges that in August 2022,
Sabatier-Smith denied him and other Hebrew-Israelites their right to wear diadems during a
prayer meeting and study class. Plaintiff also alleges that in denying him his right to wear a
diadem, Sabatier-Smith was enforcing an official policy or rule of the Florida Department of
Corrections. Dixon and Bowden denied Plaintiff’s grievance about the matter. Plaintiff sues
Defendants solely in their official capacities. As relief, Plaintiff seeks a declaration that
Defendants violated his rights under the First Amendment, and an injunction providing him
and other Hebrew-Israelites the same right to wear head coverings as Jewish, Muslim, and
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Catholic prisoners have in the Florida Department of Corrections.
A claim against a defendant in his official capacity is a suit against the entity of which
the named defendant is an agent— here, the Florida Department of Corrections. Owens v.
Fulton Cnty., 877 F.2d 947, 951 n.5 (11th Cir. 1989) (citing Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159,
165–66 (1985)). Thus, the official-capacity claims against Sabatier-Smith and T. Bowden are
duplicative of the official capacity claim against Secretary Dixon and must be dismissed. See,
e.g., Heywood v. Dixon, 2024 WL 3676386 (N.D. Fla. Aug. 2, 2024) (dismissing officialcapacity claims against two defendants as duplicative of official-capacity claims against
another defendant when all three defendants were agents of the Florida Department of
Corrections) (citing Busby v. City of Orlando, 931 F.2d 764, 776 (11th Cir. 1991)).
Accordingly:
1. The official-capacity claims against Sabatier-Smith and T. Bowden are dismissed as
duplicative. This action will proceed solely as to Plaintiff’s claim against Secretary Dixon in
his official capacity.
2. Service of the second amended complaint will be ordered by separate order.
ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on November 25, 2024.

Copy to: Plaintiff, pro se
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