Eby v. Mattern

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER: Court GRANTS Kurt Dwain Eby leave to proceed against Jail Commander Mike Matter as outlined; DISMISSES all other claims; DIRECTS the United States Marshals Service to effect service of process on Jail Commander Mike Mattern; and ORDERS that Jail Commander Mike Matter respond only to the claim for which the plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order. Signed by Judge Theresa L Springmann on 6/24/2016. cc: USMS, Eby (tc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
KURT DWAIN EBY,
Plaintiff,
v.
MIKE MATTERN,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

CAUSE NO.: 3:16-CV-354 TLS

OPINION AND ORDER
Kurt Dwain Eby, a pro se prisoner, filed a Complaint [ECF No. 1] alleging that he was
denied medical care by Jail Commander Mike Mattern while he was a pretrial detainee at the
Marshall County Jail. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint,
however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted
by lawyers . . . .” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Nevertheless, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b), this Court must review the Complaint and dismiss
it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks monetary relief against a
defendant who is immune from such relief. “In order to state a claim under [42 U.S.C.] § 1983 a
plaintiff must allege: (1) that defendants deprived him of a federal constitutional right; and (2) that
the defendants acted under color of state law.” Savory v. Lyons, 469 F.3d 667, 670 (7th Cir. 2006).
Eby alleges that he was denied healthcare for 410 days despite three doctors recommending
surgery for a tumor and two broken ear drums. As a result, he alleges that he was left in severe
pain while bleeding from the ears. “In evaluating the constitutionality of conditions or restrictions
of pretrial detention . . . the proper inquiry is whether those conditions amount to punishment of
the detainee.” Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 (1979). “[I]n the absence of an expressed intent
to punish, a pretrial detainee can nevertheless prevail by showing that the actions are not ‘rationally

related to a legitimate nonpunitive governmental purpose’ or that the actions ‘appear excessive in
relation to that purpose.’” Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466, 2473 (2015) (quoting Bell,
441 U.S. at 561). These allegations against Jail Commander Mattern plausibly allege that denying
Eby medical care was not rationally related to a legitimate nonpunitive governmental purpose.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS Kurt Dwain Eby leave to proceed against Jail Commander Mike Mattern in
his individual capacity for compensatory damages for preventing him from receiving surgery for
his tumor and broken ear drums;
(2) DISMISSES all other claims;
(3) DIRECTS the clerk to transmit the summons and USM-285 for Jail Commander Mike
Mattern to the United States Marshals Service along with a copy of the complaint and this order;
(4) DIRECTS the United States Marshals Service, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d), to
effect service of process on Jail Commander Mike Mattern; and
(5) ORDERS, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g)(2), that Jail Commander Mike Mattern
respond, as provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and N.D. Ind. L.R. 10-1(b), only
to the claim for which the plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order.
SO ORDERED on June 24, 2016.
s/ Theresa L. Springmann_______________
THERESA L. SPRINGMANN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FORT WAYNE DIVISION

2