Williams v. Mancuso et al

Filing 17

ORDER: IT IS ORDERED that Williams's IFP status and the order [doc. 13] instructing the Sheriff, Warden, or authorized prison official to forward funds the Clerk of Court in regard to this matter, are hereby REVOKED and RESCINDED. THE CLERK IS DIRECTED to send a copy of this order to the Calcasieu Correctional Center. (Clerk mailed to Calcasieu CC on 12/28/17) Signed by Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay on 12/28/2017. (crt,Haik, K)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
LAKE CHARLES DIVISION

BOBBY DWAYNE WILLIAMS
DOC # 120007

:

DOCKET NO. 17-cv-1074
SECTION P

VERSUS

:

UNASSIGNED DISTRICT JUDGE

TONY MANCUSO, ET AL.

:

MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAY

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Before the court are a pro se civil rights complaint [doc. 8] and “Statement of Facts” [doc.
14] filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by plaintiff Bobby Dwayne Williams. Williams is an inmate
in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections and is currently
incarcerated at the Calcasieu Correctional Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Williams was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) in this action on
November 16, 2017. Doc. 13. However, we subsequently discovered that he filed several civil
rights complaints in the United States District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of
Arkansas while in the custody of the Arkansas Department of Corrections. 1 At least three of those
suits were dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a
claim on which relief could be granted. See Williams v. Willie, No. 2:13-cv-2188, docs. 9 & 11
(W.D. Ark. Oct. 24, 2013); Williams v. Houston, No. 5:13-cv-5210, docs. 6 & 7 (W.D. Ark. Jan.
16, 2014); and Williams v. Darrow, No. 4:13-cv-0026, docs. 16 and 19 (E.D. Ark. May 16, 2013).
1

The “Bobby Dwayne Williams” in the Arkansas suits has a different prisoner number, as he was in the custody of a
different state’s department of corrections, and there are no birthdates or social security numbers provided. However,
we are quite reasonably assured that this party is the same person as the plaintiff in the instant suit, based on the match
between signatures and handwriting in the various complaints. Furthermore, Williams admitted in his IFP application
in another suit in this court that he was incarcerated at the Calcasieu Correctional Center due to a “parole violation out
of Arkansas.” Williams v. Burnett, No. 2:17-cv-935, doc. 10, p. 1 (W.D. La. Aug, 7, 2017).

-1-

Furthermore, Williams’s IFP status was revoked by the Western District of Arkansas under 28
U.S.C. § 1915(g). Williams v. Hale, No. 6:15-cv-6031, doc. 37 (W.D. Ark. Oct. 21, 2015). That
provision states:
In no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a
civil action or proceeding under this section if the prisoner has, on 3 or more
prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an
action or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed on the
grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of
serious physical injury.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) (emphasis added).
In this matter, Williams alleges that the conditions at Calcasieu Correctional Center are
unsafe and unhygienic, and that other inmates are not having their medical concerns addressed.
Docs. 8, 14. Williams is not entitled to proceed IFP in this court due to the dismissals cited above.
Under § 1915(g), it is the threat of danger to Williams, and not some other inmate, that creates the
exception. His claims regarding the conditions at the jail, namely that certain doors stick and that
inmates have not been given adequate cleaning supplies, are insufficient to show imminent danger
of serious physical injury, especially in light of Williams’s history of frivolous filings. Williams
may continue to pursue his action in this court, but only if he pays the full filing fee. See Adepegba
v. Hammons, 103 F.3d 383, 387 (5th Cir. 1996).
Accordingly;
IT IS ORDERED that Williams’s IFP status and the order [doc. 13] instructing the Sheriff,
Warden, or authorized prison official to forward funds the Clerk of Court in regard to this matter,
are hereby REVOKED and RESCINDED. THE CLERK IS DIRECTED to send a copy of this
order to the Calcasieu Correctional Center.

-2-

IT IS ALSO ORDERED that, in order for this complaint to remain viable, Williams must
pay the full filing fee of four hundred dollars ($400.00) within twenty (20) days of the date of this
order. FAILURE TO PAY THE FULL FILING FEE WILL RESULT IN THE PLEADINGS
BEING STRICKEN FROM THE RECORD.
THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Chambers this 28th day of December, 2017.

-3-