Hathorn v. Neshoba County Jailhouse et al

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER dismissing Defendant Neshoba County Jailhouse without prejudice as set out in the order. Neshoba County Jailhouse terminated. Signed by District Judge Carlton W. Reeves on 12/2/2011. (JS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
EASTERN DIVISION

RICKY FITZGERALD HATHORN, # L-1961
VERSUS

PLAINTIFF
CAUSE NO. 4:11cv129-CWR-FKB

NESHOBA COUNTY JAILHOUSE and
JIMMY REED

DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DISMISSING JAIL
BEFORE THE COURT is pro se Plaintiff Ricky Fitzgerald Hathorn’s [1] Complaint. He
is in the custody of the Neshoba County Jail. He brings this action challenging conditions of his
confinement against Defendants Neshoba County Jailhouse and Jimmy Reed, the jail’s administrator.
The Court has considered and liberally construed the pleadings.
The jail’s capacity to be sued is determined by Mississippi law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b)(3).
In Mississippi, a county jail is not a separate legal entity which may be sued, rather it is an extension
of the county. Tuesno v. Jackson, No. 5:08cv302-DCB-JMR, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61416 at *2-3
(S.D. Miss. Apr. 30, 2009). See also, Brown v. Thompson, 927 So. 2d 733, 737 (¶12) (Miss. 2006)
(sheriff’s department). Therefore, the jail is dismissed.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that, for the reasons stated above,
Defendant Neshoba County Jailhouse should be and is hereby DISMISSED WITHOUT
PREJUDICE. The case will proceed against the remaining defendant.
SO ORDERED, this the 2nd day of December, 2011.
s/Carlton W. Reeves
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE