BROWN v. CAMDEN COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Filing
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OPINION FILED. Signed by Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle on 2/15/17. (js)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
JAMEL BROWN,
HONORABLE JEROME B. SIMANDLE
Plaintiff,
v.
Civil Action
No. 16-cv-07016 (JBS-AMD)
CAMDEN COUNTY
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY,
OPINION
Defendant.
APPEARANCES:
Jamel Brown, Plaintiff Pro Se
917 S. 6th Street
Camden, NJ 08103
SIMANDLE, Chief District Judge:
I.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Jamel Brown seeks to bring a civil rights
complaint against Camden County Correctional Facility (“CCCF”)
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for allegedly unconstitutional
conditions of confinement. Complaint, Docket Entry 1.
28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2) requires a court to review complaints
prior to service in cases in which a plaintiff is proceeding in
forma pauperis. The Court must sua sponte dismiss any claim that
is frivolous, is malicious, fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant
who is immune from such relief. This action is subject to sua
sponte screening for dismissal under Section 1915(e)(2)(B)
because Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis.
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For the reasons set forth below, the Court will dismiss the
Complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(b)(ii).
II.
BACKGROUND
With respect to factual allegations giving rise to his
claims, Plaintiff’s Complaint states: “Five people was [sic] in
my room on the floor under the bed[.] [I] was sleep[ing] by the
toilet on the floor. This [has] been happening for years with
me. It was over over [sic] crowded.” Complaint § III(C).
Plaintiff alleges that these events occurred: “Mid of 2012,
2013 am hours, pm hours.” Id. § III(B).
Plaintiff contends that he sustained boils on his feet,
neck spasms and spots on his back from the alleged events. Id. §
IV.
Plaintiff does not specify monetary relief requested, but
seeks “for all the rules to change just a little to help future
inmates [and] more training for the guards so they can do there
[sic] jobs.” Id. § V.
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
To survive sua sponte screening under 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2) for failure to state a claim, a complaint must allege
“sufficient factual matter” to show that the claim is facially
plausible. Fowler v. UPMS Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.
2009) (citation omitted). “A claim has facial plausibility when
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the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to
draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for
the misconduct alleged.” Fair Wind Sailing, Inc. v. Dempster,
764 F.3d 303, 308 n.3 (3d Cir. 2014). “[A] pleading that offers
‘labels or conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the
elements of a cause of action will not do.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)).
IV.
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff asserts claims against CCCF for allegedly
unconstitutional conditions of confinement. Even construing the
Complaint as seeking to bring a civil rights complaint pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged prison overcrowding in relation
to Plaintiff “sleeping on cold floor” (Complaint § III(C)), any
such purported claims must be dismissed for failure to state a
claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
First, claims against CCCF must be dismissed with prejudice
because defendant is not a “state actor” within the meaning of §
1983. See Crawford v. McMillian, 660 F. App’x 113, 116 (3d Cir.
2016) (“[T]he prison is not an entity subject to suit under 42
U.S.C. § 1983.”) (citing Fischer v. Cahill, 474 F.2d 991, 992
(3d Cir. 1973)); Grabow v. Southern State Corr. Facility, 726 F.
Supp. 537, 538–39 (D.N.J. 1989) (correctional facility is not a
“person” under § 1983.
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Second, “plaintiffs who file complaints subject to
dismissal should receive leave to amend unless amendment would
be inequitable under [§ 1915] or futile.” Grayson v. Mayview
State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 114 (3d Cir. 2002). This Court denies
leave to amend at this time as Plaintiff’s Complaint is barred
by the statute of limitations, which is governed by New Jersey's
two-year limitations period for personal injury.1 See Wilson v.
Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 276 (1985); Dique v. N.J. State Police,
603 F.3d 181, 185 (3d Cir. 2010). The accrual date of a § 1983
action is determined by federal law, however. Wallace v. Kato,
549 U.S. 384, 388 (2007); Montanez v. Sec'y Pa. Dep't of Corr.,
773 F.3d 472, 480 (3d Cir. 2014). “Under federal law, a cause of
action accrues when the plaintiff knew or should have known of
the injury upon which the action is based.” Montanez, 773 F.3d
at 480 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Plaintiff alleges that the events giving rise to his claims
occurred: “Mid of 2012, 2013 am hours, pm hours.” Complaint §
III(B). The allegedly unconstitutional conditions of confinement
at CCCF would have been immediately apparent to Plaintiff at the
1
“Although the running of the statute of limitations is
ordinarily an affirmative defense, where that defense is obvious
from the face of the complaint and no development of the record
is necessary, a court may dismiss a time-barred complaint sua
sponte under § 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to
state a claim.” Ostuni v. Wa Wa's Mart, 532 F. App’x 110, 111–12
(3d Cir. 2013) (per curiam).
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time of detention. Accordingly, the statute of limitations for
Plaintiff’s claims expired in 2015. As there are no grounds for
equitable tolling of the statute of limitations,2 the Complaint
will be dismissed with prejudice. Ostuni v. Wa Wa's Mart, 532 F.
App’x 110, 112 (3d Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (affirming dismissal
with prejudice due to expiration of statute of limitations).
V.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Complaint is dismissed
with prejudice for failure to state a claim. An appropriate
order follows.
February 15, 2017
Date
s/ Jerome B. Simandle
JEROME B. SIMANDLE
Chief U.S. District Judge
2
Equitable tolling “is only appropriate ‘(1) where the defendant
has actively misled the plaintiff respecting the plaintiff's
cause of action; (2) where the plaintiff in some extraordinary
way has been prevented from asserting his or her rights; or (3)
where the plaintiff has timely asserted his or her rights
mistakenly in the wrong forum.’” Omar v. Blackman, 590 F. App’x
162, 166 (3d Cir. 2014) (quoting Santos ex rel. Beato v. United
States, 559 F.3d 189, 197 (3d Cir. 2009)).
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