MCCOY v. ATLANTIC COUNTY JUSTICE FACILITY et al

Filing 2

OPINION. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 9/6/17. (jbk, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE

ANTOINE D. McCOY,
Civ. No. 17-5178 (RMB)

Plaintiff,
v.

OPINION

ATLANTIC COUNTY JUSTICE
FACILITY, and GERALDINE COHEN,
Defendants.

BUMB, District Judge
Plaintiff Antoine D. McCoy seeks to bring a civil rights
complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Atlantic
County Justice Facility and Warden Geraldine Cohen, based on the
conditions of confinement.

(Compl., ECF No. 1.)

an

in

application

establishes

to

his

prepayment of fees.

proceed
financial

forma

pauperis

eligibility

to

He has filed
(“IFP”),

proceed

which

without

(IFP App., ECF No.1-2.)

28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b) require courts to
review a prisoner’s complaint in a civil action and sua sponte
dismiss any claims that are (1) frivolous or malicious; (2) fail
to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (3) seek
monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such

relief. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant
the IFP application and dismiss the complaint without prejudice.
I.

Sua Sponte Dismissal
Courts must liberally construe pleadings that are filed pro

se.

Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quoting Estelle

v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976)).
however

inartfully

standards

than

pleaded,

formal

must

pleadings

be

se

pleadings

are

charged

held

drafted

(internal quotation marks omitted).
pro

Thus, “a pro se complaint,
to
by

‘less

stringent

lawyers.’”

Id.

“Court personnel reviewing

with

the

responsibility

of

deciphering why the submission was filed, what the litigant is
seeking, and what claims she may be making.”

See Higgs v. Atty.

Gen. of the U.S., 655 F.3d 333, 339-40 (3d Cir. 2011) (quoting
Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, Exploring Methods to Improve Management
and Fairness in Pro Se Cases: A Study of the Pro Se Docket in
the Southern District of New York, 30 Fordham Urb. L.J. 305, 308
(2002)).
Under

28

U.S.C.

§

1915(e)(2)(B),

district

courts

must

review complaints filed by persons proceeding in forma pauperis
in civil actions, and dismiss any claim that is frivolous or
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.

A pleading must contain a “short and plain

statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to
2

relief.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2).

dismiss,

a

complaint

must

contain

“To survive a motion to
sufficient

factual

matter,

accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible
on its face.’”
(quoting

Bell

(2007)).
pleads

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)
Atlantic

Corp.

v.

Twombly,

550

U.S.

544,

570

“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff

factual

reasonable

content

inference

misconduct alleged.”
“[A]

court

that

that

allows

the

the

court

defendant

is

to

the

for

liable

draw

the

Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556.)

must

accept

contained in a complaint[.]”

as

true

Id.

all

of

the

allegations

Legal conclusions, together

with threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,
do

not

suffice

to

considering

a

identifying

pleadings

state

motion

to

a

claim.

dismiss

that,

because

Id.
can

Thus,

choose

they

are

to
no

“a

begin
more

conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth.”
at 679.

court
by
than
Id.

“While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a

complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations.”

Id.

If a complaint can be remedied by an amendment, a district court
may not dismiss the complaint with prejudice, but must permit
the amendment.

Grayson v. Mayview State Hospital, 293 F.3d 103,

108 (3d Cir. 2002).
II.

DISCUSSSION

3

Plaintiff
Geraldine

seeks

Cohen

monetary

for

damages

allegedly

from

ACJF

unconstitutional

and

Warden

conditions

of

confinement, including black mold in the showers and outdated
ventilation

system,

which

caused

problems, boils, and ringworms.
The

Atlantic

County

him

to

suffer

respiratory

(Compl., ECF No. 1.)

Justice

Facility

(“ACJF”)

“state actor” within the meaning of § 1983.

is

not

a

See Crawford v.

McMillian, 660 F. App’x 113, 116 (3d Cir. 2016) (“the 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)).

Therefore, the claims against ACJF must be dismissed.
To state a § 1983 claim for a constitutional violation, a
plaintiff must allege facts showing each defendant’s personal
involvement in the alleged misconduct.

Evancho v. Fisher, 423

F.3d 347, 353 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting Rode v. Dellarciprete, 845
F.3d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir. 1988).

Here, Plaintiff has not alleged

any facts concerning the involvement of Geraldine Cohen in the
conditions of the jail.
sergeants
showers,

and

multiple

outdated

materials.

Plaintiff asserts only that he alerted
staff

members

ventilation

systems,

about
and

the

mold

lack

of

in

the

cleaning

(Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶III, IV.)

Plaintiff, however, may be able to amend the complaint to
name state actors who were personally involved in the alleged
unconstitutional

conditions

of
4

confinement.

Plaintiff

is

advised that the amended complaint must plead sufficient facts
to

support

a

reasonable

inference

that

a

constitutional

violation has occurred, in order to survive this Court’s review
under §§ 1915 and 1915A.

The due process analysis requires

courts to consider whether the totality of the conditions “cause
inmates to endure such genuine privations and hardship over an
extended

period

of

time,

that

the

adverse

conditions

excessive in relation to the purposes assigned to them.
v.

Taylor,

538

F.3d

229,

233

(3d

Cir.

2008)

become
Hubbard

(alterations

omitted) (emphasis added) (quoting Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S.
520, 542 (1979)).

The fact that an individual is temporarily

exposed to mold and outdated ventilation, without more, does
rise to the level of a constitutional violation.
If Plaintiff files an amended complaint, he should include
specific

facts,

such

as

the

dates

and

length

of

his

confinement(s), any specific individuals who were involved in
creating or failing to remedy the conditions of confinement, and
any

other

confinement.

relevant
Plaintiff

facts

regarding

should

note

the

that

conditions

when

an

of

amended

complaint is filed, it should be complete in itself because it
replaces the original complaint.

See 6 Wright, Miller & Kane,

Federal Practice and Procedure 1476 (2d ed. 1990).
III. CONCLUSION

5

For the reasons stated above, the complaint is dismissed
without prejudice for failure to state a claim. The Court will
reopen the matter if Plaintiff files an amended complaint within
the time allotted by the Court.
An appropriate order follows.

s/Renée Marie Bumb__________
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge
Dated: September 6, 2017

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