Johnson v. Garman et al

Filing 12

MEMORANDUM (Order to follow as separate docket entry). Signed by Honorable Yvette Kane on 3/8/18. (rw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MICHAEL JOHNSON,
Plaintiff
v.
MARK GARMAN, et al.,
Defendants

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No. 1:17-cv-00853
(Judge Kane)

MEMORANDUM
I.

BACKGROUND
Pro se Plaintiff Michael Johnson (“Plaintiff”), an inmate currently confined at the State

Correctional Institution at Rockview (“SCI-Rockview”), in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, initiated
the above-captioned action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on May 16, 2017. (Doc. No. 1.) In the
caption of the complaint, Plaintiff named as Defendants Mark Garman (“Garman”), the
superintendent of SCI-Rockview; SCI-Rockview; and SCI-Rockview officials and maintenance
employees. (Id.) Plaintiff alleged the following conditions of confinement claims against
Defendants: that he was forced to drink non-potable water for over three months; was subjected
to excessively hot and pigeon-infested1 living conditions; and was exposed to second-hand
tobacco smoke. (Id.)
Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PLRA”), the Court issued a
Memorandum and Order dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint and granting him leave to file an
amended complaint. (Doc. Nos. 9, 10.) On November 27, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion for
leave to file an amended complaint (Doc. No. 11), which this Court construes as Plaintiff’s
amended complaint. The Court now screens the amended complaint pursuant to its obligation
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Plaintiff alleged that the living environment has become pigeon infested with “filthy-nastypol[l]uted pigeon infested mess” which is “all over the wall mountings . . . floors, in the seating
areas, [and] on top of the tables.” (Doc. No. 1 at 1.)
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under the PLRA, and for the reasons that follow, will dismiss the amended complaint and grant
Plaintiff a final opportunity to file a second amended complaint.
II.

LEGAL STANDARD
A district court must dismiss a prisoner’s complaint filed in forma pauperis if the court

determines that the complaint is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief may
be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from suit. 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2)(B). Additionally:
The court shall on its own motion . . . dismiss any action brought
with respect to prison conditions under section 1983 of this title, or
any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or
other correctional facility if the court is satisfied that the action is
frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune
from such relief.
42 U.S.C. § 1997e(c)(1). Because Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis and is complaining
about prison conditions, the screening provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and 42 U.S.C. §
1997e(c) apply.
In order to determine whether to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon
which relief may be granted:
A [d]istrict [c]ourt must . . . determine whether the facts alleged in
the complaint are sufficient to show that the plaintiff has a
‘plausible claim for relief.’ In other words, a complaint must do
more than allege the plaintiff’s entitlement to relief. A complaint
has to ‘show’ such an entitlement with its facts.
Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210-11 (3d Cir. 2009); see also Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (“[T]he [c]ourt is not requiring heightened fact pleading of
specifics, but only enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”); Ashcroft
v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677 (2009) (“The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability
requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted
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unlawfully.”). To this end, a district court must “accept all factual allegations as true, construe
the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any
reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Fowler, 578 F.3d at
210 (internal quotations omitted). However, the court is “not bound to accept as true a legal
conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (internal quotations omitted).
In resolving the question of whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief may be
granted, a district court performs a “two-part analysis.” Fowler, 578 F.3d at 210. First, the court
separates the factual assertions from the legal conclusions and disregards the legal conclusions.
Id. at 210-11. Second, the court “determine[s] whether the facts alleged in the complaint are
sufficient to show that the plaintiff has a ‘plausible claim for relief.’” Id. at 211. When
performing this exercise, courts must accord substantial deference and liberality to pro se parties.
Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 10 (1980) (“It is settled law that the allegations of such a [pro se]
complaint, ‘however inartfully pleaded’ are held ‘to less stringent standards than formal
pleadings drafted by lawyers . . .’”); Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972).
Moreover, in order to state a viable § 1983 claim and avoid dismissal for failure to state a
claim upon which relief may be granted, a plaintiff must plausibly plead: (1) that the conduct
complained of was committed by a person acting under color of state law; and (2) that said
conduct deprived plaintiff of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or laws
of the United States. Natale v. Campden Cty. Corr. Facility, 318 F.3d 575, 580-81 (3d Cir.
2003); Groman v. Twp. of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 638 (3d Cir. 1995); Shaw by Strain v.
Strackhouse, 920 F.2d 1135, 1141-42 (3d Cir. 1990).

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III.

DISCUSSION
a.

Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint

The Court first observes that Plaintiff is proceeding in this matter on an amended
complaint. (Doc. No. 11). As a matter of law, an amended complaint takes the place of any
previously filed complaints, effectively invalidating them. See In re Crysen/Montenay Energy
Co., 226 F.3d 160, 162 (2d Cir. 2000) (“[A]n amended pleading ordinarily supersedes the
original and renders it of no legal effect.”). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s original complaint (Doc. No.
1) is of no force or effect, and the Court turns to the amended complaint (Doc. No. 11), as the
operative document in this action.
In his amended complaint, Plaintiff alleges that “prison maintenance employees”
reconnected “an old – bacterially filled – non cured – contaminated unused [water] line” to the
prison that has caused Plaintiff to suffer “physical injury upon its consumption.” (Id. ¶ 2.)
Plaintiff also alleges that “[e]ither prison officials or correctional officers generally” failed to
perform “necessary maintenance to stop wildlife from entering into the [prison,]” allowing
“pigeons to penetrate the building” which has affected “many inmates[’] health” and has caused
Plaintiff to “suffer physical injury.” (Id. ¶ 3.) Plaintiff also avers that “prison maintenance” does
not have a “regulated heating thermostat,” which causes the temperature to rise to “nearly
fainting conditions.” (Id. ¶ 4.) He alleges he suffered “physical injury by this exposure” to the
excessive heat. (Id.) Plaintiff next maintains that “prison officials” are responsible for the
prison’s “no smoking policy” and that Plaintiff was exposed to “environmental tobacco” when
he was placed in a cell with a smoker, which caused him to suffer “physical injury [for] over 12
months.” (Id. ¶ 5.) Plaintiff alleges that Garman has allowed unconstitutional prison conditions
to continue to become “out-of-hand,” making the prison environment unsafe. (Id. ¶ 6.)

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a) requires that “[e]very pleading must have a caption
with the courts name, a title, a file number, and Rule 7(a) designation. The title of the complaint
must name all the parties.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a). While Plaintiff’s amended complaint contains
a caption, the only Defendant named therein is Garman. (Doc. No. 11 at 1.) Although Plaintiff
includes the designation “et al” after Garman, this designation, “without an identification of the
proper parties in the body of the complaint, does not satisfy the Rule 10(a) identification
requirement.” See Walker v. Walsh, Civ. No. 11-1750, 2012 WL 1569629, at *3 (M.D. Pa. May
3, 2012) (quoting Allen v. AMTRAK, Civ. No. 3-3497, 2004 WL 2830629, at *3 (E.D. Pa. Dec.
7, 2004)).
Moreover, Plaintiff’s amended complaint suffers from the same deficiencies as his
original complaint. The allegations in his amended complaint are conclusory statements of law
unsupported by facts. (Doc. No. 11 ¶¶ 1-9.) Indeed, the amended complaint is devoid of any
well-pleaded factual averments related to any specific Defendant as it does not identify any
individual Defendant engaged in misconduct, nor does it indicate how and when each Defendant
was involved in the alleged wrongdoing. (Id.) This style of pleading is inadequate because it
fails to allege facts that give rise to a plausible claim for relief. See Hudson v. City of
McKeesport, 244 F. App’x 519, 522 (3d Cir. 2007) (affirming dismissal of defendant because
complaint did not provide any basis for a claim against him). Without such factual allegations, it
is implausible to determine from the amended complaint whether Defendants have deprived
Plaintiff of any constitutional rights.
In addition to Plaintiff’s failure to name any individual Defendant other than Garman, the
amended complaint also fails to allege that Plaitniff has suffered a sufficiently serious
constitutional deprivation with regard to his conditions of confinement claims. While “[t]he

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Constitution ‘does not mandate comfortable prisons,’ . . . neither does it permit inhumane
ones.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994) (quoting Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S.
337, 349 (1981)). “[I]t is now settled that ‘the treatment a prisoner receives in prison and the
conditions under which he is confined are subject to scrutiny under the Eighth Amendment.’”
Farmer, 511 U.S. at 832 (quoting Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 31 (1993)). Under Farmer,
conditions of confinement violate the Eighth Amendment if the following two criteria are met:
(1) the deprivation is objectively, sufficiently serious; and (2) the prison official was deliberately
indifferent to an inmate’s health or safety. Id. at 834, 837. Stated simply, an Eighth Amendment
violation exists when the prisoner is denied “the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities”
and the prison official acted with recklessness. Id. at 834-35 (quoting Rhodes, 452 U.S. at 347);
see also Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 303 (1991). In order to find an Eighth Amendment
violation as to conditions of confinement, the evidence must show that the prison official was
“both aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious
harm exists, and the prison official must also draw the inference.” Id. at 837.
Plaintiff’s amended complaint fails to establish that he has suffered a sufficiently serious
constitutional deprivation, as required by Farmer. For instance, Plaintiff generally avers that he
“suffered physical injury” from the alleged contaminated water, but fails to articulate what
specific type of physical injury he suffered. (Doc. No. 11 ¶ 2.) This general allegation of
“physical injury” is made throughout the remainder of Plaintiff’s amended complaint as it relates
to his various conditions of confinement claims. (Id. ¶¶ 2-5.) However, because Plaintiff has not
alleged any actual injury resulting from the alleged deprivations, he has not established a
constitutional violation. See Knight v. Wapinsky, Civ. No. 12-2023, 2013 WL 786339, at *5-6
(M.D. Pa. Mar. 1, 2013); Williams v. Campbell, Civ. No. 7-885, 2008 WL 2816089 (E.D. Pa.

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July 18, 2008); Mower v. Dauphin Cty. Prison, Civ. No. 05-0909, 2005 WL 1322738, at *5
(M.D. Pa. June 1, 2005).
Finally, the only named Defendant in Plaintiff’s amended complaint is Garman. (Doc.
No. 11 at 2.) Plaintiff avers that Garman is the facility manager of the prison and that he was
“deliberately indifferent to substantial risk to inmates health or safety . . . making the prison itself
an unsafe environment.” (Id. ¶ 6.) As set forth in this Court’s Memorandum dated October 31,
2017, the amended complaint must be dismissed because it does not allege that Garman was
personally involved in any constitutional violations, and Garman cannot be liable under § 1983
under the traditional standard of respondeat superior. Capone v. Marinelli, 868 F.2d 102, 106
n.7 (3d Cir. 1989) (“[S]upervisory personnel are only liable for the § 1983 violations of their
subordinates if they knew of, participated in or acquiesced in such conduct.”). The plaintiff must
allege that the defendant was personally involved in the events or occurrences that underlie the
claim. See Atkinson v. Taylor, 316 F.3d 257, 270-71 (3d Cir. 2003). The Court finds that
Plaintiff has failed to allege that Garman was personally involved in the events or occurrences
that underlie his claims. (Doc. No. 11.) Consequently, his amended complaint must be
dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
b.

Leave to Amend

District courts have “substantial leeway in deciding whether to grant leave to amend.”
Lake v. Arnold, 232 F.3d 360, 373 (3d Cir. 2000). “Denial of leave to amend a complaint is
especially appropriate where a party has already been given the opportunity to amend the
complaint.” In re Avandia Mktg., Sales Practices & Prod. Liab. Litig., 564 F. App’x 672, 673
(3d Cir. 2014) (citing Lake, 232 F.3d at 373 (“[W]e are inclined to give the [d]istrict [c]ourt even
broader discretion when, as here, the court has already granted the requesting party an

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opportunity to amend its complaint.”)). The Court has already afforded Plaintiff leave to amend
his pleading following the dismissal of his first complaint for failure to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted. However, given Plaintiff’s pro se status, the Court will grant Plaintiff one
additional opportunity to file an amended complaint, adhering to the following standards.
Plaintiff’s second amended complaint must be complete in all respects. It must be a new
pleading which stands by itself without reference to the original complaint, amended complaint,
or any other documents already filed. The second amended complaint should set forth his claims
in short, concise and plain statements as required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Each
paragraph should be numbered. It should specify which actions are alleged as to which
defendants, name each individual defendant, and sufficiently allege personal involvement of the
defendant in the acts which he claims violated his rights. Mere conclusory allegations that
supervisory personnel are liable for the alleged civil rights violations of their subordinates, unless
accompanied by plausible allegations that these supervisory personnel knew of, participated in,
or acquiesced in such conduct, will not set forth a cognizable claim. Moreover, Plaintiff is
strongly advised to utilize the prisoner civil rights complaint form to prepare any amended
complaint he may choose to file.
IV.

CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s amended complaint (Doc. No. 11), is

dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiff is permitted to file a second amended complaint in
accordance with the above standards within twenty (20) days of the date of the Order issued
concurrently with this Memorandum. An appropriate Order follows.

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