Rush v. Jenkins et al

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: 1. The Court GRANTED Plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc. 1 ]; 2. The Court ASSESSED Plaintiff the civil filing fee of $350.00; 3. The Court DIRECTED the custodian of Pl aintiff's inmate trust account to submit the filing fee to the Clerk in the manner set for above; 4. The Court DIRECTED the Clerk to provide a copy of this Memorandum and Order to the custodian of inmate accounts at the institution where Plai ntiff is now confined and to the Court's financial deputy; 5. Even liberally construing the Complaint in favor of Plaintiff, it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES this action under 28 U .S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A. Further, the Court CERTIFIES that any appeal from this action would not be taken in good faith and would be totally frivolous. See Fed. R. App. P. 24. Should Plaintiff file a notice of appeal, he is DEN IED leave to appeal in forma pauperis. Signed by District Judge Katherine A Crytzer on 5/7/2024. (BJL)*Mailed to Cody A. Rush and to the Custodian Of Inmate Accounts at LINCOLN COUNTY JAIL 4151 THORNTON TAYLOR PARKWAY FAYETTEVILLE, TN 37334. *Sent ad hoc to the Court's Financial Deputy Clerks.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT WINCHESTER
CODY A. RUSH,
Plaintiff,
v.
BRIAN JENKINS and JIM BALDWIN,
Defendants.

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No.

4:23-cv-00066-KAC-CHS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff, a prisoner in the Lincoln County Jail, filed (1) a pro se complaint for violation of
42 U.S.C. 1983 arising out of his housing assignment [Doc. 2] and (2) a motion for leave to proceed
in forma pauperis [Doc. 1]. For the reasons set forth below, the Court (1) GRANTS Plaintiff’s
request to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc. 1] and (2) DISMISSES this action for failure to state
a claim.
I.

MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS
Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), a prisoner bringing a civil action may

apply for permission to file suit without prepaying the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). It
appears from Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc. 1] that he cannot pay
the filing fee in one lump sum. Accordingly, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the Court GRANTS the
Motion [Doc. 1].
Plaintiff is ASSESSED the civil filing fee of three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00). The
Court DIRECTS the custodian of Plaintiff’s inmate trust account to submit to the Clerk, U.S.
District Court, 900 Georgia Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402, as an initial partial payment,
whichever is the greater of: (a) twenty percent (20%) of the average monthly deposits to Plaintiff’s

inmate trust account; or (b) twenty percent (20%) of the average monthly balance in his inmate
trust account for the six-month period preceding the filing of the Complaint.

28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(b)(1)(A) and (B). Thereafter, the custodian of Plaintiff’s inmate trust account shall submit
twenty percent (20%) of Plaintiff’s preceding monthly income (or income credited to Plaintiff’s
trust account for the preceding month), but only when such monthly income exceeds ten dollars
($10.00), until the full filing fee of three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) as authorized under 28
U.S.C. § 1914(a) has been paid to the Clerk. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
To ensure compliance with this fee-collection procedure, the Court DIRECTS the Clerk
to mail a copy of this Memorandum and Order to the custodian of inmate accounts at the institution
where Plaintiff is now confined. The Court also DIRECTS the Clerk to furnish a copy of this
Memorandum and Order to the Court’s financial deputy. This Memorandum and Order shall be
placed in Plaintiff’s prison file and follow him if he is transferred to another correctional
institution.
II.

COMPLAINT SCREENING
A.

Screening Standard

Under the PLRA, district courts must screen prisoner complaints and sua sponte dismiss
any claims that are frivolous or malicious, fail to state a claim for relief, or are against a defendant
who is immune. See, e.g., 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A; Benson v. O’Brian, 179 F.3d
1014 (6th Cir. 1999). The dismissal standard articulated by the Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
556 U.S. 662 (2009) and Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) “governs dismissals for
failure state a claim under [28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A] because the relevant statutory
language tracks the language in Rule 12(b)(6)” of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Hill v.
Lappin, 630 F.3d 468, 470–71 (6th Cir. 2010). Thus, to survive an initial review under the PLRA,

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a complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that
is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570).
Allegations that give rise to a mere possibility that a plaintiff might later establish
undisclosed facts supporting recovery are not well-pled and do not state a plausible claim.
Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 570. Further, formulaic and conclusory recitations of the elements of
a claim that are not supported by specific facts are insufficient to state a plausible claim for relief.
Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 681. However, the Supreme Court has instructed that courts should liberally
construe pro se pleadings filed in civil rights cases and hold them to a less stringent standard than
“formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972).
B.

Allegations of Complaint

Defendants Brian Jenkins and Jim Baldwin are housing Plaintiff in an intake cell and refuse
to move him, even though he is a sentenced inmate, and the inmate handbook states that “sentenced
[inmates] should be in sentenced pods” [Doc. 2 at 3, 12, 16]. Defendant Baldwin is allegedly lying
about Plaintiff by “saying [he] ha[s] a[n] issue with someone,” even though he does not, and both
Defendants refuse Plaintiff’s requests to be put “in the correct classification pod” [Id. at 4-5, 1213, 16]. Also, Plaintiff is being “mistreated” and “treated unfairly,” and unspecified people call
him names [Id. at 13]. Plaintiff also “feels discriminated [sic]” [Id. at 16]. As relief, Plaintiff asks
that the Court help him and put him in the correct classification [Id. at 6]. He also seeks monetary
damages [Id.].
C.

Analysis

A claim for violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 requires a plaintiff to establish that a “person”
acting “under color of” state law deprived him of “any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by

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the Constitution and laws” of the United States. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Here, none of Plaintiff’s
allegations allow the Court to plausibly infer that either Defendant violated his federal rights.
First, Plaintiff has not plausibly alleged a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights.
Specifically, Plaintiff sets forth no facts from which the Court can plausibly infer that his
placement in the intake cell or any other condition of his confinement has caused an extreme
deprivation of a life necessity such that it would rise to the level of an Eighth Amendment
violation. See Hudson v. McMillan, 503 U.S. 1, 8-9 (1992) (providing that only allegations of
“extreme deprivations” that deny a prisoner “‘the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities”
support a cognizable Eighth Amendment conditions-of-confinement claim (citations and
quotations omitted)). Moreover, while Plaintiff makes general allegations of name calling, these
allegations fail to rise to the level of a constitutional violation. See Johnson v. Dellatifa, 357 F.3d
539, 546 (6th Cir. 2004) (providing that harassment and verbal abuse are not the type of infliction
of pain the Eighth Amendment prohibits).
Second, Plaintiff’s allegation that Defendants refuse to move him to a certain classification
does not allege a constitutional violation because Plaintiff “does not have a constitutional right to
placement . . . in a particular security classification.” See Ford v. Harvey, 106 F. App’x 397, 399
(6th Cir. 2004) (citing Montanye v. Haymes, 427 U.S. 236, 242 (1976)).
Third, while Plaintiff generally refers to mistreatment and indicates that he feels that
Defendants are discriminating against him, he does not allege a plausible claim for violation of his
right to Equal Protection. The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause provides that no
state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Const.
amend. XIV, § 1. To state a viable Equal Protection claim, “a plaintiff must adequately plead that
the government treated the plaintiff ‘disparately as compared to similarly situated persons and that

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such disparate treatment either burdens a fundamental right, targets a suspect class, or has no
rational basis.’” Ctr. For Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Napolitano, 648 F.3d 365, 379 (6th Cir.
2011) (quoting Club Italia Soccer & Sports Org., Inc. v. Charter Twp. of Shelby, Mich., 470 F.3d
286, 299 (6th Cir. 2006)).
Plaintiff does not allege that he is in a suspect class, and, as set forth above, Plaintiff does
not have a fundamental right to be housed in a certain classification. Thus, Plaintiff’s equal
protection claim can only proceed under a theory that Defendants’ failure to move him lacked any
rational basis. See Vill. of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564 (2000). However, Plaintiff’s
Complaint indicates that Defendant Baldwin has refused Plaintiff’s requests to be moved to the
sentenced inmate pod because Plaintiff has an issue with another inmate. Plaintiff makes a
conclusory allegation that Defendant Baldwin is “l[y]ing” about the issue between Plaintiff and
the other inmate, but conclusory allegations are not enough to state a claim. See Iqbal, 556 U.S.
at 681. And Plaintiff does not set forth any facts to support a plausible inference that Defendants
lack a rational basis for their decision not to move to Plaintiff to the sentenced inmate pod based
on a safety concern. As such, these allegations fail to “nudge[] [this claim] across the line from
conceivable to plausible.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570; Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
Finally, Plaintiff’s allegation that Defendants’ failure to move him to the sentenced inmate
pod violates the Jail’s inmate handbook fails to allege a violation of Section 1983. A “failure of
prison officials to follow institutional procedures or policies does not give rise to a constitutional
claim.” Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 481-82 (1995). Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES
this action because the Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
III.

CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above:

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1.

The Court GRANTED Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis [Doc. 1];

2.

The Court ASSESSED Plaintiff the civil filing fee of $350.00;

3.

The Court DIRECTED the custodian of Plaintiff’s inmate trust account to submit
the filing fee to the Clerk in the manner set for above;

4.

The Court DIRECTED the Clerk to provide a copy of this Memorandum and Order
to the custodian of inmate accounts at the institution where Plaintiff is now confined
and to the Court’s financial deputy;

5.

Even liberally construing the Complaint in favor of Plaintiff, it fails to state a claim
upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES this action
under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A.

Further, the Court CERTIFIES that any appeal from this action would not be taken in good faith
and would be totally frivolous. See Fed. R. App. P. 24. Should Plaintiff file a notice of appeal, he
is DENIED leave to appeal in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3); Fed. R. App. P. 24.
An appropriate judgment shall enter.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Katherine A. Crytzer
KATHERINE A. CRYTZER
United States District Judge

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