House v. Simmons et al
Filing
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MEMORANDUM OPINION AND PARTIAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL. The Plaintiff's claims against the Polunsky Unit Medical Department are dismissed with prejudice as frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Signed by Magistrate Judge Judith K. Guthrie on 1/4/12. (ljw, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
LUFKIN DIVISION
ANDRA DEMOND HOUSE #1125026
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v.
§
TIMOTHY SIMMONS, ET AL.
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CIVIL ACTION NO. 9:11cv164
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND PARTIAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The Plaintiff Andra House, an inmate of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
Correctional Institutions Division proceeding pro se, filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983
complaining of alleged deprivations of his constitutional rights. The lawsuit has been assigned to
the docket of the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge for entry of final judgment pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. §636(c).
House names as defendants Warden Timothy Simmons, Lt. Shawn Grace, and the Polunsky
Unit medical department. The medical department is a sub-unit of TDCJ and has no separate legal
existence, apart from TDCJ, and cannot be sued in its own name. See generally Darby v. Pasadena
Police Department, 939 F.2d 311, 313 (5th Cir. 1991).
Even if the medical department could be sued in its own name, it is part of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice and thus would enjoy sovereign immunity. See Pennhurst State
School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 101-02 (1984); accord, Hafer v. Melo, 112 S.Ct. 358,
363 (1991). In Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159 (1985), the Supreme Court stated that while local
governmental units could be sued in their own name for damages or equitable relief, a State may not
be sued directly in its own name regardless of the relief. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. at 167 n.14;
Amendment XI, United States Constitution. In this case, House’s claims against the medical
department at the Polunsky Unit are in effect against the State of Texas in its own name, and so these
claims are barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. See Alabama v. Pugh, 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
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(per curiam); Delahoussaye v. City of New Iberia, 937 F.2d 144, 146 (5th Cir. 1991). It is
accordingly
ORDERED that the Plaintiff’s claims against the “Polunsky Unit Medical Department” are
hereby DISMISSED with prejudice as frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief
may be granted. Such dismissal is without prejudice to House’s right to amend his complaint to add
an individual or individuals from the medical department as defendants in this lawsuit; however, he
is reminded that should he wish to add additional defendants in the case, he must do so within a
reasonable time. It is further
ORDERED that the dismissal of the Polunsky Unit Medical Department as a Defendant in
this case shall have no effect upon the Plaintiff’s claims against the remaining Defendants in this
case. Finally, it is
ORDERED that the dismissal of House’s claim against the Polunsky Unit shall not count as
a strike for purposes of 28 U.S.C. §1915(g) unless specifically counted as such by a later order of
the Court.
So ORDERED and SIGNED this 4
day of January, 2012.
____________________________
JUDITH K. GUTHRIE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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