Mills v. Holmes et al

Filing 39

MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge T. S. Ellis, III on 3/24/15. (copy mailed)(gwalk, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division

Barry W. Mills,
Plaintiff,
V.

Dennis L. Holmes, et aL^
Defendants.

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l:13cv520

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Barry W. Mills, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, has filed this civil rights action,
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that defendants (i) Dennis L. Holmes, Unit Manager at

Deep Meadow Correctional Center ("Deep Meadow"), (ii) Major George E. Pierotti, Chief of
Security at Deep Meadow, (iii) Harris Diggs, Jr., Warden of Deep Meadow, and (iv) L. Mercado,
Counselor at Deep Meadow, violated plaintiffs Fourteenth Amendment Due Process rights by
failing to give him notice and a proper hearing before reducing his Good Conduct Allowance
("GCA") Class Level from I to III. This reduction in Class Level means that plaintiff now earns

GCA at one third the rate he previously enjoyed. Each defendant is sued in his official and
individual capacities. On August 28, 2013, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, to
which plaintiff filed a response. (Dkt. 20, 27). The defendants' motion was denied on the ground

that there existed a material dispute of fact as to whether plaintiff had exhausted his administrative
remedies. Mills v. Holmes, l:13cv520 (E.D. Va. Feb. 20, 2014) (Memorandum Opinion and

Order) (Dkt. 31). Thereafter, on March 20,2014, defendants filed a renewed motion for summary
judgment, to which plaintiff also filed a response. (Dkt. 33,36).
Plaintiffs § 1983 claim and defendants' motion for summary judgment raise the following
questions: