Brown v. Graham et al

Filing 7

MEMORANDUM OPINION. SEE OPINION for complete details. Signed by District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr on 08/14/2018. Copy mailed to Plaintiff.(ccol, )

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

MILTON BROWN,
Plaintiff,
Civil Action No.3:18CV389

V.

TORREY GRAHAM,et al.,
Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Milton Brown, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se and requesting to proceed informa
pauperis, filed this civil action. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant Brown's request

to proceed informa pauperis, file the action, and dismiss it pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)
and 1915A as frivolous and malicious.

I. PRELIMINARY REVIEW

Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act ("PLRA") this Court must dismiss any
action filed by an individual proceeding informa pauperis if the Court determines the action "is
frivolous or malicious." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i); see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The first
standard includes claims based upon "an indisputably meritless legal theory," or claims where
the "factual contentions are clearly baseless." Clay v. Yates, 809 F. Supp. 417, 427 (E.D. Va.
1992) (quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989)). With respect to the second
standard, this Court has observed that:

A litigant may be deemed to act maliciously if his actions [i]mport a wish
to vex, annoy, or injure another, or an intent to do a wrongful act, and may consist
in direct intention to injure, or in reckless disregard of another's rights.
Therefore, the court must assess the character of the allegations insofar as they
indicate a motive on the part of the plaintiff to merely harass or vex the
defendants rather than to seek redress for a legitimate legal claim.