Dorsey v. Keen Mountain Medical Dept. et al

Filing 43

MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Senior Judge Norman K. Moon on 5/23/2019. (slt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
ROANOKE DIVISION
LAMONT DORSEY,
Plaintiff,
v.
KEEN MOUNTAIN MEDICAL
DEPT., et al.,
Defendants.

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Civil Action No. 7:17cv00559
MEMORANDUM OPINION
By: Norman K. Moon
United States District Judge

Plaintiff Lamont Dorsey, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights action
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that he was denied adequate medical treatment.
Defendants Commonwealth of Virginia and “Keen Mountain Medical Department” have moved
to dismiss, and this matter is ripe for disposition. 1 After reviewing the record, I conclude that the
motion to dismiss must be granted.
Dorsey, an inmate at Greensville Correctional Center, claims he was denied proper
medical treatment by healthcare providers at Keen Mountain Correctional Center (“Keen
Mountain”).

Dorsey names the Commonwealth of Virginia and Keen Mountain Medical

Department as two of the defendants to this action.
To state a cause of action under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege facts indicating that he has
been deprived of rights guaranteed by the Constitution or laws of the United States and that this
deprivation resulted from conduct committed by a person acting under color of state law. West
v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42 (1988) (emphasis added). The Supreme Court has made clear that “a state
is not a ‘person’ for purposes of determining who can be sued under § 1983.” Va. Office for
Prot. & Advocacy v. Reinhard, 405 F.3d 185, 189 (4th Cir. 2005) (citing Will v. Mich. Dep’t of
State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989); see Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 662-63 (1974).

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separately.

Defendant Keen Mountain Medical Director filed a separate motion to dismiss which I will address

Further, a medical department is not a legal entity and, therefore, is not a “person” subject to suit
under § 1983. See Harden v. Green, 27 F. App’x 173, 178 (4th Cir. 2001) (“The medical
department of a prison may not be sued, because it is not a person within the meaning of
§ 1983.”).

Accordingly, Dorsey cannot maintain this action against the Commonwealth of

Virginia or the Keen Mountain Medical Department and, therefore, I will grant these defendants’
motion to dismiss.
ENTER: This _____ day of May, 2019.
23rd

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