Grissom, Terrance et al v. Pollard, William

Filing 10

ORDER that Plaintiff Terrance Grissom is to submit an $0.03 initial partial payment by 9/17/2015. Plaintiff Robert Kidd is to submit a Trust Fund Account Statement and confirmation that he wishes to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit by 9/17/2015. Signed by District Judge James D. Peterson on 8/27/2015. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

TERRANCE GRISSOM and
ROBERT KIDD,

v.

Plaintiffs,

OPINION & ORDER
14-cv-808-jdp

WILLIAM J. POLLARD,
Defendant.

Plaintiffs Terrance Grissom and Robert Kidd, prisoners in the custody of the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections, bring this lawsuit against William Pollard, warden of
the Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), alleging that he disregarded their complaints
about improper treatment of their mental and physical health issues and other problems.
Kidd is still incarcerated at WCI, but Grissom has been transferred to the Columbia
Correctional Institution (CCI).
After considering several submissions made by each plaintiff individually as well as
their joint submissions, I conclude that the case cannot proceed until several issues are
resolved regarding plaintiffs’ finances and Kidd’s involvement in the case. I will give plaintiffs
a short time to address these issues.

ALLEGATIONS OF FACT
Plaintiff Terrance Grissom suffers from a “mental disorder/psychosis and or epilepsy.”
Dkt. 1, at 7. He also states that he has knee pain that he ascribes to cancer. Plaintiff Robert
Kidd has “seizure disorders/major psychosis/colon cancer.” Id. at 2. While housed at WCI,
they were also “exposed to cold air with no heat.” Id. Plaintiffs state that defendant William

Pollard, warden of the Waupun Correctional Institution, “is responsible for the [denial] of
equal rights and protection” and did not respond to their written complaints about these
problems. Id. at 2-3. Plaintiffs seek transfer to a mental health facility.

ANALYSIS
A.

Grissom’s in forma pauperis status
Grissom seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis, but he has “struck out” under 28

U.S.C. § 1915(g), which means that he cannot obtain indigent status under § 1915 in any
suit he files during the period of his incarceration unless he alleges facts in his complaint from
which an inference may be drawn that he is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. To
meet the imminent danger requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a prisoner must allege a
physical injury that is imminent or occurring at the time the complaint is filed 1 and show
that the threat or prison condition causing the physical injury is real and proximate.
Ciarpaglini v. Saini, 352 F.3d 328, 330 (7th Cir. 2003) (citing Heimermann v. Litscher, 337
F.3d 781 (7th Cir. 2003); Lewis v. Sullivan, 279 F.3d 526, 529 (7th Cir. 2002)). In this
complaint, Grissom alleges that he suffers from physical and mental health problems that
Pollard is ignoring, which is sufficient to meet the “imminent danger” standard at this point.
Therefore, Grissom may proceed on his claims without prepayment of the $350 filing fee.
Although I conclude that Grissom qualifies to proceed in forma pauperis under the
imminent danger exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), he must still make an initial partial
payment of the filing fee before the complaint can be screened. In addition, he will have to
1

This means that Grissom does not lose the ability to proceed on “imminent danger” claims
by virtue of his transfer from WCI after he filed the complaint, even though defendant
Pollard does not currently have custody over Grissom.

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pay the remainder of the fee in installments of 20% of the preceding month’s income in
accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
The initial partial payment is calculated by using the method established in § 1915 by
figuring 20% of the greater of the average monthly balance or the average monthly deposits
to the plaintiff’s trust fund account. From the account statement Grissom has submitted, I
calculate his initial partial payment to be $0.03. If Grissom does not have the money in his
regular account to make the initial partial payment, he will have to arrange with prison
authorities to pay some or all of the assessment from his release account, or respond to this
order explaining why he cannot make this initial payment. This does not mean that he is free
to ask prison authorities to pay his entire filing fee from his release account. The only
amount he must pay at this time is the $0.03 initial partial payment. Grissom should show a
copy of this order to prison officials to ensure that they are aware that they should send his
initial partial payment to this court.
B.

Plaintiff Kidd
Kidd is named as a plaintiff in the complaint and appears to be bringing claims similar

to Grissom’s. However, unlike Grissom, Kidd did not submit a motion for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis. The court directed Kidd to submit a trust fund account statement, Dkt. 4, and
Kidd responded by submitting a letter suggesting that he incorrectly believes that he can
obtain a full waiver of the filing fee because he is disabled as a result of military service. Kidd
followed up by sending a letter stating that his signature on the complaint was forged, Dkt. 7,
leading me to believe that perhaps Kidd does not want to litigate this lawsuit. 2

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Examination of the complaint shows that Kidd’s name is printed on the signature block,
which seems to fit with Grissom’s style of printing his name as a signature. The filings coming
directly from Kidd include a more conventional cursive-style signature by Kidd. If it turns out

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I will give Kidd a chance to respond to this order, explaining whether he actually
wishes to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit. If he does, he will also have to submit a trust fund
account statement. To clarify Kidd’s obligations, if he decides to go ahead with this lawsuit,
he will owe a separate filing fee from Grissom and will eventually have to pay off the entire
amount ($350 if he is found to be indigent, $400 if not). If he qualifies for in forma pauperis
status, he will be assessed an initial partial payment based on his trust fund account
statement. That is the only amount he will owe before the case can proceed. If Kidd chooses
not to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit, he will be dismissed from the case and will not owe a
filing fee.
C.

New allegations
After Grissom was transferred to CCI, he submitted a letter stating that his mail was

being tampered with and that the water at the prison contains elevated levels of lead. These
allegations cannot be considered part of this case because they are not part of the complaint.
Even if Grissom added them to the complaint, it is unlikely that the court could consider
those allegations along with his claims against Pollard because it seems very unlikely that the
allegations would concern the same defendants or series of transactions. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
18, 20. It is also unclear whether Grissom is having problems with his mental and physical
health treatment at CCI and still seeks transfer to a mental health facility, but if so, he will
have to amend his complaint to include defendants responsible for his current conditions of
confinement and convince the court that his claims about two separate prisons should be
considered in the same case. If plaintiffs do wish to amend the complaint, they should submit

that Grissom forged Kidd’s signature on the complaint, Grissom may be sanctioned by this
court.

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an amended complaint, signed by both of them, by the same deadline I am giving them
regarding the financial issues discussed above.

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.

Plaintiff Terrance Grissom is assessed $0.03 as an initial partial payment of the
$350 fee for filing this case. Grissom is to submit a check or money order made
payable to the clerk of court in the amount of $0.03 or advise the court in
writing why he is not able to submit the assessed amount on or before
September 17, 2015.

2.

Plaintiff Robert Kidd may have until September 17, 2015, to respond to this
order, explaining whether he wishes to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit. I will
attach a copy of the complaint to the copy of this order being sent to Kidd. If
he chooses to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit, he may have until September 17,
2015 to submit a six-month trust find account statement so that the court may
consider his request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

Entered August 27, 2015.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge

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