Baker v. Buesgen

District Court, E.D. Wisconsin·Decided October 11, 2024·No. 2:23-cv-01340·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

FONTAINE L. BAKER, SR.,

Plaintiff, Case No. 23-CV-1340-JPS v.

CHRIS BUESGEN, THOMAS ORDER ZEMAITIS, STEPHEN ANGLEMYER, HEATHER WILHELM-COPAS, JAMIE BARKER, JANE DOE 1-5, and JOHN DOE 1-5,

Defendants.

Plaintiff Fontaine L. Baker, Sr., an inmate confined at Racine Correctional Institution, filed a pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that his constitutional rights were violated. ECF No. 1. On April 1, 2024, the Court screened the complaint and allowed Plaintiff to proceed on an Eighth Amendment conditions and confinement claim, against Defendants Buesgen, Zemaitis, Anglemyer, Wilhelm-Copas, Barker, Jane Doe 1-5, and John Doe 1-5, for harmful fumes and a lack of heat and hot water. ECF No. 9 at 16. On June 5, 2024, the Court entered a scheduling order with a deadline for Plaintiff to identify the Doe defendants. ECF No. 15 at 2. On September 3, 2024, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend the complaint along with a proposed amended complaint. ECF No. 20. The Court will grant Plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 allows amendment once as a matter of course in certain circumstances; Rule 15 also provides that a Court should freely grant leave to amend when justice so requires. Civil Local Rule 15 requires that a motion to amend a complaint notify the court of the proposed changes and the proposed amended complaint be filed as an attachment to the motion. Civil Local Rule 15 further requires that a motion must reproduce the entire pleading as amended and may not incorporate any prior pleading by reference. Plaintiff indicates that he wishes to amend his complaint in order to identify the Doe defendants and clarify their individual acts. As such, the Court will grant Plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint and instruct the Clerk of Court to file the amended complaint, ECF No. 20-1, as the operative complaint going forward. The remainder of this Order screens the amended complaint. 1. FEDERAL SCREENING STANDARD Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, the Court must screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief from a governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint if the prisoner raises claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). In determining whether a complaint states a claim, the Court applies the same standard that applies to dismissals under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Cesal v. Moats, 851 F.3d 714, 720 (7th Cir. 2017) (citing Booker-El v. Superintendent, Ind. State Prison, 668 F.3d 896, 899 (7th Cir. 2012)). A complaint must include “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The complaint must contain enough facts, accepted as true, to “state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows a court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). To state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that someone deprived him of a right secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States and that whoever deprived him of this right was acting under the color of state law. D.S. v. E. Porter Cnty. Sch. Corp., 799 F.3d 793, 798 (7th Cir. 2015) (citing Buchanan–Moore v. County of Milwaukee, 570 F.3d 824, 827 (7th Cir. 2009)). The Court construes pro se complaints liberally and holds them to a less stringent standard than pleadings drafted by lawyers. Cesal, 851 F.3d at 720 (citing Perez v. Fenoglio, 792 F.3d 768, 776 (7th Cir. 2015)). 2. PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS Plaintiff brings the amended complaint against Defendants Warden Chris Buesgen (“Buesgen”), Thomas Zemaitis (“Zemaitis”), Stephen Anglemyer (“Anglemyer”), Heather Wilhelm-Copas (“Wilhelm-Copas”), Jamie Barker (“Barker”), Donna Johnson (“Johnson”), Sergeant Gronski (“Gronski”), Conner Hanno (“Hanno”), Hall (“Hall”), Sergeant Nelson (“Nelson”), J. Kratz (“Kratz”), Sergeant Eric Henricks (“Henricks”), J. Zastrow (“Zastrow”), Wnek (“Wnek”), R. Kalepp (“Kalepp”), B. Starch (“Starch”), Kathie Klinger-Berg (“Klinger-Berg”), Leahanna Krizan (“Krizan”), and Haylee Hoyt (“Hoyt”). ECF No. 20-1 at 1. During all relevant times, the individual defendants were all employees of Stanley Correctional Institution (“SCI”), and Plaintiff was housed at SCI on unit 2a. Id. at 1–2. On January 7, 2022, Plaintiff’s cell was extremely cold and had no hot water. Id. at 2. Plaintiff notified Johnson, but it remained cold. Id. A smell like burned rubber began to come through the vent in the cell but the room was never checked on by Johnson. Id. On January 10, 2022, the heating system was still not functioning. Plaintiff and other inmates complained to Johnson and Gronski, but the temperature was never checked, and it remained cold. Id. On January 19, 2022, the exhaust went down, and the room became even colder. Id. Plaintiff again complained to Street,1 Hanno, and Gronski, but nothing was done, and it remained cold. Id. Plaintiff continued to complain about the fumes and the cold to Street, Hanno, Henricks, Zastrow, Wnek, Kalepp, Johnson, and Starch on January 20, 22, 25, 27, and 29. During this time it was extremely cold outside, and the cell reflected it with temperatures as low as -16 degrees. Id. at 2-3. On January 30, 2022, Plaintiff wrote to Warden Buesgen about the cold and fumes and how inmates were sick as a result. Id. at 3. Buesgen responded that temperatures were being monitored, and Plaintiff was directed to contact unit staff for future temperature issues. Id. Plaintiff wrote to the health service unit (“HSU”) later that day about the extreme cold and fumes, but he was not seen by HSU. Id. Plaintiff filed an inmate complaint later that day. Id. On January 31, 2022, the HSU unit manager Barker responded to Plaintiff’s request and told him to talk with his unit manager. Id. Plaintiff then complained to Johnson and Starch about the fumes and the extreme cold. Id. Johnson said she would make a work order to have the windows re-caulked and to have someone check the fumes coming out of the vent. No one ever came and Plaintiff was left feeling sick

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