Beckendorf v. Fleischman

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 18, 2025
Docket2:21-cv-01357
StatusUnknown

This text of Beckendorf v. Fleischman (Beckendorf v. Fleischman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beckendorf v. Fleischman, (E.D. La. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

FRANK WILLIAM BECKENDORF, III CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO: 21-01357

DANIEL FLEISCHMAN, Individually SECTION: T (5) and in his/her official capacity, et al.

ORDER and REASONS Before the Court is a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) filed by Defendants Warrenisha Dutre, Daniel Fleischman, Brian Harris, Kayla Kass, Savannah Manser, Lt. Schmidt, Jan Smith, and Randy Smith. R. Doc. 71. Plaintiff Frank William Beckendorf, III has filed a response styled as an objection to the motion. R. Doc. 74. Defendants filed a reply in support of the Motion. R. Doc. 82. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings in favor of Defendants.1 BACKGROUND Plaintiff is a former state prisoner who filed this pro se and in forma pauperis civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against numerous defendants. R. Doc. 7. In his lawsuit, Plaintiff claimed that the medical-Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs under 42 U.S.C § 1983. Those defendants, however, were dismissed for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. See R. Docs. 38 and 44 (adopting the report and recommendation of the Magistrate Judge). Plaintiff also asserted that, while he was a pretrial detainee, the deputy-

1 Plaintiff filed an untimely sur-reply, R. Doc. 97, without first seeking leave of court. Accordingly, the pleading is not properly before the Court and will not be considered. 1 Defendants, specifically St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith, Daniel Fleischman, Kayla Kass, Brian Harris, Savannah Manser, Warrenisha Dutre, Lt. Schmidt, and Jan Smith, each in their official and individual capacities, had violated his rights under the 14th Amendment by, inter alia, impeding his sleep by leaving lights on, disregarding COVID-19 guidelines, and providing no

outdoor recreation. The deputy-Defendants were originally dismissed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) on the basis that Plaintiff had failed to provide the Court with his current address despite being aware of his obligation to do so, and mail sent to him at his address of record was returned as undeliverable. R. Doc. 50 and 51. However, the Court on reconsideration later vacated that order and judgment, R. Doc. 55, allowing Plaintiff’s suit against the deputy-Defendants to proceed. Defendants then filed this Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. R. Doc. 71. In his Complaint, R. Doc. 7, Plaintiff asserts, while he was a pretrial detainee in the St, Tammany Parish Jail, (1) that deputies routinely left the lights on well past midnight and often times all night long making it near impossible to sleep during normal night hours (noting elsewhere that one deputy, Kayla Kass, was “notorious for leaving the lights on all night because she was

especially hostile towards detainees,” R. Doc. 7, p. 6); (2) that outdoor recreation is not provided for months at a time; (3) that deputies disregarded CDC guidelines for COVID-19 and regularly entered the dorm with no mask; (4) that plaintiff was housed in a dormitory where access to the bathroom area was limited for individual inmates’ unruly behavior and that inmates were informed that the gate to the bathroom would be closed for two-hour intervals, and open for fifteen-minute intervals, as long as inmates continued to be unruly or too many of the inmates entered the bathroom/water area during night hours; (5) that plaintiff was placed in a holding cell for seven days; (6) that he was not provided with bedding in the holding cell; (7) that Defendants improperly

2 cited to the Jail Handbook; and (8) that Plaintiff was verbally threatened with disciplinary action, criminal charges, extended lockdown, and loss of due process and liberty if he continued to utilize the grievance procedure. Plaintiff asserted in his Complaint that he is “under imminent danger of serious physical injury,” though this assertion is directed to both the previously-dismissed medical treatment claims and the claims against the deputy-Defendants.2 See R. Doc. 7, p. 7. Plaintiff

sought injunctive relief, court costs and attorney fees, “all monetary settlement allowed by law,” habeas corpus relief, and $1,962,000 in damages. R. Doc. 7, p. 6. LAW and ANALYSIS Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[a]fter the pleadings are closed...a party may move for judgment on the pleadings.”3 The purpose of a Rule 12(c) motion is to “dispose of cases where the material facts are not in dispute and a judgment on the merits can be rendered by looking to the substance of the pleadings and any judicially noticed facts.” Mendy Bros., LLC v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, Civ. A. No. 16-6406, 2017 WL 2558891 (E.D. La. June 13, 2017). The Court can dismiss a claim under Rule 12(c) when the Plaintiff can prove no set of facts

in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief. Id. (citing Collins v. A.B.C. Marine Towing, L.L.C., U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86515, at *6 (E.D. La. June 30, 2015)). The standard for deciding a Rule 12(c) motion is the same as a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Guidry v. American Public Life Ins. Co., 512 F.3d 177, 180 (5th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). The court “accepts all well-pleaded facts

2 In his response, for the first time, Plaintiff asserted he suffered sleep deprivation and depression, but he also stated he was being treated for both conditions by the medical team. 3 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e), a district court may also summarily dismiss a complaint filed in forma pauperis if it concludes the action is: (1) frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). 3 as true, viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Id. The complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if

doubtful in fact).” Id. at 570. While a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, it does demand more than an unadorned, “the defendant unlawfully harmed me” accusation. Bartholomew v. Ladreyt, Civ. A. No. 14-1468, 2015 WL 365525, at *1 (E. D. La. Jan. 27, 2015). Section 1983 creates a damages remedy for the violation of federal constitutional or statutory rights under color of state law: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State . . . subjects, or causes to be subjected, any . . . person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law . . . .

42 U.S.C.

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Beckendorf v. Fleischman, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beckendorf-v-fleischman-laed-2025.