Conway v. Castro

321 S.W.3d 558, 2010 WL 2400403
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 2, 2010
Docket14-08-00734-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 321 S.W.3d 558 (Conway v. Castro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conway v. Castro, 321 S.W.3d 558, 2010 WL 2400403 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

JEFFREY V. BROWN, Justice.

Robert King Conway, an inmate in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“the Division”), appeals the dismissal of his pro se, in forma pauperis, action filed against the appellees who are all employees of the Division. In a single issue, Conway asserts the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing his causes of action with prejudice as frivolous for failure to meet the requirements of Chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. We affirm.

I

On June 26, 2003, appellee Nelda Sanders, the supervisor of the craft shop at the Division’s Michael Unit, notified Conway that his craft-shop privileges had been revoked and that he must send his craft-shop tools to someone outside the Michael Unit. Conway filed several grievances complaining about the taking of his tools, but received unsatisfactory responses. Division employees told him he must request that someone from outside the unit retrieve his tools or the tools would be destroyed. Conway asked his sister to pick up his tools; he testified that she kept the tools she could use, and disposed of the tools she did not recognize.

Conway later sued the appellees under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that their acts violated his rights to procedural due process and equal protection as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 19, of the Texas Constitution. He also alleged that the appellees committed conversion. Conway sued Raynaldo Castro in both his official and individual capacities, but sued the remaining appellees solely in their individual capacities. Without a hearing, the trial court determined the claims to be frivolous or malicious and dismissed Conway’s suit with prejudice pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

Conway appealed the trial court’s dismissal to the Twelfth Court of Appeals in Tyler. The Tyler court found that because Conway had an adequate post-deprivation remedy, he did not have a cause of action for a due-process violation under section 1983. Conway v. Castro, 12-03-00373-CV, 2004 WL 1103584, at *2 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2004, no pet.) (memo.op.). The Tyler court further held that the trial court erred in dismissing with prejudice Conway’s causes of action for conversion and equal protection without holding a hearing. Id. at *3. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal as to Conway’s section-1983 claim against Raynaldo Castro in his official capacity and his claim for due-process violations asserted against all the [560]*560appellees in their individual capacities. The court reversed the dismissal as to Conway’s claims for equal-protection violations and conversion as to all the appellees, and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

On August 30, 2005, the trial court held a hearing to determine whether Conway’s conversion and equal-protection claims were frivolous or malicious pursuant to Chapter 14. At the hearing, Conway testified that he requested that his tools be stored in the craft shop when his craft-shop privileges were rescinded, but was forced to send the tools to his sister or risk having them destroyed. He further testified that he learned through inmate-to-inmate mail that the craft shops at the Robertson Unit and the Beto I Unit store tools for inmates whose privileges have been suspended rather than require the tools to be sent outside the unit. He argued that Administrative Directive 3.72 was being applied differently to him than it was to other inmates.

The State presented evidence that Conway lost his craft-shop privileges because he used another inmate’s tools to produce craft-shop items for that inmate. The State categorized this offense as a “major disciplinary action” because Conway engaged in “traffic and trade.” The State argued that none of the appellees converted Conway’s tools because he was allowed to send his tools to his sister. The State further argued that Conway’s equal-protection claim was frivolous because a mere violation of a Division policy does not constitute a constitutional violation. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court dismissed Conway’s conversion claim as “frivolous or malicious,” and ordered the case to “proceed under [the] equal[-]protection claim.” The court further ordered discovery to proceed on the equal-protection claim.

After the trial court’s ruling, the State argued that Conway had not met the requirement of section 14.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code because he failed to identify each suit previously brought as an inmate proceeding in forma pauperis. The trial court questioned Conway about a writ of habeas corpus filed in Beaumont, a case filed in Travis County, and several federal filings. Conway answered that he did not remember the filing in Beaumont, and the other filings were either listed in his unsworn declaration, or were filed after this suit was filed. The trial court decided to “leave its ruling as it has previously ruled,” and ordered that discovery proceed on the equal-protection claim.

On September 7, 2005, Conway filed a request for discovery in which he sought (1) names, numbers, and unit assignments of other inmates who had been denied craft-shop privileges, (2) the reason for removal of privileges, (3) whether the inmates’ tools were stored in the unit, or “somehow disposed of,” (4) rules concerning removal of craft-shop privileges from all units with a craft shop, and (5) his craft-shop files beginning in 1987, including all tools purchased. On September 8, 2005, Conway filed an affidavit listing inmates similarly situated, ie., those who were the subject of a major disciplinary action, but were permitted to store their tools on the unit until privileges were reinstated.

On October 4, 2005, the appellees filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that Conway’s equal-protection claim is frivolous because it lacks an arguable basis in law. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 14.003(a)(2) (Vernon 2002). The appel-lees argued that Conway’s equal-protection claim fails because he cannot establish that he was treated differently than other similarly situated inmates without a reasonable [561]*561basis. Without holding another hearing, the trial court dismissed, with prejudice, both the conversion and the equal-protection claims as frivolous. From that dismissal order, Conway appealed. Pursuant to section 73.001 of the Texas Government Code, the Texas Supreme Court has transferred this cause from the Twelfth Court of Appeals to the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 73.001 (Vernon 2005).

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code applies to inmate litigation. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. §§ 14.001-14.014 (Vernon 2002). A court may dismiss a suit brought pursuant to that chapter before or after process is served if the court finds that the claim is frivolous or malicious. Id. at § 14.003(a)(2). In determining whether a claim is frivolous or malicious, the statute provides that the court may consider whether (1) the claim’s realistic chance of ultimate success is slight; (2) the claim has no arguable basis in law or in fact; (3) it is clear that the party cannot prove facts in support of the claim; or (4) the claim is substantially similar to a previous claim filed by the inmate because the claim arises from the same operative facts. Id. at § 14.003(b).

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321 S.W.3d 558, 2010 WL 2400403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conway-v-castro-texapp-2010.