HOLLOWAY v. WARD

District Court, M.D. Georgia·Decided November 1, 2023·No. 5:23-cv-00001·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA MACON DIVISION

MICHAEL DAVID HOLLOWAY, : : Plaintiff, : : Case No. 5:23-cv-00001-MTT-MSH v. : : COMMISSIONER WARD, et.al., : : Proceedings Under 42 U.S.C. §1983 Defendants. : Before the U. S. Magistrate Judge : _________________________________

ORDER AND RECOMMENDATION Presently pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s “Second Statement of Claim”. ECF No. 20. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff’s “Second Statement of Claim” shall be construed as an amended complaint. The Report and Recommendation signed on August 11, 2023 (ECF No. 19) is therefore VACATED and Plaintiff’s amended complaint (ECF No. 20) is now ripe for preliminary review. Based on this review, it is now RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff’s complaint be dismissed for failure to obey an order of the court and for failure to state a claim. DISCUSSION I. Procedural History Plaintiff initiated this civil action on January 4, 2023 by filing a complaint brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff also filed a statutorily incomplete motion to proceed in forma pauperis. ECF No. 2. On January 18, 2023, this Court conducted a preliminary review of Plaintiff’s complaint and found many deficiencies including time- barred allegations, shotgun pleading, respondent superior claims, and improperly joined claims. See ECF No. 4. Thus, Plaintiff was ordered to recast his complaint and provided with instructions on how to do so. Id. Plaintiff was further ordered to pay the filing fee or

submit a certified copy of his inmate trust account for the preceding six months in support of his motion to proceed in forma pauperis. Id. Plaintiff was given fourteen days to comply with the Court’s order. Id. On February 2, 2023, Plaintiff submitted a certified account statement that revealed Plaintiff’s ability to pay the filing fee. ECF No. 7. Therefore, on February 8, 2023, the Court denied Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis and

Plaintiff was ordered to pay the filing fee. ECF No. 8. Plaintiff’s complaint was later dismissed on March 27, 2023 for failure to pay the filing fee and failure to submit a recast complaint as ordered. ECF No. 11. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration. ECF No. 15. Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration was granted because Plaintiff had indeed paid the filing fee prior to the

dismissal of this action. See ECF No. 16. But because Plaintiff had still not submitted a recast complaint, he was once more ordered to submit a recast complaint and provided instructions on how to do so. Id. Plaintiff then submitted his recast complaint. ECF No. 17. However, Plaintiff failed to include a statement of claim within his recast complaint. See id. On July 20, 2023, Plaintiff was provided one more opportunity to submit an

amended complaint to this Court that complied with this Court’s orders and that stated a claim for which relief may be granted. ECF No. 18. Plaintiff was given fourteen days to do so. Id. The time to submit another amended complaint passed on August 7, 2023 with Plaintiff filing no amended complaint. Therefore, on August 11, 2023, this Court conducted a review of Plaintiff’s recast complaint (ECF No. 17) and recommended dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted. ECF No. 19.

On August 21, 2023, the Court received a pleading from Plaintiff dated August 10, 2023 and captioned “Plaintiff’s Second Statement of Claim”. ECF No. 20. Because Plaintiff’s “Second Statement of Claim” predates this Court’s Report and Recommendation, it logically cannot be taken as an objection to the recommendation of dismissal. And although Plaintiff’s “Second Statement of Claim” is dated several days

beyond the terminal date that Plaintiff was provided to submit an amended complaint (see ECF No. 18), this Court will graciously accept Plaintiff’s “Second Statement of Claim” (ECF No. 20) as his final amended complaint. Therefore, the August 11, 2023, Report and Recommendation to dismiss Plaintiff’s previous amended complaint (ECF No. 19) is now moot. This Court therefore vacates that Report and Recommendation so that the Court can

conduct a preliminary screening of Plaintiff’s claims, as supplemented by the allegations made in his now accepted amended complaint (ECF No. 20). II. Preliminary Screening of Plaintiff’s Claims A. Standard of Review In accordance with the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), the district courts

are obligated to conduct a preliminary screening of every complaint filed by a prisoner who seeks redress from a government entity, official, or employee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Screening is also required under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) when the plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis. Both statutes apply in this case, and the standard of review is the same. When conducting preliminary screening, the Court must accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true. Boxer X v. Harris, 437 F.3d 1107, 1110 (11th Cir. 2006) abrogated in part on other grounds by Wilkins v. Gaddy, 559 U.S. 34 (2010); Hughes v. Lott, 350

F.3d 1157, 1159-60 (11th Cir. 2003). Pro se pleadings, like the one in this case, are “‘held to a less stringent standard than pleadings drafted by attorneys and will, therefore, be liberally construed.’” Hughes, 350 F.3d at 1160 (citation omitted). Still, the Court must dismiss a prisoner complaint if it “(1) is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or (2) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune

from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. §1915A(b). A claim is frivolous if it “‘lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.’” Miller v. Donald, 541 F.3d 1091, 1100 (11th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted). The Court may dismiss claims that are based on “‘indisputably meritless legal’” theories and “‘claims whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.’” Id. (citation omitted). A complaint fails to state

a claim if it does not include “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to 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)). The factual allegations in a complaint “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level” and cannot “‘merely create[] a suspicion [of] a legally cognizable right of action.’” Twombly, 550 U.S.

at 555 (citation omitted). In other words, the complaint must allege enough facts “to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence” supporting a claim. Id. at 556. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. To state a claim for relief under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that (1) an act or omission deprived him of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or a statute of the United States; and (2) the act or omission was committed by a person acting

under color of state law. Hale v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

HOLLOWAY v. WARD, (M.D. Ga. 2023).

HOLLOWAY v. WARD (HOLLOWAY v. WARD) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Wilkins v. Gaddy
559 U.S. 34 (Supreme Court, 2010)
Siddiq Asad v. James v. Crosby
158 F. App'x 166 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Oxford Asset Mgmt. Ltd. v. Michael Jaharis
297 F.3d 1182 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Ned Hughes v. Charles Lott
350 F.3d 1157 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
Purcell Ex Rel. Estate of Morgan v. Toombs County, GA
400 F.3d 1313 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Michael Snow v. Directv, Inc.
450 F.3d 1314 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Yan Zocaras v. Castro
465 F.3d 479 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Katie Lowery v. Honeywell International, Inc.
483 F.3d 1184 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Douglas v. Yates
535 F.3d 1316 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Miller v. Donald
541 F.3d 1091 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Keating v. City of Miami
598 F.3d 753 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
Hudson v. Palmer
468 U.S. 517 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Lewis v. Casey
518 U.S. 343 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)