Marsh v. Link

330 F. Supp. 3d 1045
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 14, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 18-CV-3576
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 330 F. Supp. 3d 1045 (Marsh v. Link) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marsh v. Link, 330 F. Supp. 3d 1045 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

CYNTHIA M. RUFE, District Judge.

Pro se Plaintiff Daniel Marsh, an inmate currently incarcerated at SCI Phoenix, filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Superintendent Cynthia Link and Melissa Delliponti regarding events that occurred during his incarceration at SCI Graterford. (ECF No. 1.) He has also filed two Motions for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis . (ECF Nos. 4, 5.) For the following reasons, the Court will grant Marsh leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss his claims without prejudice and with leave to amend.

I. FACTS

Marsh previously worked in the kitchen at SCI Graterford, where he "handwashed and dumped over 1,000 trays for both A-Block and B-Block on a regular basis." (Compl. at 6.)1 Exhibits attached to Marsh's Complaint show that on August 18, 2016, a staff member gave him an order to wash E-Block's trays. (Id. at 13.) Marsh refused, "stating his job was completed." (Id. ) The officer told Marsh to leave the kitchen. (Id. ) Marsh was removed from his work assignment that same day. (Id. ) He contends that Delliponti removed him from his work assignment "without justification" and prior to a hearing. (Id. at 4-5.) He also claims that he did not receive pay "for work perform[ed] in July to Aug[ust] 2016," and that she reduced his pay grade to $0.19 per hour. (Id. at 4, 28.)

Marsh appeared before Hearing Examiner J. Yodis for a disciplinary hearing on August 23, 2016. (Id. at 15.) Yodis found Marsh guilty of refusing to obey an order, reduced the charge to a class 2 offense, and imposed a sanction of "14 days loss of job." (Id. at 15-16.) Marsh appealed, and the Program Committee upheld Yodis's determination on August 30, 2016. (Id. at 17.) Marsh appealed to Superintendent Link, who upheld the decision on September 14, 2016. (Id. at 18.) Chief Hearing Examiner Joseph Dupont upheld the decision on October 12, 2016. (Id. at 19.)

*1048Marsh filed several grievances about the loss of his job, all of which were denied. Superintendent Link was involved in the review of his grievances. (See id. at 24.) On March 1, 2018, Marsh wrote a letter to Major Clark, in which he argued that Delliponti retaliated against him for filing grievances by not paying him for work he had completed and by taking away his $0.42/hour pay grade. (Id. at 28.)

As relief, Marsh requests that his $0.42 pay grade be reinstated and that he be compensated for all pay that he lost by being removed from his job, which totals approximately $797.46. (Id. at 6.) Marsh also states that punitive damages "need[ ] to be pondered upon with the help of an attorney-wisdom [and] grace of the Court." (Id. )

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Court will grant Marsh leave to proceed in forma pauperis because it appears that he is not capable of paying the fees to commence this civil action.2 Accordingly, Marsh's Complaint is subject to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii), which requires the Court to dismiss the Complaint if it fails to state a claim. Whether a complaint fails to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is governed by the same standard applicable to motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), see Tourscher v. McCullough , 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir. 1999), which requires the Court to determine whether the complaint contains "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, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quotations omitted). "[M]ere conclusory statements do not suffice." Id. As Marsh is proceeding pro se , the Court construes his allegations liberally. Higgs v. Att'y Gen. , 655 F.3d 333, 339 (3d Cir. 2011).

III. DISCUSSION

"To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law." West v. Atkins , 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988). The Court construes Marsh's Complaint to be raising due process and retaliation claims against the Defendants. For the reasons set forth below, Marsh's Complaint fails to state a claim for relief at this time.

A. Claims Against Superintendent Cynthia Link

Marsh has not stated a claim against Superintendent Link. "Because vicarious liability is inapplicable to ... § 1983 suits, a plaintiff must plead that each Government-official defendant, through the official's own individual actions, has violated the Constitution." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 676, 129 S.Ct. 1937. There are "two general ways in which a supervisor-defendant may be liable for unconstitutional acts undertaken by subordinates." Barkes v. First Corr. Med., Inc.

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330 F. Supp. 3d 1045, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marsh-v-link-paed-2018.