McCoy v. Pree

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedJuly 18, 2022
Docket4:22-cv-00114
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
McCoy v. Pree, (E.D. Mo. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION RICHARD LYNN MCCOY, JR., ) Plaintiff, , v. No. 4:22-CV-00114 JAR UNKNOWN PREE, et al., Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on the motion of plaintiff Richard Lynn McCoy, Jr., an inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC), for leave to commence this civil action without prepaying fees or costs. Having reviewed the motion and the financial information submitted in support, the Court has determined to grant the motion, and assess an initial partial filing fee of $13.65. Additionally, for the reasons discussed below, the Court will partially dismiss the amended complaint,! and direct the Clerk to issue process on the non-frivolous portions thereof. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), a prisoner bringing a civil action in forma pauperis is required to pay the full amount of the filing fee. If the prisoner has insufficient funds in his prison account to pay the entire fee, the Court must assess and, when funds exist, collect an initial partial filing fee of 20 percent of the greater of (1) the average monthly deposits in the prisoner’s account, or (2) the average monthly balance in the prisoner’s account for the prior six-month period. After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the prisoner is required to make monthly payments of 20

'Plaintiff filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint on February 14, 2022. The Court will grant the motion and instruct the Clerk to file the attached amended complaint. [ECF No. 4].

percent of the preceding month’s income credited to his account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The agency having custody of the prisoner will forward these monthly payments to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is fully paid. Id. Plaintiff has submitted an affidavit and a certified copy of his prison account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the submission of his amended complaint. A review of plaintiff's account indicates an average monthly deposit of $68.25. Plaintiff has insufficient funds to pay the entire filing fee. Accordingly, the Court will assess an initial partial filing fee of $13.65. Legal Standard on Initial Review This Court is required to dismiss a complaint filed in forma pauperis if it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). An action is frivolous if it “lacks an arguable basis in either law or fact.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 328 (1989). An action fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim is facially plausible when the plaintiff “pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief is a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw upon judicial experience and common sense. Jd. at 679. The court must assume the veracity of well-pleaded facts but need not accept as true “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements.” Jd. at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). This Court must liberally construe complaints filed by laypeople. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). This means that “if the essence of an allegation is discernible,” the court

should “construe the complaint in a way that permits the layperson’s claim to be considered within the proper legal framework.” Solomon v. Petray, 795 F.3d 777, 787 (8th Cir. 2015) (quoting Stone v. Harry, 364 F.3d 912, 914 (8th Cir. 2004)). However, even pro se complaints must allege facts which, if true, state a claim for relief as a matter of law. Martin v. Aubuchon, 623 F.2d 1282, 1286 (8th Cir. 1980). Federal courts are not required to assume facts that are not alleged, Stone, 364 F.3d at 914-15, nor are they required to interpret procedural rules so as to excuse mistakes by those who proceed without counsel. See McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106, 113 (1993). The Amended Complaint Plaintiff, an inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center, brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of his civil rights during his incarceration at Northeast Correctional Center (NECC). Plaintiff names the following as defendants in this action: Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe; Warden Unknown Reddington; Correctional Officer Unknown Pree; Unknown Director of Institutions of Missouri Prisons; Correctional Officer Unknown Wynn; Correctional Officer Greene; Lieutenant Unknown Waite; Correctional Officer Ensley; John Doe Doctor; John Doe Corizon Employee; Unknown Corizon Nurse; and Medical Personnel at NECC. Plaintiff sues defendants in their individual and official capacities. Plaintiff asserts that on April 6, 2020, he was placed in Housing Unit 1, D-wing, Cell No. 142. He claims that this cell was “off-line,” meaning that it was not supposed to be housing inmates at that time, because the toilet would overflow when it was flushed. Plaintiff claims that he was placed in this cell as a “form of punishment” for refusing to accept a cellmate. He alleges that he was denied an evening tray on the day he was placed in Cell No. 142. Plaintiff does not indicate who placed him in the cell or purportedly denied him a dinner tray.

Plaintiff states that he accidentally flushed the toilet in Cell No. 142, and it overflowed. He claims that as a result, he was given a conduct violation. He states that after being read the conduct violation for overflowing his toilet, he went back to sleep in his cell. “Sometime later,” plaintiff claims that he was awoken to being sprayed with pepper spray. Although his amended complaint is unclear as to who sprayed him with pepper spray, he clearly indicates in his Informal Resolution Request (Exhibit B), attached to his amended complaint, that he was maced by defendants Wynn and Ensley, without provocation, while sleeping in his cell.” Further, he states that defendants Wynn and Ensley “refused to pull offender out of his cell” even though he couldn’t “see and breathe.” The Court treats such a claim as a deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. Plaintiff claims that he then broke the sprinkler in his cell to assist in clearing the mace, and he slid underneath his bunk. Approximately twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Waite came to plaintiffs cell and asked plaintiff to submit to restraints.

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Bluebook (online)
McCoy v. Pree, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccoy-v-pree-moed-2022.