Muhammad v. McMickens

708 F. Supp. 607, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073, 1989 WL 29356
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 29, 1989
DocketNos. 86 Civ. 3374 (KC), 86 Civ. 4146 (KC), 86 Civ. 8834 (KC) and 87 Civ. 1098 (KC)
StatusPublished

This text of 708 F. Supp. 607 (Muhammad v. McMickens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Muhammad v. McMickens, 708 F. Supp. 607, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073, 1989 WL 29356 (S.D.N.Y. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CONBOY, District Judge:

This is a consolidated action1 brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff

[608]*608Abdul Wahid Abdullah Muhammad, a/k/a Norman Davis, (“Muhammad”), a former inmate in the New York City Department of Correction system, alleges that defendants, the former Commissioner of the Department, the former warden of the House of Detention for Men on Rikers Island (“HDM”) and the City of New York (“the City”), violated his right under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution to the free exercise of his Muslim faith by (1) failing to prepare his food, called Halal, in a manner consistent with the dictates of his Muslim religion, (2) depriving plaintiff of a Halal meal on one occasion, allegedly due to a failure to properly control the issuance of Muslim I.D. cards, such that non-Muslims were able to get on the Halal food line whenever an undesirable meal is being served to the general prison population, and (3) requiring the Muslim population to hold .their religious services in a dirty gymnasium while the area around the room designated as the “Official Mosque for Muslim inmates” underwent construction.

Judge Weinfeld2 granted the plaintiffs application for the assignment of counsel made before the complaint was amended as he determined that the plaintiffs allegations were substantial in nature. Javeri and Muhammad v. McMickens et al., 660 F.Supp. 325, 326 (S.D.N.Y.1987). On their summary judgment motion, the defendants have submitted documentary evidence in their attempt to establish that the plaintiff cannot prove the essential elements of his case: that his alleged injuries were caused by a municipal policy or practice, and that there is a causal link between any of the defendants' conduct and the alleged constitutional violations. In opposition to the motion, plaintiff, through his counsel, did not submit a memorandum of law in opposition. He instead filed only a statement pursuant to Local Rule 3(g) of the Civil Rules of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. There was no documentary evidence appended to this statement, nor were there any affidavits submitted. In the statement, plaintiff did not dispute most of the defendants’ factual contentions; he took issue with only four statements of fact, three of which are not germane to the issues to be decided.

ANALYSIS

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 permits either the claimant or the defending party to make a motion for summary judgment. Rule 56(c) allows summary judgment to be granted “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.” Where the opposing party will bear the burden of proof at trial on a dispositive issue, “a summary judgment motion will be properly made and supported where the movant relies solely on the ‘pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file.’ ” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265. There is no requirement that the moving party who does not bear the burden of proof at trial negate the non-movant’s claim; rather, the movant must show that the nonmovant cannot prove an essential element of its case. Id.; Edwards v. City of New York, 692 F.Supp. 1579, 1582 (S.D.N.Y.1988). When a motion is made and supported as provided in Rule 56(c), the non-moving party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the non-moving party’s pleadings but must come forward with affidavits, or other competent evidence as set out in the rule, and desig[609]*609nate “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If the adversary does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against the adverse party.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553.

In addition, Local Rule 3(g) requires the moving party to submit a “separate short and concise statement of the material facts to be tried as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue to be tried.” The opposing party must submit a responsive statement which sets forth the material facts which the opponent contends present triable issues. Local Rule 3(g). All uncontroverted material facts set forth by the movant are deemed admitted. Id.

Plaintiff here has the burden at trial of proving the essential elements of his case. In order to state a cause of action against a municipality, its agencies, or its officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff must establish that his alleged injuries were caused by a municipal policy or practice, express or implied, and that there is a causal link between any of the defendants’ conduct and the alleged constitutional violations. Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 690-94, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2035-38, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978); see Batista v. Rodriguez, 702 F.2d 393, 397-98 (2d Cir.1983). The defendants have attempted to demonstrate that the plaintiff cannot prove that there existed a municipal policy violative of his constitutional rights with respect to the three specifications of alleged wrongdoing by prison authorities. Plaintiff, then, had the burden to come forward and show that he can prove the elements of his cause of action. Plaintiff has not satisfied his burden with regard to the second and third claims enumerated above. Genuine issues of fact remain, however, as to the first claim that his food was not prepared in accordance with his religious dictates.

With regard to the second and third claims, the plaintiff seeks to hold the Commissioner or the City liable for the single instances of missing one meal or praying one time in unsanitary surroundings. It is well settled that an allegation of a single act of constitutional deprivation will not invoke municipal liability “unless proof of the incident includes proof that it was caused by an existing, unconstitutional municipal policy which policy can be attributed to a municipal policymaker.” Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 823-24, 105 S.Ct. 2427, 2436, 85 L.Ed.2d 791 (1985) (plurality opinion); Dodd v. City of Norwich, 827 F.2d 1, 5 (2d Cir.1987); see Batista, 702 F.2d at 397. Defendants, through their evidence, have demonstrated that there were no municipal policies in existence at the time of the complained of incidents that sought to deprive him of his right to his Halal meal or to make him pray in unclean surroundings.

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Related

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle
471 U.S. 808 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
United States v. Potamkin Cadillac Corporation
689 F.2d 379 (Second Circuit, 1982)
Edwards v. City of New York
692 F. Supp. 1579 (S.D. New York, 1988)
Javeri v. McMickens
660 F. Supp. 325 (S.D. New York, 1987)
Dodd v. City of Norwich
827 F.2d 1 (Second Circuit, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
708 F. Supp. 607, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073, 1989 WL 29356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/muhammad-v-mcmickens-nysd-1989.