Watson v. Hollingsworth

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJuly 5, 2018
Docket16-3008
StatusUnpublished

This text of Watson v. Hollingsworth (Watson v. Hollingsworth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watson v. Hollingsworth, (10th Cir. 2018).

Opinion

FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT July 5, 2018 _________________________________ Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court PIERRE WATSON,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v. No. 16-3008 (D.C. No. 5:13-CV-03035-EFM) LISA HOLLINGSWORTH, Warden, USP- (D. Kan.) Leavenworth, in her individual and official capacity; RICHARD W. SCHOTT, Regional Counsel, in his individual and official capacity; MICHAEL K. NALLEY, Regional Director, in his individual and official capacity,

Defendants - Appellees,

and

JOSH EVANS, Senior Officer Specialist, USP-Leavenworth, in his individual and official capacities,

Defendant. _________________________________

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________

Before HARTZ, MURPHY, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges. _________________________________

* After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. In Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403

U.S. 388 (1971), the Supreme Court authorized private citizens to seek damages for

constitutional torts committed by federal officials. Courts disallow Bivens claims

against federal officials acting in their official capacities and limit liability to the

federal employee’s own acts. In this case, the district court dismissed Pierre Watson’s

official-capacity Bivens claims under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). The district court

dismissed Watson’s individual-capacity Bivens claims on summary judgment because

Watson had failed to establish any personal participation by the Defendants and had

failed to present any evidence showing a constitutional violation.1 Watson now

appeals and moves (1) to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and (2) for appointment of

appellate counsel. We affirm the district court’s dismissal, grant Watson’s IFP

motion, and deny his motion to appoint counsel.

BACKGROUND

On February 28, 2013, Watson filed this lawsuit purporting to assert individual

and official-capacity Bivens claims against Josh Evans, Lisa Hollingsworth, Richard

W. Schott, and Michael K. Nalley. On January 21, 2014, Watson amended his

Complaint to add additional factual allegations, again asserting Bivens claims against

the same Defendants. Watson’s allegations derived from a June 27, 2011 altercation

between Watson and corrections officer Evans.

1 Josh Evans is identified in the caption as a Defendant, but not as one of the Defendants-Appellees. As noted in this order, Watson never served Evans with process, and Evans never personally appeared and defended. So the discussion of the district court’s rulings on the merits pertains to the three Defendants-Appellees, Hollingsworth, Schott, and Nalley. 2 In his Amended Complaint, Watson alleged that Evans had physically

assaulted him, causing severe head trauma. Watson alleged that Evans had repeatedly

punched him in the face while Watson was handcuffed. Watson also alleged that

Evans had “grabbed [his] throat . . . very tightly . . . to the point of not being able to

breath [sic].” R. Vol. 1 at 125. Watson further alleged that Evans had slammed his

face into the ground and that other unknown officers had repeatedly struck him in the

head even though he had been restrained on the floor for minutes.

Watson does not allege that Hollingsworth, Schott, or Nalley (collectively

referred to as Defendants-Appellees) participated in this attack. Instead, Watson

merely alleges that Hollingsworth “conspire[d] with [Schott and Nalley] to deprive

[Evans] of his equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the 8th and 14th

Amendments of the United States Constitution.” R. Vol. 1 at 126.

Hollingsworth was the warden at the USP Leavenworth correctional facility

during Watson’s incarceration. Schott was the Bureau of Prisons’ Regional Counsel,

and Nalley was the Bureau of Prisons’ Regional Director. Watson alleges that

Hollingsworth “refused to answer [his] Request for Administrative Remedy” and

“allowed C/O Evans to assault Plaintiff and not be disciplined for his infliction of

pain.” R. Vol. 1 at 126–27. As for Schott and Nalley, Watson alleges that they, along

with Hollingsworth, “refused to answer [his] grievances, letters, and continued to

keep [him] in the Special Housing Unit (“SHU”) under investigation pending

prosecution against Plaintiff.” Id. at 127.

3 After Watson filed his Amended Complaint, the district court issued

summonses for all four Defendants. Watson successfully served Schott and Nalley.

But Hollingsworth and Evans were no longer employed at USP Leavenworth, and

Watson never served them with a Summons and Complaint. Even though she was

never served, Hollingsworth appeared and participated in this action. Evans has never

been served and has never appeared.

Hollingsworth, Schott, and Nalley responded to Watson’s Complaint by filing

a motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, a motion for summary judgment. In their

motion, Defendants-Appellees asserted that the district court should dismiss

Watson’s official-capacity Bivens claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Next, Defendants-Appellees asserted that the district court

should dismiss all of Watson’s individual-capacity Bivens claims under Fed. R. Civ.

P. 12(b)(6) because Watson had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. Third,

Defendants-Appellees argued that the district court should grant summary judgment

based on qualified-immunity grounds. Finally, Defendants-Appellees argued that the

district court should dismiss the Bivens claims because Watson had failed to show

any personal participation by Defendants-Appellees as required to state a claim under

Bivens.

The district court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over the official-

capacity Bivens claims, which are claims against the United States for which it had

not waived sovereign immunity. Thus, it dismissed those claims under Fed. R. Civ. P.

12(b)(1). Next, noting that both parties had attached materials outside of the

4 Complaint, the district court considered the individual-capacity Bivens claims under

the summary-judgment standard. Under the summary-judgment standard, it rejected

the Government’s argument that Watson had failed to exhaust his administrative

remedies. Construing Watson’s claims broadly, the district court concluded that

Watson had alleged that Defendants-Appellees violated his constitutional rights by

(1) failing to discipline Evans for his alleged assault on Watson; (2) failing to

respond to Watson’s correspondence or his agency grievances related to the assault;

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