Williams-El v. McLemore

213 F. Supp. 2d 783, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14638
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJune 27, 2002
DocketCIV. 98-74042
StatusPublished

This text of 213 F. Supp. 2d 783 (Williams-El v. McLemore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams-El v. McLemore, 213 F. Supp. 2d 783, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14638 (E.D. Mich. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ANNA DIGGS TAYLOR, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Timothy Williams, is a state prisoner at Standish Maximum Facility in Standish, Michigan. Proceeding pro se, Plaintiff brought this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Defendants violated his constitutional rights and federal law.

On January 10, 2000, this Court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. Pursuant to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal’s Order of February 1, 2001, 1 on February 8, 2001, this ease was reinstated at the District Court. This case is now before this Court on Defendants’ Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motion for dismissal, or in the alternative. Rule 56 motion for summary judgment. For the *786 reasons stated below, Defendants’ motion must be GRANTED in part, and DENIED in part.

I.

On January 13,1998, Plaintiff was transferred to the Josephine McCallum Facility (“JMF”). Upon his arrival at JMF, Plaintiff handed an officer a handwritten note stating that he had enemies housed at JMF, that he feared for his life, and that he wanted protection. In the note, Plaintiff included the names of the enemies he feared. On the same day, prison staff placed Plaintiff in an administrative segregation unit at the neighboring State Prison of Southern Michigan (“SMI”) until the matter could be investigated.

After two days in segregation, on January 15, 1998, Defendants Warr and Doe arrived at Plaintiffs cell to escort him to an interview with the Security Classification Committee (“SCC interview”) to discuss Plaintiffs concerns. The defendant officers attempted to handcuff Plaintiff behind his back, as is standard procedure. Plaintiff explained that he could not be handcuffed behind his back using regular sized cuffs as he suffers from a deformity in his hands and arms that causes pain when he is handcuffed in the standard manner. The defendant officers then requested that Plaintiff produce “medical detail” documenting his need for special cuffing. Plaintiff did not produce such medical detail.

The officers then sought direction from Deputy Connie Anderson, 2 advising her of the Plaintiffs stated deformity and that Plaintiff refused to be handcuffed behind his back using regular sized cuffs. The officers later returned to Plaintiffs cell where they advised Plaintiff that if he refused to be cuffed in the standard manner he would not be allowed to attend the SCC interview. Plaintiff refused and was therefore not taken to the SCC interview.

On January 16, 1998, due to Plaintiffs failure to attend the SCC interview, Plaintiff was ordered to vacate the cell and return to JMF. Plaintiff refused, explaining that he feared for his life if he returned to JMF. Due to his failure to follow the order, Defendants issued Plaintiff a misconduct ticket which resulted in a fourteen day detention at SMI. During his segregation, Plaintiff filed a grievance alleging that he should not have received the misconduct ticket because he only incurred the ticket to prevent his return to JMF. This grievance was denied at all stages.

On February 4, 1998, Plaintiff gave officers a note stating that he planned to “get” his enemies when he returned to JMF. Plaintiff specifically referred to the inmates who were the subjects of his request for protection. Prison staff construed this note as threatening behavior and thereafter detained Plaintiff for an additional thirty days. As with the first misconduct ticket, Plaintiff filed a grievance arguing that he improperly incurred the grievance as he wrote the note only to delay his transfer to JMF. He maintained further that he was improperly denied a hearing regarding his safety concerns. The grievance was denied at steps one and two of the grievance process.

On April 3, 1998, as the third step in the grievance process, Director Kenneth McGinnis reviewed Plaintiffs second step grievance report, which was prepared by Defendant William Bailey. In reviewing this report, Director McGinnis noted that Defendant Bailey was aware that Plaintiff was in segregation requesting protection and that Plaintiff needed special cuffs to *787 enable him to attend the SCC hearing. While Director McGinnis declined to address the misconduct tickets, he acknowledged Plaintiffs consistent complaint that he was improperly denied a hearing because he could not wear standard restraints. Director McGinnis instructed then SMI Warden Defendant Barry McLe-more to insure that further action be taken on Plaintiffs safety concerns.

Following Director McGinnis’ report, Plaintiff did not receive a hearing regarding his security concerns. On August 26, 1998, Plaintiff was released back into JMF general prison population. On September 25, 1998, while participating in gym activities, an inmate stabbed Plaintiff in the back five times.

Following hospitalization, and pending his transfer to a different institution, prison officials returned Plaintiff to SMI and placed him in temporary protective segregation. While at SMI, Plaintiff claims that he was not allowed to attend the mini-law library although he requested that Defendant Libolt grant him such access. Plaintiff then submitted a grievance to Defendant Wozniak complaining of: (i) his lack of access to the law library, (ii) that requested books were being withheld from him, and (iii) that the main library staff failed to assist him in the preparation of this lawsuit.

Finally, Plaintiff claims that he was advised that Defendants Goff and Pass were the reasons that his transfer from JMF after the stabbing was not processed expeditiously. Plaintiff maintains that Defendants prolonged his transfer in retaliation for complaints he filed since the stabbing.

II.

A motion for dismissal for failure to state a claim should be granted, as a matter of law, if it appears that the complaint, when reviewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff and with every doubt resolved in Plaintiffs behalf, fails to state any valid claim for relief. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Gregory v. Shelby County, Tenn., 220 F.3d 433, 446 (6th Cir.2000). Importantly, a complaint should not be dismissed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). A pro se complaint, however, is subject to a less stringent standard of review. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972).

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Bluebook (online)
213 F. Supp. 2d 783, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14638, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-el-v-mclemore-mied-2002.