WILLIAMS v. OLIVER

District Court, M.D. Georgia·Decided June 9, 2025·No. 5:24-cv-00469·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA MACON DIVISION

CARA WILLIAMS, : : Plaintiff, : : v. : Case No. 5:24-cv-469-MTT-AGH : COMMISSIONER TYRONE : OLIVER, et al., : : Defendants. : ________________________________ :

ORDER AND RECOMMENDATION Pro se Plaintiff Cara Williams, an inmate presently incarcerated at Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Georgia, filed a Complaint (ECF No. 1) and Amended Complaint (ECF No. 4) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) (ECF No. 2) and a motion to order Defendants to preserve evidence (ECF No. 5). For the following reasons, it is RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP be DENIED and that her Complaint be DISMISSED without prejudice. Plaintiff’s motion for Defendants to preserve evidence is DENIED as moot. DISCUSSION I. Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) Plaintiff seeks leave to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee in this case. Federal law bars a prisoner from bringing a civil action in federal court IFP if [she] has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). This is known as the “three strikes provision.” Under § 1915(g), a prisoner incurs a “strike” any time she has a federal lawsuit or appeal dismissed on the grounds that it is (1) frivolous, (2) malicious, or (3) fails to state a claim. See Medberry v. Butler, 185 F.3d 1189, 1192 (11th Cir. 1999); see also Daker v. Comm’r, Ga. Dep’t of Corr., 820 F.3d 1278, 1283-84 (11th Cir. 2016) (confirming that “these three grounds are the only grounds that can render a dismissal a strike”).1 Once a prisoner incurs three strikes, her ability to proceed IFP in federal court is greatly limited: leave to proceed IFP may not be granted unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury. Medberry, 185 F.3d at 1192. A review of court records on the Federal Judiciary’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) database confirms that Plaintiff has had more than three actions that have been dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim. See, e.g., Order Dismissing Compl., Williams v. Nix, ECF No. 4 in Case No. 1:02-cv-3056-ODE (N.D. Ga. Dec. 12, 2002) (dismissing as frivolous); Order

Dismissing Appeal, Williams v. Nix, Appeal No. 03-11767-F (11th Cir. Oct. 29, 2003) (three-judge panel dismissing appeal as frivolous); Order Dismissing Compl., Williams v. Williams, ECF No. 10 in Case No. 5:02-cv-0312-DF (M.D. Ga. Sept. 13,

1 A case dismissed as an “abuse of the judicial process” counts as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Rivera v. Allin, 144 F.3d 719, 731 (11th Cir. 1998), abrogated on other grounds by Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199 (2007) (holding that dismissal of case for abuse of judicial process when plaintiff “lied under penalty of perjury about the existence of a prior lawsuit,” counts as a strike even if the court “may not have uttered the words ‘frivolous’ or ‘malicious’”). In fact, a “dismissal for abuse of the judicial process is precisely the type of strike that Congress envisioned when drafting Section 1915(g).” Id. (citations omitted). 2002) (dismissed as frivolous); see also Order Dismissing Compl., Williams v. Dep’t of Corr., ECF No. 3 in Case No. 1:05-cv-01248-ODE (N.D. Ga. May 24, 2005) (dismissing pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g)). Plaintiff is accordingly barred from prosecuting this

action IFP unless she is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). “[T]he issue is whether [Plaintiff’s] complaint, as a whole, alleges imminent danger of serious physical injury.” Brown v. Johnson, 387 F.3d 1344, 1350 (11th Cir. 2004). To qualify for this exception, a prisoner must allege specific facts, as opposed to “general assertion[s],” that describe an “ongoing serious physical injury or . . . a pattern of misconduct evidencing the likelihood of imminent serious physical injury.”

Id. (citation omitted). Complaints about past injuries are insufficient. See Medberry, 185 F.3d at 1193 (“[A] prisoner’s allegation that he faced imminent danger sometime in the past is an insufficient basis to allow him to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to the imminent danger exception to [§ 1915(g)].”); Brown, 387 F.3d at 1349. “[G]eneralized references to being in danger or being subject to abuse . . . [which] are conclusory, vague, and unsupported by any well-pleaded factual allegations . . . [do

not] support a claim of imminent danger.” Rodriguez v. Am. Civil Liberty Union, No. 3:23-cv-16482-LC-HTC, 2023 WL 11937262, at *3 (N.D. Fla. July 5, 2023). Plaintiff’s claims arise from her present incarceration at the Pulaski State Prison (“PSP”). Compl. 5, ECF No. 1. Plaintiff alleges she “was physically assaulted” at the prison after “another inmate physically took the officer’s keys to unlock [her] door so the assault could occur.” Id. Plaintiff contends the dorm in which she was attacked “is identified as one of the two most dangerous dorms in the prison” and is “known for excessive inmate on inmate violence and rampant drug use.” Id. at 7-8; see also Am. Compl. Attach. 1 , at 1, ECF No. 4-1 (describing “rampant inmate on

inmate violence”). She “personally witnessed multiple fights with injuries[ and] fights in front of staff” and contends prison officials rarely investigate attacks or punish the perpetrators. Compl. 5, 8-9. In addition, Plaintiff pleads facts that suggest contraband items like drugs and cellphones are commonplace and were permitted by prison officials despite their knowledge that such items tend to cause fights among inmates. See, e.g., Am. Compl. Attach. 1, at 1 (stating that “the prison is overrun with illegal substances”).2 In addition to the November 2024, attack,

Plaintiff was also attacked at PSP in April 2024. Compl. 8. Despite these allegations about the dangerousness of her dorm, Plaintiff also states that she was placed in lockdown immediately after the November 2024 assault, and she is apparently still housed there. See Compl. 5-6; see also Am. Compl. 4, ECF No. 4 (describing denials of “moves out of lockdown”). Plaintiff does not allege any facts that suggest she is in imminent danger in the lockdown unit; to the contrary,

Plaintiff appears to seek release back into general population, thereby undermining any claim that she is in imminent danger of serious physical injury if she is released back to her dorm. See Am. Compl. 4. Plaintiff has therefore failed to plead facts

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

WILLIAMS v. OLIVER, (M.D. Ga. 2025).

WILLIAMS v. OLIVER (WILLIAMS v. OLIVER) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Paul M. Hood v. Warden Billy Tompkins
197 F. App'x 818 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Attwood v. Singletary
105 F.3d 610 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Rivera v. Allin
144 F.3d 719 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Medberry v. Butler
185 F.3d 1189 (Eleventh Circuit, 1999)
Bilal v. Driver
251 F.3d 1346 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
William A. Dupree v. R. W. Palmer
284 F.3d 1234 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Green Leaf Nursery v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co.
341 F.3d 1292 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
John Ruddin Brown v. Lisa Johnson
387 F.3d 1344 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Jones v. Bock
549 U.S. 199 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Roland Markland Matthews v. Barry K. Gaither
902 F.2d 877 (Eleventh Circuit, 1990)
Terry Eugene Sears v. Jennifer A. Haas
509 F. App'x 935 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
Kevin Owens v. Schwartz
519 F. App'x 992 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
Matthew Tazio Redmon v. Lake County Sheriff's Office
414 F. App'x 221 (Eleventh Circuit, 2011)
Shelton v. Rohrs
406 F. App'x 340 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
Irina Tesoriero v. Carnival Corporation
965 F.3d 1170 (Eleventh Circuit, 2020)
Jenkins v. Hutcheson
708 F. App'x 647 (Eleventh Circuit, 2018)