Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-01252/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-01252-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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Many inmates apparently believe that they will receive an immediate payout from

a fund established in Hart v. Hill, No. CV 77-0479-PHX-EHC (MS) (D. Ariz.). No such fund

exists. The inmat es in Hart asked for injunctive relief and not monetary damages. The

Court at this time expresses no opinion whether Plaintiff’s lawsuit may result in an award

of damages. 

TERMPSREF

JDN

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Robert Unruh, 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Captain Peterson, 

Defendant. 

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No. CV 05-1252-PHX-DGC (GEE)

ORDER

This is one of more than one thousand civil rights actions filed since September

2004 by Maricopa County Jail inmates.1 Plaintiff is an inmate at the Durango Jail in

Phoenix, Arizona. The Court will require an answer to the Complaint.

A. Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis & Filing Fee

The Court has received Plaintiff's new Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

(Doc. # 4). Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(a). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing

Case 2:05-cv-01252-DGC Document 6 Filed 12/28/05 Page 1 of 7
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fee of $250.00 for this action. to the Clerk of Court. No initial partial filing fee will be

assessed by this Order. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). 

Plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding

month’s income credited to Plaintiff’s trust account. The Court will direct t he appropriate

agency to collect these mont hly p ayments, which will be forwarded to the Clerk of Court

each time the amount in Plaint iff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). Plaintiff should t ake notice that if he is released before the filing fee

is p aid in full, he must pay the remaining unpaid amount of the filing fee within 120 day s

of t he dat e of his release. If Plaintiff fails to pay the remainder of the filing fee wit hin 120

days of the date of his release, the action will be dismissed, unless Plaintiff shows good

cause, in writing, why he is unable to pay the remainder of the filing fee.

B. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints

The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief

against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or port ion thereof if the Plaintiff has raised

claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim up on which relief

may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such

relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). 

C. Claims and/or Parties to be Served/Dismissed

1. Service

In his Complaint Plaintiff alleges that the food is improperly handled and often

spoiled, the living conditions are unsanitary, the jail is severely overcrowded, and

recreational opportunities are inadequate. He claims that he has suffered illness, vomiting,

skin rashes, staph infections, anxiety, digestive problems and loss of weight. Plaintiff

further alleges that Defendant Peterson, Cap t ain of the Durango Jail, is liable because he

is responsible for the staff and training at the jail. T hese allegations adequately state a

claim, and the Court will require an answer to the Complaint.

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2. Dismissal

1. Count III

In Count III, Plaintiff alleges that he is ridiculed and called names by t he detention

officers in an inhumane manner. In order to recover under § 1983, a plaintiff must show:

(1) violation of a right protected by the Constitution or federal law; (2) that was proximately

caused; (3) by conduct of a “person” named as a defendant; (4) acting under color of state

law. See Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991). Plaintiff has not connected

his claims to Defendant Peterson.

Defendant Peterson cannot be liable simply because he supervises the det ent ion

officers. There is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983. Monell v. Dep’t of Soc.

Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989). “A supervisor

is only liable for constitutional violations of his subordinates if t he supervisor participated

in or directed t he violat ions, or knew of the violations and failed to act to prevent them.”

Taylor, 880 F.2d at 1045. “A plaintiff must allege facts, not simply conclusions, that show

that an individual was personally involved in the deprivation of his civil rights.” Barren

v. Harringt on, 152 F.3d 1193, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998). There are no allegations to meet this

standard. Moreover, "verbal harassment generally does not violate the Eighth

Amendment." Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1092 (9th Cir. 1996). Accordingly, Count III

will be dismissed without prejudice.

2. Hart v. Hill

Throughout his Complaint, Plaintiff refers to Hart v. Hill, No. CIV 77-0479-PHX-EHC

(MS) (D. Ariz.), claiming t hat the conditions of his confinement violate an Amended

Judgment in that act ion. Jurisdiction to enforce the judgment is retained by the court

which ent ered it . Jeff D. v. Kempthorne, 365 F.3d 844, 853 (9th Cir. 2004). A civil rights

action is not the proper means by which to enforce the decree. Cagle v. Sutherland, 334

F.3d 980, 986 (11th Cir. 2003); Klein v. Zavaras, 80 F.3d 432, 435 (10th Cir. 1996); DeGidio

v. Pung, 920 F.2d 525, 534 (8th Cir. 1990); Green v. McKaskle, 788 F.2d 1116, 1122-23 (5th

Cir. 1986). Standing alone, remedial orders cannot serve as a substantive basis for a § 1983

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claim for damages because such orders do not create “rights, privileges, or immunities

secured by the Constitution and laws.” Green, 788 F.3d at 1123-24. Remedial decrees are

the means by which unconstitutional conditions are corrected but they do not create or

enlarge constitutional rights. Id. at 1123. To the extent Plaintiff seeks t o enforce Hart v.

Hill, his claim is not prop erly brought in this action. Instead, his allegations must

separately state a violation of a const itutional right. At this juncture, as described supra,

Plaintiff’s allegations do state a claim for a constitutional violation. 

D. Rule 41 Cautionary Notice

Plaintiff should take notice that if he fails to timely comply with every provision of

this Order, or any order entered in this mat t er, this action will be dismissed pursuant to

Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258,

1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992) (district court may dismiss action for failure to comply with any order

of the Court).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that: 

(1) Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. # 4) is granted.

Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $250.00 for this action. Plaintiff is

assessed no initial partial filing fee. 

(2) The Maricopa County Sheriff or his designee shall collect the filing fee from

Plaintiff’s trust account by collecting monthly payments in an amount equal to 20 percent of the

preceding month’s income credited to Plaintiff’s trust account and forwarding the payments to the

Clerk of the Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00 in accordance with 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(b)(2). The payments shall be clearly identified by the name and number assigned to this

action.

(3) The Clerk of Court shall send Plaintiff a service packet including the Complaint, this

Order, and both summons and request for waiver forms for Defendant Peterson.

(4) Plaintiff shall complete and return the service packet to the Clerk of Court within 20

days of the date of filing of this Order. The United States Marshal will not provide service of

process if Plaintiff fails to comply with this Order.

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(5) If Plaintiff does not either obtain a waiver of service of the summons or complete service

of the Summons and Complaint on each Defendant within 120 days of the filing of the complaint or

within 60 days of the filing of this Order, whichever is later, the action may be dismissed as to each

Defendant not served pursuant to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule

16.2(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure. 

(6) The United States Marshal shall retain the Summons, a copy of the Complaint, and a

copy of this Order for future use.

(7) The United States Marshal shall notify Defendant of the commencement of this action

and request waiver of service of the summons pursuant to Rule 4(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure. The notice to Defendant shall include a copy of this Order. The Marshal shall file

waivers of service of the summons or requests for waivers that were returned as undeliverable as

soon as they are received. If a waiver of service of summons is not returned by a Defendant within

thirty days from the date the request for waiver was sent by the Marshal, the Marshal shall:

(a) Personally serve copies of the Summons, Complaint, and this Order upon the

Defendant pursuant to Rule 4(e)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;

(b) Within 10 days after personal service is effected, file the return of service for the

Defendant, along with evidence of the attempt to secure a waiver of service of the summons

and of the costs subsequently incurred in effecting service upon the Defendant. The costs

of service shall be enumerated on the return of service form (USM-285) and shall include the

costs incurred by the Marshal for photocop y ing additional copies of the Summons,

Complaint, or this Order and for preparing new process receipt and return forms (USM285), if required. Costs of service will be taxed against the personally served defendant

pursuant to Rule 4(d)(2) and (5) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, unless otherwise

ordered by the Court.

(8) A Defendant who agrees to waive service of the Summons and Complaint shall

return the signed waiver forms to the United States Marshal, not the Plaintiff.

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(9) Defendant shall answer the Complaint or otherwise respond by appropriate motion

within the time provided by the applicable provisions of Rule 12(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure.

(10) Any answer or responsive pleading shall state the specific Defendant(s) by name on

whose behalf it is filed. The Court may strike any answer, responsive pleading, or other motion or

paper that does not identify the specific Defendant(s) by name on whose behalf it is filed.

(11) Plaintiff shall serve upon Defendant, or if appearance has been entered by counsel, upon

counsel, a copy of every further pleading or other document submitted for consideration by the

Court. Plaintiff shall include with the original document and copy, to be filed with the Clerk of the

Court, a certificate stating the date a true and correct copy of the pleading or document was mailed

to Defendant or counsel. Any paper received by a District Court Judge or Magistrate Judge which

has not been filed with the Clerk of Court may be disregarded by the Court.

(12) At all times during the pendency of this action, Plaintiff shall immediately advise the

Court and the United States Marshal of any change of address and its effective date. Such notice

shall be captioned “NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS.” The notice shall contain only

information pertaining to the change of address and its effective date. Plaintiff shall serve a copy of

the notice on all opposing parties. The notice shall not include any motions for any other relief.

Failure to file a Notice of Change of Address may result in the dismissal of the action for failure to

prosecute pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

(13) A clear, legible copy of every pleading or other document filed shall accompany each

original pleading or other document filed with the Clerk for use by the District Judge or Magistrate

Judge to whom the case is assigned. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the

pleading or document being stricken without further notice to Plaintiff. 

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(14) This matter is referred to Magistrate Judge Glenda E. Edmonds under Rule 72.1 and

72.2 of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure for further proceedings.

DATED this 27th day of December, 2005.

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