Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_11-cv-02210/USCOURTS-azd-2_11-cv-02210-1/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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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Dwight Murray, 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Corrections Corporation of America, et al.,

Defendants. 

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No. CV 11-2210-PHX-RCB (JFM)

ORDER

Plaintiff Dwight Murray filed this civil rights action against seven officials employed

at the Eloy Detention Center, a private prison facility owned by Corrections Corporation of

America (CCA) (Doc. 6). Before the Court are Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction

(Doc. 14) and Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15). 

The Court will deny Plaintiff’s motion and grant in part and deny in part Defendants’

motion.

I. Background

Plaintiff alleged that his religious exercise rights have been burdened by Defendants’

refusal to provide him with a kosher diet, which prevents him from engaging in a sincerely

held religious belief. Plaintiff also claimed that Defendants’ actions in denying him a kosher

diet were deliberately indifferent to his health because they knew that denying Plaintiff

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access to a religious diet would result in his refusal to consume the regular diet and he would,

as a result, go hungry (Doc. 6 at 8-10). Defendants were directed to answer the claims

against them (Doc. 8).

Plaintiff moves for injunctive relief, seeking an order directing Defendants to provide

Plaintiff with a kosher diet to address his religious and medical needs. Before responding

to Plaintiff’s motion, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that Plaintiff’s

allegations fail to state a claim and he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies (Doc. 15).

II. Motion to Dismiss

A. Jurisdictional Basis for Plaintiff’s Claims

Defendants first contend that Plaintiff’s citations to both Bivens v. Six Unknown

Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971) and 42 U.S.C. § 1983

as the source of this Court’s jurisdiction are inconsistent and, as a result, any claims brought

under § 1983 must be dismissed. 

Defendants correctly observe that Plaintiff invoked both Bivens and § 1983 in his

First Amended Complaint (Doc. 6 at 1-2 ¶¶ 1, 3). Further complicating matters are

Plaintiff’s inconsistent statements concerning the authority under which Defendants’ actions

were taken. On the one hand, Plaintiff asserts that he is an Immigration and Customs

Enforcement detainee being housed at a CCA facility (Doc. 21 at 1-2 ¶¶ 1-2). On the other

hand, Plaintiff states that he was placed in a CCA facility by the State of Arizona (id. at 4

¶ 13). As discussed below, Plaintiff is an immigration detainee being housed pursuant to

federal law. Bivens is plainly the source for any constitutional claim Plaintiff wishes to bring

against Defendants. As a result, to the extent that Plaintiff asserts claims under § 1983, those

claims are dismissed. 

B. Failure to State a Claim

1. Bivens Jurisdiction

Defendants next argue that pursuant to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in

Minneci v. Pollard, 132 S. Ct. 617, 619 (2012), Plaintiff cannot maintain his First or Eighth

Amendment claims because adequate remedies exist under state tort law. 

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1 To the extent that Plaintiff would contend that his request for injunctive relief

through his Eighth Amendment claim keeps that claim alive in federal court, the Court rejects

that argument because his request for a kosher diet is duplicative of his request for injunctive

relief in his First Amendment claim.

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The Supreme Court held:

[W]here ... a federal prisoner seeks damages from privately

employed personnel working at a privately operated federal

prison, where the conduct allegedly amounts to a violation of the

Eighth Amendment, and where that conduct is of a kind that

typically falls within the scope of traditional state tort law (such

as the conduct involving improper medical care at issue here),

the prisoner must seek a remedy under state tort law. We cannot

imply a Bivens remedy in such a case.

Minneci, 132 S.Ct. at 626. Plaintiff unhelpfully responds to this argument by extensively

citing the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Minneci that was reversed by the Supreme Court (Doc.

21 at 5-6 ¶¶ 22-27).

Plaintiff’s claim that Defendants endangered his health when they denied him a

religious diet knowing he would not otherwise eat, thereby violating the Eighth Amendment,

is within the scope of traditional tort law claims. This conclusion mirrors that in Minneci,

where the defendants allegedly rendered improper medical care to the plaintiff, thereby

endangering his health. Minneci, 132 S. Ct. at 626.

In short, it is clear that Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claims are no longer cognizable

under Bivens and, instead, must be pursued in state court.1

 What remains unclear, however,

is whether Plaintiff’s First Amendment claims are of the type that fall within the scope of

traditional tort law. Id. at 626 (“[W]e can decide whether to imply a Bivens action in a case

where an Eighth Amendment claim or state law differs significantly from those at issue here

when and if such a case arises. The possibility of such a different future case does not

provide sufficient grounds for reaching a different conclusion here.”). Defendants cite no

authority extending the holding in Minneci to First Amendment claims, and the Court’s

research reveals none. At this juncture, therefore, the Court will deny Defendants’ motion

to dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amendment claim. 

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2. Failure to Meet Pleading Requirements 

With respect to his First Amendment claim, Defendants alternatively contend that

Plaintiff’s allegations fail to state a claim against Defendants because he does not present

sufficient facts to establish that Defendants engaged in unconstitutional conduct (Doc. 15 at

5-8). This is, essentially, a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

Rule 12(b)(6) tests the legal sufficiency of a claim and allows for dismissal for “failure to

state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Cook v. Brewer, 637 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th

Cir. 2001). “‘To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual

matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Hinds Inv.,

L.P. v. Angioli, 654 F.3d 846, 850 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct.

1937, 1949 (2009)). Dismissal is appropriate where there is “either a lack of a cognizable

legal theory or the absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal claim.” Hinds,

654 F.3d at 850 (citation omitted). 

The Court notes that a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss is almost never an appropriate

response when the court has already screened a prisoner complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915A(b) and directed the defendant to respond. The standard for dismissal under Rule

12(b)(6) is identical to the standard under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b) (“fail[ure] to state a claim

upon which relief may be granted”). After the Court has screened a prisoner complaint

pursuant to § 1915A(b), a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss will be granted only if the

defendant can convince the Court that reconsideration is appropriate. Reconsideration is

appropriate only in rare circumstances and if the district court “(1) is presented with newly

discovered evidence, (2) committed clear error or the initial decision was manifestly unjust,

or (3) if there is an intervening change in controlling law.” School Dist. No. 1J, Multnomah

County v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1263 (9th Cir. 1993); see Defenders of Wildlife v.

Browner, 909 F. Supp. 1342, 1351 (D. Ariz. 1995). 

The Court already screened Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint under a standard

identical to the Rule 12(b)(6) standard and pursuant to Iqbal and determined that the claims

at issue sufficiently state plausible claims for relief (Doc. 8). Defendants present nothing that

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causes the Court to reconsider its decision that the pleading presented sufficient facts to link

Defendants with the alleged constitutional violations. 

Defendants also incorrectly argue that Plaintiff’s allegations fail to state a First

Amendment claim because he does not allege that consuming a kosher diet is “a central tenet

of [his] religion” (Doc. 15 at 6). But Shakur v. Schriro, 514 F.3d 878, 884 (9th Cir. 2008),

clearly explained that the Supreme Court disapproved the centrality test, finding it

inappropriate for courts to “question the centrality of particular beliefs or practices to a faith,

or the validity of particular litigants’ interpretations of those creeds.” 514 F.3d at 884-885

(citing Hernandez v. C. I. R., 490 U.S. 680, 699 (1989)). Rather, an inmate has a viable

religious exercise claim if prison officials burden beliefs that are sincerely held and religious

in nature, which is not in dispute on a motion to dismiss where Plaintiff’s allegations are

taken as true. Based on the above, Defendants’ request for dismissal for failure to state a

claim will be denied.

C. Exhaustion

Finally, Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s claims must be dismissed for failure to

exhaust administrative remedies. The Prison Litigation Reform Act provides that an action

cannot be brought by a prisoner “until such administrative remedies as are available are

exhausted.” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. The statutory term “prisoner” is limited to detainees who are

“currently detained as a result of accusation, conviction, or sentence for a criminal offense.”

Page v. Torrey, 201 F.3d 1136, 1139-40 (9th Cir. 2000) (emphasis added). In Agyeman v.

I.N.S., the Ninth Circuit held that the PLRA cannot be applied against civil detainees and

further, that immigration detainees are civil detainees. 296 F.3d 871, 885-87 (9th Cir. 2002).

Defendants strenuously contend that Plaintiff is a prisoner within the meaning of the

PLRA. They argue that Agyeman is distinguishable from this case because Plaintiff, unlike

Agyeman, was convicted of a crime. They also claim that Plaintiff was simultaneously an

ICE detainee and serving a criminal sentence (Doc. 15 at 11). Defendants’ argument,

however, is meritless. First, according to records available online from the Arizona

Department of Corrections, Plaintiff was released from the state’s custody on July 8, 2011,

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2

 See http://www.azcorrections.gov/Inmate_DataSearch/results_Minh.aspx?Inmate

Number=239369&LastName=MURRAY&FNMI=D&SearchType=SearchInet (last visited July 2,

2012). 

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four months before he filed this lawsuit.2 As a result, Defendants’ argument is foreclosed by

the holding in Agyeman that only detainees currently incarcerated for a criminal offense are

subject to the PLRA’s requirements. And totally absent from Defendants’ motion is any

legal authority for the proposition that Plaintiff’s criminal conviction—standing

alone—renders him a prisoner for life and therefore subject to the PLRA’s exhaustion

requirement.

Notwithstanding the fact that Plaintiff is not a prisoner for purposes of the PLRA, the

Court may still require exhaustion in cases involving immigration detainees. McCarthy v.

Madigan, 503 U.S. 140, 144 (1992) (determining that while Congress has not mandated

exhaustion by immigration detainees, “sound judicial discretion governs” when exhaustion

should nevertheless be required by the court). However, Defendants have the burden of

establishing what particular remedies were available to Plaintiff and how Plaintiff failed to

fully utilize them. See Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199 (2007); Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d

1108, 1119 (9th Cir. 2003). Defendants introduce evidence of a grievance procedure and that

Plaintiff did not fully exhaust his claim (Doc. 15, Ex. 2).

Futility, however, is a recognized exception to the exhaustion requirement. Laing v.

Ashcroft, 370 F.3d 994, 1000 (9th Cir. 2004). And here, the record reflects that Plaintiff

submitted no less than nine grievances attempting to resolve his issues regarding meals (Doc.

21, Attach. 2 at Bate Stamps 2-3, 8, 10, 22, 42-43, 61, 77, 87). The number of grievances

suggests that the grievance procedure is not an effective means of resolving disputes. Further

supporting the conclusion that the procedure is futile are the responses Plaintiff received to

his grievances. Plaintiff was informed three times that the issues would be corrected (id. at

Bate Stamps 2, 3, 42). Contrarily, Plaintiff was informed twice that his issues are not

grievable (id. at Bate Stamps 10, 22). And the remaining grievances were simply ignored

or denied (id. at Bate Stamps 61, 77, 87). Plaintiff’s experiences with the grievance

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procedure firmly support a finding that exhaustion was a futile effort. 

And even under a traditional exhaustion analysis, inmates are not required to continue

the grievance process if they are granted relief but do not actually receive it. See Harvey v.

Jordan, 605 F.3d 681, 685 (9th Cir. 2010) (“[a]n inmate has no obligation to appeal from a

grant of relief, or a partial grant that satisfies him, in order to exhaust his administrative

remedies. Nor is it the prisoner’s responsibility to ensure that prison officials actually provide

the relief that they have promised”). Moreover, if Plaintiff was informed that his claim is not

grievable, then exhaustion is not required. Marella v. Terhune, 568 F.3d 1024, 1027 (9th Cir.

2009). The Court finds that because of Plaintiff’s status as an immigration detainee, the

Court has ample discretion whether to require exhaustion. Based on the record before the

Court, the Court further finds that exhaustion would have been futile. Defendants’ motion

to dismiss on this basis will be denied.

III. Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Also pending is Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction (Doc. 14). A preliminary

injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy and “one that should not be granted unless

the movant, by a clear showing, carries the burden of persuasion.” Mazurek v. Armstrong,

520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997) (per curiam) (quoting 11A C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane,

Federal Practice and Procedure § 2948, pp. 129-130 (2d ed. 1995) (emphasis added)). To

obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party must show “that he is likely to succeed on

the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that

the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.”

Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 365, 374 (2008). The moving party has

the burden of proof on each element of the test. Envtl. Council of Sacramento v. Slater, 184

F. Supp. 2d 1016, 1027 (E.D. Cal. 2000).

Plaintiff’s motion is fatally deficient in establishing imminent irreparable injury. The

motion focuses on conduct that occurred throughout 2011 and presents no evidence that

suggests, let alone establishes, that Plaintiff is faced with substantial imminent injury. See

Winter, 129 S. Ct. at 375 (movant must demonstrate that irreparable injury is likely without

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an injunction); Caribbean Marine Servs. Co., Inc. v. Baldrige, 844 F.2d 668, 674 (9th Cir.

1988) (mere “[s]peculative injury does not constitute irreparable injury sufficient to warrant

granting a preliminary injunction”); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b) (movant must demonstrate

by specific facts that there is a credible threat of immediate and irreparable harm). For these

reasons, Plaintiff’s motion will be denied.

IT IS ORDERED:

(1) The reference to the Magistrate Judge is withdrawn as to Plaintiff’s Motion for

Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 14) and Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15).

(2) Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 14) is denied. 

(3) Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15) is granted in part and denied in part.

 (a) The motion to dismiss is granted as to Count II; and

(b) The motion to dismiss is otherwise denied.

DATED this 7th day of July, 2012.

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