Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-90-06165/USCOURTS-ca10-90-06165-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Lawrence Caldwell
Appellee
John Doe
Not Party
Thomas Martin
Appellant

Document Text:

J 

.. 

FILED 

Uaited States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS- T,.,,th c; • .-.,,r 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

LAWRENCE CALDWELL, ) 

) 

Plaintiff-Appellee, ) 

) 

v. ) 

) 

THOMAS MARTIN, Warden, ) 

) 

Defendant-Appellant. ) 

. ) 

and ) 

) 

JOHN DOE, Food Service Adminis- ) 

trator; JOHN DOE, Chief Medical ) 

Officer; JOHN DOE, CHB Correc- ) 

tional Counselor; JOHN DOE, ) 

Lieutenant or Office in charge of ) 

airport transport on the morning ) 

of December 10, 1988, individually) 

and officially, as staff members ) 

of the F.C.I. El Reno, Oklahoma, ) 

) 

Defendants. ) 

NOV 2 1990 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 90-6165 

(D.C. No. CIV-1649-P) 

(Western Dist. Okla.) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before LOGAN, SEYMOUR, and TACHA, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

*This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except 

for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

Appellate Case: 90-6165 Document: 010110047494 Date Filed: 11/02/1990 Page: 1 
34(a}: 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The cause is therefore ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 

Lawrence Caldwell, a federal prisoner, brought this prose 

Bivens action against Thomas Martin, the warden of the Federal 

Correctional Institution at El Reno, Oklahoma, and several other 

unnamed but otherwise identified employees at El Reno. Caldwell 

seeks injunctive and monetary relief for alleged constitutional 

violations arising from the conditions at El Reno during the ten 

day period he was incarcerated there while being transferred 

between two other penal institutions. The district court 

dismissed the suit against Martin in his official capacity and 

Caldwell has not appealed. Martin filed a motion to dismiss the 

personal actiona against him on the basis of qualified immunity 

which the district court denied. The Government has appealed. 

For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the action 

against Martin is now moot. 

Reading Caldwell's prose complaint liberally as we must, see 

Gillihan v. Shillinger, 872 F.2d 935, 938 (10th Cir. 1989), 

Caldwell requests injunctive relief but, while he asserts a claim 

for money damages against an unnamed defendant, he clearly does 

not seek such damages against Martin. The Government has 

represented to this court that Martin is now retired from his 

position as warden. Since Caldwell does not seek money damages 

from Martin as a result of his treatment at El Reno, and since 

Martin personally is no longer in a position to affect conditions 

-2-

Appellate Case: 90-6165 Document: 010110047494 Date Filed: 11/02/1990 Page: 2 
at El Reno should Caldwell prevail in his claims for injunctive 

relief, we conclude that the claims against Martin are moot. See 

Thournir v. Buchanan, 710 F.2d 1461, 1463 (10th Cir. 1983)("an 

appeal should be dismissed when events occur that prevent the 

appellate court from granting any effective relief"). 

Accordingly, we reverse and remand with directions to dismiss 

Martin from the suit. In so doing, we observe that Caldwell's 

action against the remaining defendants is still pending and that 

Caldwell asserts on appeal that he is now able to amend his 

complaint to name and serve these defendants. On remand the 

district court may consider a motion to amend pursuant to Fed. R. 

Civ. P. lS(a) should Caldwell choose to make such a motion. In 

addition we note that Caldwell has filed a motion to certify the 

suit as a class action. 

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings. 

-3-

Entered for the Court 

Stephanie K. Seymour 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 90-6165 Document: 010110047494 Date Filed: 11/02/1990 Page: 3