Source: http://ne.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20180803_0003166.DNE.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 23:12:57+00:00

Document:
STATE OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL DEPARTMENT LANCASTER COUNTY ADULT DETENTION FACILITY, Defendant.
Plaintiff, a pretrial detainee being held at the Lancaster County Jail, brings this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action asserting a Fourteenth Amendment claim for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Plaintiff has been given leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (Filing No. 8.) The court now conducts an initial review of the Complaint (Filing No. 1) to determine whether summary dismissal is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e) and 1915A.
Plaintiff alleges that he was arrested and taken to jail shortly after he was in a car accident. When he entered jail, he was suffering “extreme pain in left arm and shoulder with numb hand and fingers.” (Filing No. 1 at CM/ECF p. 5 (capitalization and spelling corrected).) Plaintiff states that it took jail staff 19 days to diagnose and treat his broken neck despite his continual complaints that he was experiencing numbness and pain in his shoulder. Plaintiff sues the “State of Nebraska Medical Department Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility” for money damages, and he admits he did not file a grievance complaining about his situation.
Liberally construed, Plaintiff here alleges a federal constitutional claim. To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege a violation of rights protected by the United States Constitution or created by federal statute and also must show that the alleged deprivation was caused by conduct of a person acting under color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Buckley v. Barlow, 997 F.2d 494, 495 (8th Cir. 1993).
It is unclear whether the “State of Nebraska Medical Department Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility” is one defendant, or whether Plaintiff intended to sue the “State of Nebraska Medical Department” separately from the “Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility.” The court shall construe them as separate defendants since one is labeled as a state entity, and the other as a county entity.
Whether a party has the capacity to be sued is determined “by the law of the state where the court is located.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(b)(3). Under Nebraska law, each county in Nebraska may sue and be sued in its own name, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-101 (Westlaw 2018), but the same is not true of county offices or departments. Parsons v. McCann, 138 F.Supp.3d 1086, 1097 (D. Neb. 2015) (collecting cases). Further, it is clear that “county jails are not legal entities amenable to suit” under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Owens v. Scott County Jail, 328 F.3d 1026, 1026 (8th Cir. 2003); see also Williams v. Pulaski Cty. Det. Facility, 278 Fed.Appx. 695 (8th Cir. 2008) (unpublished) (county detention center not subject to suit under § 1983); De La Garza v. Kandiyohi Cty. Jail, Corr. Inst., 18 Fed.Appx. 436, 437 (8th Cir. 2001) (unpublished) (§ 1983 action against county jail and county sheriff's department dismissed without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A because parties were not suable entities). Therefore, the Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility is not a proper defendant, and Plaintiff's claim against the facility must be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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