Source: http://de.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20131118_0000621.DDE.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-08-21 10:14:00
Document Index: 134137265

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1915', '§ 1983']

KENNETH V. STEWART, Plaintiff,
Plaintiff Kenneth V. Stewart, an inmate at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, Wilmington, Delaware, filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He appears prose and has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (D.I. 5). The Court proceeds to review and screen the Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(b) and§ 1915A(a).
On February 2, 2012, Plaintiff completed his Level V sentence and, on February 28, 2012, he reported to probation/parole in New Castle, Delaware and began serving a Level Ill. supervised conditional release sentence until July 14, 2013. On January 3, 2013, Plaintiff was arrested by the Wilmington Police Department and charged with aggravated possession of heroin, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, possession of ammunition by a person prohibited, possession of a stolen firearm, and conspiracy 2d degree. (D.I. 2, ex. B). As a result, Plaintiff was alleged to have violated his conditions of release.
On January 15, 2013, Plaintiff waived his preliminary hearing for violation of probation/parole. ( Id. ) On July 2, 2013, Plaintiff wrote to Defendant David Henderson, chairman of the Delaware Board of Parole. Plaintiff advised Henderson that his sentence would expire on July 14, 2013 and that there had been no violation hearing or a notice of conditional release discharge. Plaintiff submitted a grievance on July 15, 2013, regarding his sentence end date and the failure of Henderson to respond to his letter.
This Court must dismiss, at the earliest practicable time, certain in forma pauperis and prisoner actions that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) (in forma pauperis actions); 28 U.S.C. § 1915A (actions in which prisoner seeks redress from a governmental defendant). The Court must accept all factual allegations in a complaint as true and take them in the light most favorable to a pro se plaintiff. See Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 229 (3d Cir. 2008). The legal standard for dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) and§ 1915A(b)(1) is identical to the legal standard used when ruling on Rule 12(b)(6) motions. See Tourscher v. McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir. 1999). However, before dismissing a complaint or claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to the screening provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915 and 1915A, the Court must grant Plaintiff leave to amend his complaint, unless amendment would be inequitable or futile. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 114 (3d Cir. 2002).
A well-pleaded complaint must contain more than mere labels and conclusions. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009); Bell Atlantic Corp.v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). The assumption of truth is inapplicable to legal conclusions or to "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action supported by mere conclusory statements." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. When determining whether dismissal is appropriate, the court conducts a two-part analysis. Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir. 2009). First, the factual and legal elements of a claim are separated. Id. The Court must accept all of the complaint's well-pleaded facts as true, but may disregard any legal conclusions. Id. at 210-11.
Second, the Court must determine whether the facts alleged in the complaint are sufficient to show that the plaintiff has a "plausible claim for relief." Id. at 211. In other words, the complaint must do more than allege the plaintiff's entitlement to relief; rather, it must "show" such an entitlement with its facts. Id. A claim is facially plausible when its factual content allows the Court to draw a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. The plausibility standard "asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id. "Where a complaint pleads facts that are merely consistent with' a defendant's liability, it stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.'" Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570).
The allegations against Henderson do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. At most, Plaintiff alleges that Henderson did not respond to his letter. However, the failure of prison officials to respond to letters is not a constitutional violation. See, e.g., Durmer v. O'Carroll, 991 F.2d 64, 69 (3d Cir. 1993) (summary judgment properly granted to prison warden and state commissioner of corrections, the only allegation against whom was that they failed to respond to letters from prisoner complaining of prison doctor's treatment decisions); Ransome v. Mooney, 2010 WL 2490751, at *7 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 9, 2010) ("a mere allegation that an official ignored a prisoner's letter of protest and request for an investigation of allegations made therein is insufficient to hold that official liable for the alleged violations'").
With regard to Warden Phil Morgan, the Complaint contains no allegations that give rise to his personal involvement with regard to Plaintiff's claims. It appears that Plaintiff named Morgan as a defendant based upon his position as the warden at Howard Young. "A defendant in a civil rights action must have personal involvement in the alleged wrongs to be liable, and cannot be held responsible for a constitutional violation which he or she neither participated in nor approved." Baraka v. McGreevey, 481 F.3d 187, 210 (3d Cir. 2007) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). "Personal involvement can be shown through allegations of personal direction or of actual knowledge and acquiescence." Rode v. Del/arciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir. 1988). The Third Circuit has reiterated that a § 1983 claim cannot be premised upon a theory of respondeat superior and, that in order to establish liability for deprivation of a constitutional right, ...