Opinion ID: 712598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Summary Judgment in Favor of Dr. Moritsugu.

Text: 21 The district court found that Del Raine failed to prove Dr. Moritsugu's direct participation or personal involvement in the alleged deprivation. A Bivens action will not lie on the basis of respondeat superior or supervisory liability. Del Raine, 32 F.3d at 1047. In a letter to Dr. Moritsugu dated April 30, 1992, Del Raine complained about his treatment. The letter states that he enclosed some administrative complaints. Del Raine's unsigned copy of the letter from Del Raine's sister to Warden Turner on May 2, 1992, also indicates that a copy was circulated to Dr. Moritsugu. Del Raine later wrote others letters to Dr. Moritsugu dated January 18, 1993, and February 21, 1993. He also sent a letter to the Surgeon General on July 11, 1993, which was eventually forwarded to Dr. Moritsugu. The record contains no evidence of any response to these letters. 22 Sending five letters, including three sent after the events alleged in Del Raine's complaint, is not sufficient to establish Dr. Moritsugu's liability. Del Raine bears the burden of proving personal involvement at trial. To avoid summary judgment, there must be sufficient evidence to establish (1) that Dr. Moritsugu was directly personally involved in the deprivation, (2) that the deprivation occurred at Dr. Moritsugu's personal direction or with his knowledge and consent, or (3) that Dr. Moritsugu acted or failed to act with deliberate or reckless disregard of his constitutional rights. Crowder v. Lash, 687 F.2d 996, 1005-06 (7th Cir.1982) (emphasis added). The record contains no evidence that Dr. Moritsugu actually participated in the prisoner's care and treatment, that he instructed others to deny treatment or that he personally consented to such a denial. Del Raine has not alleged or provided any evidence that any of the defendants put forth or followed any official policy to deny him treatment for his colitis. 23 Thus, the thrust of Del Raine's claim is that his letters to the Director of Health Services for the Bureau of Prisons, whose duties stretch across the entire nation, sufficed to render the Director personally liable for failing to intervene on his behalf with reckless disregard for his constitutional rights. (This theory assumes that Dr. Moritsugu himself read all of the mail addressed to him.) In Crowder, the plaintiff attempted to hold Indiana's Commissioner of Corrections personally liable on the basis of communications from both the prisoner, personally and by letter, and the Commissioner's subordinates. This court held that 24 [t]he logical import of this theory, however, would be to hold any well informed Commissioner of Corrections personally liable for damages flowing from any constitutional violation at any jail within that Commissioner's jurisdiction. We believe that such a broad theory of liability is inconsistent with the personal responsibility requirement for assessing damages against public officials in a section 1983 action. 25 Id. at 1006. In general, the individual participation requirement for Bivens actions parallels the requirement for § 1983. Del Raine, 32 F.3d at 1047. In light of Crowder, sending a few letters to the office of Dr. Moritsugu, who is officially responsible for the care of federal prisoners across the country, is not sufficient to demonstrate personal responsibility. 5 26 AFFIRMED.