Opinion ID: 588210
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Delo and Branson

Text: 11 Berdella also contends that the district court erred in granting Delo and Branson summary judgment. On appeal, Berdella essentially argues that Delo and Branson interfered with his right to correspond with non-inmates in violation of the First Amendment and denied him meaningful access to the courts in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. 7 Delo and Branson respond in part by asserting that Berdella has failed to set forth facts showing a constitutional violation occurred. We agree. 12 In reviewing a district court's grant of summary judgment we apply the same standard as the district court. E.g., Meyer v. Barnes, 867 F.2d 464, 466 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 825, 110 S.Ct. 86, 107 L.Ed.2d 51 (1989). Summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The nonmoving party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of [its] pleadings, but ... must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). 13 Berdella initially claims that the Department's policy honoring a person's request not to receive mail from an inmate violates his First Amendment right to correspond with non-inmates. We disagree. The Supreme Court has held that restrictions on outgoing inmate mail must be generally necessary to protect a legitimate government interest. See Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 414, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 1811-12, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974), overruled in part by Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 411-14, 109 S.Ct. 1874, 1880-82, 104 L.Ed.2d 459 (1989) (limiting Procunier to outgoing mail). 8 Applying the Procunier standard, this court held invalid a prison policy that prohibited inmates from corresponding with anyone who had not previously consented to receive mail. Finney v. Arkansas Bd. of Correction, 505 F.2d 194, 211-12 (8th Cir.1974). We indicated in Finney, however, that the government's interest in protecting the public from harassment by inmates would justify prohibiting an inmate from sending mail to persons who have affirmatively requested that mail not be received from an inmate. Id. at 211. 14 We see no reason not to follow Finney here. The Department's policy is generally necessary to serve the government's legitimate interest in protecting the public from harassment. Summary judgment in favor of Delo and Branson as to this aspect of Berdella's First Amendment claim, therefore, is proper. 15 Berdella next asserts that Delo and Branson's enforcement of the Department's policy denied him meaningful access to the courts in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment. Although we are concerned with the potential effects of the Department's policy and believe that the policy should contain an exception for mail related to court proceedings, we conclude that Berdella failed to show that he was prejudiced by Delo and Branson's conduct. 16 It is well established that an inmate has a constitutional right to meaningful access to the courts. See, e.g., Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977). 9 To assert a successful claim for denial of meaningful access to the courts, however, an inmate must demonstrate that he suffered prejudice. See, e.g., Flittie v. Solem, 827 F.2d 276, 280 (8th Cir.1987); Grady v. Wilken, 735 F.2d 303, 305-06 (8th Cir.1984). In Grady, for example, an inmate alleged that prison officials had denied him meaningful access to the courts when his transfer to a segregated unit for violating prison rules resulted in the loss of his mailing privileges for twenty days. The inmate had a lawsuit pending during this period. We held that the district court properly granted summary judgment to the prison officials because the policy involved was constitutional under Procunier and the inmate had failed to demonstrate that the loss of mailing privileges prejudiced his lawsuit. Grady, 735 F.2d at 305-06. 17 Like the inmate in Grady, Berdella has not shown that the restrictions on his mail denied him meaningful access to the courts. As discussed above, the Department's policy is valid under Procunier and Berdella has failed to show that he suffered prejudice as a result of his inability to communicate with Murphy either as trustee of his estate or as a party-opponent. 18 Although a trustee of an inmate's estate under chapter 460 has a duty to provide for the inmate's support, the primary purpose of the trust is to protect the legitimate claims of the inmate's creditors and to prevent the inmate from wasting the estate. See Berdella v. Pender, 821 S.W.2d 846, 851 (Mo.1991). In managing the estate, the trustee may consider, but need not follow, the inmate's instructions. See Thompson v. Bond, 421 F.Supp. 878, 883 (W.D.Mo.1976). Because litigating every disagreement between the inmate and the trustee would undermine the trust's purpose of avoiding wasting of the estate, the inmate must allege a violation of the trustee's duty, not merely a dislike of the trustee's decisions. Berdella, 821 S.W.2d at 851. Although Berdella is not pleased with how Murphy has managed his estate, he has failed to set forth facts showing he was prejudiced by his inability to communicate with Murphy as trustee of the estate. 19 We also find no prejudice resulting from Berdella's inability to communicate with Murphy as a party-opponent. Although the restriction on Berdella's mail threatened to prejudice his actions against Murphy by interfering with his ability to serve court documents on Murphy, Berdella served several documents through a third-party and has not set forth facts showing he was prejudiced by his alleged inability to serve additional documents through similar or other alternative means. Summary judgment in favor of Delo and Branson on Berdella's claim that he was denied meaningful access to the courts under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, therefore, is proper.