Opinion ID: 767398
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attempts to Identify the Proper Defendant

Text: 6 Initially, King attempted to identify the correctional officer whom he alleged was deliberately indifferent to his safety via several unsuccessful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to various offices of the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP). 3 Consequently, King did not know the name of the allegedly culpable correctional officer either at the time he filed his original complaint or at the time he filed his amended complaint. 7 Despite the fact that King was unable to identify the correctional officer whom he claimed was deliberately indifferent by the time the statute of limitations for his Bivens action expired, the case remained active and King continued to file several motions. For example, on December 11, 1995, King filed a motion for limited discovery, and on January 23, 1996, he filed a motion for production of the correctional officers' work roster for the day of the attack. The district court denied both motions, citing the sensitive nature of the BOP records. 8 The district court, appreciating King's predicament, on its own motion came to an agreement with the BOP whereby the court itself would review the sensitive BOP records in camera. After conducting an in camera inspection of the relevant records, the trial judge determined that the appropriate defendant was Lt. T. Huckleberry (Huckleberry). On March 15, 1996, the judge directed that Huckleberry be served with a summons and complaint. Huckleberry was served on April 18, 1996. In spite of the district court's determination that Huckleberry was the proper defendant, even before service was obtained, King wrote a letter to the court on April 8, 1996, explaining that Huckleberry was not the proper defendant. King's search for the proper defendant continued. 9 In October 1997, the court granted the motion of attorney Christopher Shema (Shema) to enter a limited appearance on King's behalf and at the same time issued a proposed order that would have allowed Shema to view the BOP records in camera. But in February 1998, the trial judge, after further consideration, reversed his prior ruling and refused to permitShema's inspection of the BOP records. Instead, the trial judge notified Shema that, based on his own in camera review of the BOP records, the proper defendant was probably Correctional Officer L. Suttler. 4 On March 13, 1998, Shema notified the court that he would not represent King. King subsequently informed the court that Suttler, like Huckleberry, was not the proper defendant. 10 On June 25, 1998, the district court appointed new counsel for King, attorney Stephen Williams and at the same time issued a proposed order that would allow Williams to inspect the BOP records. Once again, the BOP objected to an inspection by King's counsel. Instead of ruling on the BOP's objection to the proposed order, the district court issued King an Order to Show Cause why the case ought not be dismissed as time barred. On October 30, 1998, King responded. On November 5, 1998, almost four years after the expiration of the statute of limitations, the court sua sponte dismissed King's action with prejudice as time barred by the applicable two-year statute of limitations. We affirm.