Opinion ID: 413311
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: official good faith immunity

Text: 44 The defendants challenge the district court's rejection of their claim of official good faith immunity. The state of the law concerning an inmate's rights at disciplinary hearings, they assert, was unclear in 1979, and they could not have known that the procedures employed by the Adjustment Committee were unconstitutional. They contend that they acted in good faith, believing their actions to be lawful, and accordingly, they should not be liable for damages. 45 State officials have a right to qualified immunity for actions taken in their official capacity if they act in good faith and on the basis of a reasonable belief that their actions were lawful. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 247-48, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1691-1692, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 318-22, 95 S.Ct. 992, 998-1000, 43 L.Ed.2d 214 (1975). This qualified immunity has been interpreted to protect prison officials. Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 561-62, 98 S.Ct. 855, 859-860, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978). Officials are not required to predict future developments in constitutional adjudication, and can be held liable only for actions which were unlawful at the time in issue. Procunier v. Navarette, supra, 434 U.S. at 562, 565, 98 S.Ct. at 859, 861; Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 557, 87 S.Ct. 1213, 1219, 18 L.Ed.2d 288 (1967). State officials, however, may be charged with constructive knowledge of the established law at that time. See Wood v. Strickland, supra, 420 U.S. at 322, 95 S.Ct. at 1000; Procunier v. Navarette, supra, 434 U.S. at 562, 98 S.Ct. at 860. 46 The defendants assert that the state of the law concerning the scope of inmates' due process rights in institutional disciplinary hearings was unclear in 1979, and point to our opinion in McKinnon v. Patterson, supra, 568 F.2d at 934-35, where we noted, [a]t the time of the hearings in question the contour of prisoners' procedural rights were just starting to take shape. This statement was an accurate reflection of the events we considered in McKinnon. That case, however, concerned events which occurred in 1973, and antedated not only the Supreme Court's decision in Wolff v. McDonnell, supra, but also our own decisions in Crooks v. Warne, supra; Powell I, supra; and Mawhinney v. Henderson, 542 F.2d 1 (2d Cir.1976). In each of these decisions, all of which were rendered before 1979, we carefully delineated the scope of an inmate's rights in Adjustment Committee and other disciplinary proceedings. In 1979 an inmate facing a disciplinary hearing which could deprive him of substantial rights had an unequivocal right to adequate notice, an impartial tribunal and written statement of reasons and evidence relied upon. Moreover, our decisions and the Wolff decision established the qualified right we have discussed, to present witnesses before an Adjustment Committee. 47 The defendants also argue that even if the nature of an inmate's due process rights was clear in 1979, it was uncertain whether these procedural protections were required in an Adjustment Committee proceeding, where only limited sanctions could be imposed. Whatever slight uncertainty there might have been, however, is insufficient to provide a basis for a legitimate claim of good faith immunity. In previous decisions, we noted that confinement in special housing was a substantial deprivation, even more so than confinement in the inmate's living unit. For example, in McKinnon v. Patterson, supra, 568 F.2d at 930, we referred to our earlier decision in United States ex rel. Walker v. Mancusi, supra, and stated, we implicitly found segregation in a special housing unit to be a substantial deprivation .... The McKinnon opinion was rendered in 1977, well before the events complained of in this proceeding. Also, a 1975 district court opinion which we affirmed held that the Wolff requirements applied to all disciplinary proceedings in which a prisoner could be confined to a Special Housing Unit. We conclude that Wolff procedures must be followed for both Adjustment Committee Proceedings and Superintendent's Proceedings, and ... for all proceedings which may result in confinement in special housing. Powell I, supra, 392 F.Supp. at 632. Moreover, in 1979 the Committee could restrict a prisoner to his quarters for as long as two weeks, and in McKinnon, supra, we explicitly stated that this was sufficient to invoke due process protections. 48 Although the defendants were not required to anticipate future developments in the field of inmates' due process rights, neither could they narrow the holding of each of the previously decided cases to the particular facts presented to the court in those cases, and claim that the details of the present situation are different in some minor or insignificant way. Our prior decisions were clearly meant to be generally applicable, and they should have been read in that light. Indeed, in Crooks v. Warne, supra, 516 F.2d at 840, we vacated the judgment of the district court noting, it is desirable that there be uniform rules applicable to all inmates ... and such rules are supplied by the decision [in Powell I ]. Accordingly, we reject the defendants' claim of official good faith immunity. 49 Commissioner Coughlin and Superintendent Reid further contend that the district court improperly held them liable in the absence of any evidence of their direct or personal involvement in the Adjustment Committee proceedings. They assert that they were impermissibly found liable on the basis of a respondeat superior theory. 50 The district court found that Commissioner Coughlin had either actual or constructive notice of the Adjustment Committee procedures as they were employed at Fishkill. The defendants have not challenged this finding, and we accept it as true. Superintendent Reed may also be fairly viewed as having had at least constructive notice of the practices employed at the correctional center he controlled. The defendants' respondeat superior argument is therefore unavailing, because both Coughlin and Reid had a sufficient degree of personal involvement in the unlawful practices of the Adjustment Committee. They were found liable not for the actions of their agents, but rather for their gross negligence and deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of inmates at Fishkill, as indicated by their knowledge that unconstitutional practices were taking place, and their failure to act on the basis of this information. See Owens v. Haas, 601 F.2d 1242, 1246 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 980, 100 S.Ct. 483, 62 L.Ed.2d 407 (1979). This is an adequate basis for liability pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Owens v. Haas, supra; see Duchesne v. Sugarman, 566 F.2d 817 (2d Cir.1977). 51 Accordingly, the district court properly rejected the defendants' claim of official good faith immunity and did not err in rejecting the additional defense raised by defendants Coughlin and Reid.VI. DAMAGES 52 It is well established that to collect compensatory damages in an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, a plaintiff must prove more than a mere violation of his constitutional rights. He must also demonstrate that the constitutional deprivation caused him some actual injury. Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247, 98 S.Ct. 1042, 55 L.Ed.2d 252 (1978); see Wheatley v. Beetar, 637 F.2d 863 (2d Cir.1980). When a plaintiff is unable to prove causation, he may collect only nominal damages. Carey v. Piphus, supra. The district court declined to award McCann compensatory damages because it found that McCann had not met this burden. Accordingly, it awarded only $1 in nominal damages. 53 The district court concluded that McCann's due process rights had been violated in two respects. McCann was not given adequate notice of the charges against him. Also, he was not provided with a written statement of the reasons for the Committee's action and the evidence it relied upon. McCann claims the court erred in determining that he did not meet his burden of proving that these two violations resulted in his confinement as punishment for the fight with Tarrats. He does not challenge the court's failure to award compensatory damages for his confinement arising out of the incident involving Dr. Bakall. 54 The two due process violations found by the district court do not directly bear on the integrity of the Adjustment Committee's decisionmaking process. Although McCann should have been provided with a more complete notice of the charges against him, the court found that he could have informed himself of the nature of the allegations by comparing the code numbers for the violations listed on the Notice of Report with those contained in his rule book. Moreover, it is inconceivable that McCann was not aware of the substance of the charges against him. He was brought to the Special Housing Unit immediately after the fight with Tarrats was broken up, and received the Notice of Report that same day. Thus, the failure to provide McCann with a more detailed explanation of the alleged disciplinary violations cannot be seen as the cause of his confinement. Whatever steps he might have taken had he received sufficient notice, he could equally well have taken on the basis of his independent knowledge of the charges. 55 Similarly, the failure to provide McCann with a written statement of the Committee's decision and underlying reasons could not have caused his injury. If he had received such a written statement, it would have been after the Committee rendered its decision. Carey v. Piphus, supra, clearly establishes that McCann has an obligation to prove how the constitutional deprivations he suffered caused his injury. He failed to sustain his burden on this issue. 56 The district court, however, never considered whether the Adjustment Committee's failure to allow McCann to call his witness or present his defense could have caused his confinement. 13 McCann introduced evidence at trial to establish that he would not have been confined in special housing had he been allowed to call a witness and present a defense at the August 14 hearing. At trial he stated that he hit Tarrats in self-defense. Tarrats, McCann claimed, attacked him with a knife and attempted to take his radio. Moreover, McCann testified that O'Brien was standing by the door of McCann's room when Tarrats burst in, and he indicated that O'Brien would corroborate McCann's version of the events. This evidence directly bears on McCann's culpability. If he were attacked by Tarrats, he could have asserted a justification for protecting himself and his property. The Adjustment Committee might have determined that McCann should not be punished for his role in the fight had they heard his version of the facts. There is, of course, no assurance that the Committee would have believed McCann, and even if it did, it might still have imposed some sanction. 57 It is, however, not our role to weigh this evidence and decide whether its introduction before the Adjustment Committee would have changed the conclusion. The district court did not make any finding on this issue, and there should be a ruling whether McCann met his burden of proving causation on the record already established. The district court, of course, has discretion to permit reopening and further development of the record. If the court finds that McCann would have received a lesser sentence, or perhaps would not have had any sanctions imposed if the Adjustment Committee had considered this additional evidence, then it should consider the monetary value of McCann's damages, if any. See Carey v. Piphus, supra. 58 McCann also contends that the district court applied an improper legal standard in rejecting his claim for punitive damages. McCann argues that the district court employed a malice test, pursuant to which a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendants acted with malice or in bad faith to recover punitive damages. The appropriate standard, McCann claims, is not malice, but rather reckless disregard. Under this test, a Sec. 1983 plaintiff may recover punitive damages if he shows that the defendants acted in reckless disregard or with actual knowledge that they were violating his rights. 59 The standard for recovery of punitive damages in Sec. 1983 actions remains unsettled. The Circuits have split almost evenly on this issue, 14 and there has been no definitive guidance from the Supreme Court. 15 This Circuit has not clearly addressed the issue. 60 The district court concluded there was no malice or bad faith on the part of the defendants, but did not explicitly deny punitive damages on that basis. It is, of course, axiomatic that the district courts are vested with discretionary authority in considering the propriety of punitive damages awards, and a denial will be reversed only for an abuse of discretion. See Fort v. White, 530 F.2d 1113, 1117 (2d Cir.1976); Stolberg v. Members of the Board of Trustees for the State Colleges of Connecticut, 474 F.2d 485, 489 (2d Cir.1973). Given the unsettled state of the law on this issue, the absence of any clear indication that Judge Brieant employed an incorrect standard, and the discretion vested in the district courts, we decline to find that the district court's decision not to award McCann punitive damages was an abuse of discretion.