Court Opinion

ID: 9398371
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-31 00:00:46.20981+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:33.186134
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-40255        Document: 00516768301             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/30/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit                                        United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________                                      FILED
                                                                                     May 30, 2023
                                      No. 22-40255
                                    Summary Calendar                             Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                      Clerk
                                    ____________

   Anthony Prescott,

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                            versus

   K. Johnson, Kitchen Manager, Gurney Unit; Tony A. Dean, Officer,
   Coffield Unit; Stuart Calhoun, Warden, Gurney Unit; Earnest
   Navarrete, Assistant Warden, Coffield Unit; Cabrea, Sergeant,
   Gurney Unit; Jane Doe; Donald Lee; Christal Meador;
   Funai, formerly known as Funais; Michael Britt; Steven
   Farris; Danny Jackson; Tony Dew; Lowrey R. Davis;
   Dennis Nash; Author Thomas; Gaye Karriker, Law
   Librarian, Coffield Unit,

                                              Defendants—Appellees.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Eastern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 6:18-CV-577
                     ______________________________

   Before Smith, Southwick, and Graves, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-40255        Document: 00516768301          Page: 2    Date Filed: 05/30/2023

                                      No. 22-40255

             Texas inmate Anthony Prescott appeals the dismissal, at the screening
   phase, of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil action against various employees of the
   Texas Department of Criminal Justice.              Prescott contends that the
   defendants violated his rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and
   Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act
   (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act.             Further, Prescott contends the
   defendants conspired to violate his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985 and
   1986. Most of Prescott’s claims stem from his allegation that the defendants
   were either complicit in, or deliberately indifferent to, the contamination or
   poisoning of his prison meals, which he asserts was in retaliation for his suing
   them under Section 1983. Prescott seeks official-capacity damages against
   the defendants, punitive damages in relation to his ADA claim, and injunctive
   relief.
             The district court dismissed Prescott’s claims as either frivolous or
   for failure to state a claim. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915A & 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The
   court concluded that the Eleventh Amendment barred Prescott’s claim for
   official-capacity damages and that punitive damages were not available under
   Title II of the ADA. The district court also denied an injunction because
   Prescott did not prevail on the merits of his claims.
             Prescott fails to show error under our de novo standard of review for a
   district court’s dismissal of a complaint as frivolous or for failure to state a
   claim. See Geiger v. Jowers, 404 F.3d 371, 373 (5th Cir. 2005). He fails to
   address or identify error in many of the court’s findings. Thus, it “is the
   same as if he had not appealed that judgment.” Brinkmann v. Dallas Cnty.
   Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987). Prescott’s complaint
   otherwise contains insufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a
   plausible claim for relief or to draw a reasonable inference that the defendants
   are liable for the alleged misconduct. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678
   (2009). The district court properly dismissed the civil action.

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Case: 22-40255      Document: 00516768301           Page: 3   Date Filed: 05/30/2023

                                    No. 22-40255

          Lastly, because Prescott has apparently been released from Texas
   state custody, his appeal of the denial of injunctive relief is moot. See Herman
   v. Holiday, 238 F.3d 660, 665 (5th Cir. 2001).
          AFFIRMED.

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