Plaintiff-Appellant, v. R. ALCANTARA and R. LASSI, Correctional Officers, Defendants-Appellees, (2nd Cir. 2004)

Federal Circuits, 2nd Cir. (July 09, 2004)

Docket number: 02-0004


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US Code - Title 42: The Public Health and Welfare - 42 USC 1983 - Sec. 1983. Civil action for deprivation of rights

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - Huey B. Wright, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Harold Smith and Thomas A. Coughlin, Iii, Defendants-Appellees., 21 F.3d 496 (2nd Cir. 1994)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - 64 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (Bna) 638, 64 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,973 Howard E. Robinson, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Overseas Military Sales Corporation, Army & Air Force Exchange Service, George W. Deering, Bradley J. Potter, and Randall L. Mullins, Defendants-Appellees., 21 F.3d 502 (2nd Cir. 1994)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - Maria Castro, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. United States of America, Don Abrams, Jason Davs, Daniel Bologna, Defendants-Appellees., 34 F.3d 106 (2nd Cir. 1994)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - Ray Gant, Jr., Ray Gant, Sr. and Elisa Gant, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Wallingford Board of Education, Barbara Beecher, Richard Centner, Phyllis Dechello, Mark Moynihan, T. Thomas Murphy, Valerie Nolan, Steve Pickering, John Wooding, Suzanne Wright, George Bozzi, Jr., Donna Lange, Vincent Testa, Dr. Joseph Cirasuolo, Patricia Cronin and Grace Candido, Defendants-Appellees., 69 F.3d 669 (2nd Cir. 1995)


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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT SUMMARY ORDER THIS SUMMARY ORDER WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED IN THE FEDERAL REPORTER AND MAY NOT BE CITED AS PRECEDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO THIS OR ANY OTHER COURT, BUT MAY BE CALLED TO THE ATTENTION OF THIS OR ANY OTHER COURT IN A SUBSEQUENT STAGE OF THIS CASE, IN A RELATED CASE, OR IN ANY CASE FOR PURPOSES OF COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL OR RES JUDICATA.

At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 9th day of July, two thousand and four.

PRESENT:

Hon. John M. Walker, Jr., Chief Judge, Hon. Dennis Jacobs, Circuit Judge, Hon. Timothy C. Stanceu, Judge.*

TIMOTHY HAYWOOD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. No. 02-0004

R. ALCANTARA and R. LASSI, Correctional Officers, Defendants-Appellees, JANET RENO, U.S. Atty. General, CARLYLE HOLDER, Warden, M.D.C., DOUGLAS WHITE, Lieutenant, R. SPROUL, Associate Warden, C. COOPER, Captain, and CALVIN D. MORTON, Warden, Defendants.

FOR APPELLANT: TIMOTHY HAYWOOD, pro se, Atlanta, GA FOR APPELLEES: CAROLYN LISA MILLER, Assistant United States Attorney (Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney, Deborah B.

Zwany, Assistant United States Attorney, on the brief), Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, NY Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Reena Raggi, District Judge).

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment of said district court be and it hereby is AFFIRMED.

Plaintiff-appellant Timothy Haywood appeals from the judgments of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1) partially dismissing, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), his 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against prison officers-defendants for their failure to protect him from the attack of another inmate (as to the defendants sued in their official capacities and as to the supervisory defendants sued in their individual capacities); (2) granting summary judgment in favor of officers-defendants Alcantara and Lassi; and (3)

denying Haywood's motion to amend his complaint.

We review de novo a district court's dismissal pursuant to Fed.

R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). See Gant v. Wallingford Bd. of Educ., 69 F.3d 669, 672 (2d Cir. 1995). We find that the district court properly determined that sovereign immunity shielded the Government defendants, named in their official capacities, from any action for money damages absent the Government's consent, and that the Government had not consented to be sued for money damages. See Robinson v. Overseas Military Sales Corp., 21 F.3d 502, 510 (2d Cir. 1994); Castro v. United States, 34 F.3d 106, 110 (2d Cir. 1994). Additionally, the district court properly dismissed Haywood's complaint as to the supervisory defendants because he failed to allege any of the supervisors' personal involvement in the inmate assault; nor did Haywood's complaint fall into any of the narrowly tailored categories that allow for supervisory liability without the supervisor's participation in the alleged wrongdoing. See Wright v. Smith, 21 F.3d 496, 501-02 (2d Cir. 1994). Accordingly, the district court's partial dismissal was proper in all respects.

We also review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment. See Parker v. Columbia Pictures Indus., 204 F.3d 326, 332

(2d Cir. 2000). With the district court, we find no triable issues of material fact in the dispute about whether officers-defendants Alcantara and Lassi demonstrated deliberate indifference in disregarding an excessive risk to Haywood's safety by failing to take reasonable measures to abate such risk. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511

U.S. 825 (1994) (a prison official cannot be found liable under the Eighth Amendment unless the official knows of a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to prevent the harm, even if the harm was not ultimately averted).

Finally, we review the district court's denial of Haywood's motion to amend his complaint for an abuse of discretion. See Jin v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 310 F.3d 84, 101 (2d Cir. 2002). We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that it would prove futile for Haywood to amend his complaint to include allegations of supervisor-defendant White's involvement in the failure to protect because White's conduct did not constitute deliberate indifference to Haywood's safety.

We have carefully considered all of Haywood's arguments and find them to be without merit.

For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the district court is hereby AFFIRMED.

FOR THE COURT:

Roseann B. MacKechnie, Clerk By: Richard Alcantara, Deputy Clerk Date: July 9, 2004

[*]-. The Honorable Timothy C. Stanceu, Judge of United States Court of International Trade, sitting by designation.

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