Federal Circuits, 6th Cir. (July 29, 1991)
Docket number: 91-5279
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U.S. Supreme Court - Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312 (1988)
U.S. Supreme Court - Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
U.S. Supreme Court - Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986)
U.S. Supreme Court - Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 <I>(per curiam)</I> (1972)
Before KEITH and ALAN E. NORRIS, Circuit Judges, and WEBER, District Judge.*
ORDEREric Stoner, a Kentucky pro se prisoner, appeals the district court's order granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment in his civil rights action filed under 42 U.S.C. Sec . 1983. This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 9(a), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed.R.App.P. 34(a).Seeking injunctive relief, plaintiff and sixteen other Islamic prisoners sued four employees of the Kentucky Corrections Cabinet in their individual and official capacities and the Department of Adult Institutions alleging that defendants have denied them "equal protection simply because they are Muslims." In addition, they alleged a violation of their first amendment rights because defendants have failed to provide them with a special diet free of pork and pork by-products. Plaintiffs also sought a court order to require defendants to implement a proposal which called for a special Muslim diet of three pork-free meals a day and for the preparation of their food by the institution's dietician or someone designated by the Muslim community at any given Kentucky prison.The district court denied plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order regarding their proposal and for appointment of counsel. The parties subsequently filed cross motions for summary judgment. The district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment finding that there was no showing the plaintiffs' constitutional rights had been violated.As an initial matter, we recognize this appeal as being brought only by Eric Stoner as he was the only plaintiff who was specifically identified in the notice of appeal. The use of the term "et al.," did not sufficiently designate any other plaintiffs as appellants; they therefore failed to effectuate an appeal to this court. See Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312, 317-18 (1988).Upon review, we conclude the district court properly granted summary judgment for the defendants because there is no genuine issue of material fact and defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986).Stoner's allegations regarding entitlement to three pork-free meals a day and defendants' failure to adequately provide him with pork-free meals in violation of his first amendment rights are unsubstantial. Defendants are not required to prepare individual meals for prisoners but only a diet sufficient to keep them in good health, see Cunningham v. Jones, 667 F.2d 565, 566 (6th Cir.1982) (per curiam); Kahane v. Carlson,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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