Ayoola Ajayi v. Bart Mortensen et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Utah grants Ayoola Ajayi's motion to file a Third Amended Complaint but finds that the complaint remains deficient. The court orders Ajayi to file a Fourth Amended Complaint curing deficiencies concerning personal participation, medical care, retaliation, failure to protect, classification, equal protection, defamation, and other claims. The court also denies motions for speedy review and to seal exhibits.

Holdings

1. The Third Amended Complaint was deficient because it did not adequately and concisely link each individual defendant to the elements of the claims asserted against that defendant.
2. A plaintiff asserting a § 1983 claim must allege that each government-official defendant personally participated in the constitutional violation; liability may not rest solely on supervisory status or respondeat superior.
3. To proceed, Plaintiff must plead facts satisfying the governing elements of each asserted claim, including deliberate indifference for inadequate medical care and failure to protect, protected activity and causation for retaliation, and differential treatment unrelated to legitimate penological interests for equal protection.
4. Plaintiff was permitted to file a Fourth Amended Complaint curing the identified deficiencies within thirty days, and the amended pleading had to stand alone and remain within the dates and allegations of the Third Amended Complaint.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Third Amended Complaint stated sufficiently specific claims under Rule 8 and § 1983 by affirmatively linking each named defendant to the alleged constitutional violations.
2. Whether the Third Amended Complaint adequately pleaded claims concerning medical care, retaliation, failure to protect, equal protection, classification or programming, denied grievances, defamation, and access to courts.
3. Whether Plaintiff should be allowed to cure the pleading deficiencies by filing a Fourth Amended Complaint.
4. Whether Plaintiff's motion for speedy review and motion to seal exhibits should be granted.

Disposition

other