Jeremy Bryan Barney v. Utah Bd. of Pardons & Parole et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Utah dismissed with prejudice Jeremy Bryan Barney’s amended pro se civil-rights complaint against the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and two representatives. The court concluded that the complaint failed to provide factual support or link any specific defendant to the asserted discrimination, ADA, FTCA, assault, mental-health, or suicide-related claims.

Holdings

1. A § 1983 complaint must affirmatively link each named defendant to specific acts constituting a constitutional violation; merely naming defendants and listing conclusory terms or possible claims is insufficient.
2. Bare assertions and formulaic recitations of the elements of a claim do not satisfy the requirement to plead facts showing a plausible entitlement to relief.
3. Dismissal with prejudice was appropriate because the plaintiff had already received a prior opportunity and detailed instructions to amend, yet the amended complaint remained fatally deficient, and further amendment would not likely produce a different result.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the amended complaint stated a plausible claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or other identified federal causes of action.
2. Whether the amended complaint adequately alleged each defendant's personal participation in an asserted constitutional or statutory violation.
3. Whether dismissal with prejudice was appropriate after the plaintiff failed to cure the deficiencies identified in the court's prior order.

Disposition

dismissed