Byron Donnelle Clay v. Ms. Gamble, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia grants the plaintiff’s Rule 60 motion for reconsideration, vacates its prior dismissal and judgment, and reviews the action. The court then dismisses the § 1983 action without prejudice for failure to timely pay the required partial initial filing fee, finding that the plaintiff had access to family support and acted in bad faith. The court also conducts preliminary screening and addresses claims concerning jail conditions, alleged violations of standard operating procedures, and the liability of the named defendants.

Holdings

1. The court granted Clay's motion for reconsideration and vacated its prior dismissal order and judgment so that it could review the asserted newly discovered evidence and reconsider the dismissal.
2. A district court may dismiss a prisoner civil action without prejudice under Rule 41(b) when the plaintiff fails to obey an order requiring timely payment of a partial initial filing fee, and dismissal was warranted because Clay had the ability to pay but disregarded the court's orders.
3. The claims against Correct Health, the Walton County Sheriff's Office, and the Walton County Jail were dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim.
4. An alleged violation of jail policies or standard operating procedures, standing alone, does not establish a federal constitutional violation actionable under § 1983.
5. Clay failed to state a Fourteenth Amendment conditions-of-confinement claim because temporary placement in a padded or suicide-watch cell did not allege a sufficiently serious deprivation, and Gamble's precautionary placement decision did not show deliberate indifference.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Clay was entitled to relief from the prior dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60 based on his asserted newly discovered evidence concerning the payment of the partial initial filing fee.
2. Whether dismissal without prejudice was appropriate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) because Clay failed to timely pay the court-ordered partial initial filing fee.
3. Whether the claims against Correct Health, the Walton County Sheriff's Office, and the Walton County Jail failed because the complaint did not connect those defendants to a constitutional violation and certain defendants were not entities subject to suit under § 1983.
4. Whether an alleged violation of jail standard operating procedures stated a federal constitutional claim.
5. Whether Clay stated a Fourteenth Amendment conditions-of-confinement claim based on his temporary placement in a padded cell or suicide-watch cell.

Disposition

dismissed