David Lee Hutton, II v. Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority’s motion to dismiss a pro se prisoner’s claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court held that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege a municipal policy or custom supporting liability for failure to protect him, failure to pursue criminal or civil action against his attackers, or failure to reimburse stolen commissary goods.

Holdings

1. Hutton failed to state a plausible § 1983 failure-to-protect claim against the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority because he did not allege that an official policy or custom was the moving force behind the assault or that the jail authority should reasonably have appreciated a substantial risk of serious harm.
2. The nonpursuit of criminal or civil action against the inmates who assaulted Hutton cannot support a § 1983 claim because a private citizen has no judicially cognizable or enforceable right to compel another entity to prosecute or bring claims against another person.
3. Hutton failed to state a plausible § 1983 claim based on the jail authority’s failure to refund the value of the stolen commissary goods.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Hutton plausibly alleged that a policy or custom of the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority caused a Fourteenth Amendment failure-to-protect violation.
2. Whether the jail authority could be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failing to pursue criminal or civil proceedings against the inmates who assaulted Hutton.
3. Whether the jail authority could be held liable under § 1983 for failing to refund Hutton for stolen commissary goods.

Disposition

dismissed