Waldron v. Columbia County Jail

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

TREY U. WALDRON,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 3:23-cv-428-MMH-MCR

COLUMBIA COUNTY JAIL,

et al.,

Defendants.

_______________________________

ORDER

Plaintiff, Trey Waldron, a sentenced State prisoner confined at the

Columbia County Jail (CCJ), initiated this action on April 13, 2023, by filing a

pro se complaint for the violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Doc. 1;

Compl.). He is proceeding as a pauper. See Order (Doc. 4).

In his complaint, Plaintiff alleges a CCJ medical provider, Nurse

McCullan, was “unqualified” and misdiagnosed his sexually transmitted

disease as herpes (rather than syphilis), thus prescribing the wrong

medication, which made him sick and cost him money. See Compl. at 4-5.

Plaintiff acknowledges a urologist eventually correctly diagnosed him and

prescribed appropriate medication. Id. It appears the correct diagnosis was

made within a month, but the precise timeline is unclear. See id. Plaintiff

alleges an officer, Deputy Ward, was present during the medical exam

conducted by Nurse McCullan and “verbally, sexauly [sic] assaulted” Plaintiff

by “jacking his [own penis] and spanking his [own] ass.” Id. at 4-5. As relief,

Plaintiff seeks relief from the charges placed on his jail account for the wrong

medicine and lab tests, compensatory and punitive damages, and for

Defendants to be fired. Id. at 5.

Upon review, the Court finds Plaintiff’s complaint does not satisfy the

minimal federal pleading standards and is otherwise deficient. The Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure require a plaintiff to provide “a short and plain

statement of the claim showing that [he] is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

8(a)(2). All averments of the claim should be made “in numbered paragraphs,

each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.” Fed. R. Civ.

P. 10(b). To survive dismissal, a complaint must allege facts that, accepted as

true, state a claim “that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.

662, 678 (2009). The standard asks for less than a probability but “more than

a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id.

Though a plaintiff is not required to provide “detailed factual

allegations,” he must offer more than “naked assertion[s] devoid of further

factual enhancement.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). He should

provide enough detail to “give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is

and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,

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555 (2007) (alteration in original). A court must hold a pro se plaintiff to a less

stringent standard than a lawyer, Tannenbaum v. United States, 148 F.3d

1262, 1263 (11th Cir. 1998), but may not rewrite a deficient complaint for a pro

se plaintiff or otherwise serve as his de facto counsel, GJR Invs., Inc. v. Cnty.

of Escambia, 132 F.3d 1359, 1369 (11th Cir. 1998), overruled on other grounds

by Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662.

Plaintiff’s complaint is deficient for at least two reasons. First, the

Defendants he intends to sue are unclear. On the first page of the complaint

form, Plaintiff identifies the Defendants as “[CCJ] Et.al [sic],” but in sections I

(“The Parties”), II (“Basis for Jurisdiction”), and IV (“Statement of Claim”), he

names and lodges allegations against only Deputy Ward and Nurse McCullan.

See Compl. at 1, 2, 4. To the extent Plaintiff intended to name the CCJ as a

Defendant, he is advised that a sheriff’s office or jail is not a legal entity subject

to suit in a civil rights action brought under § 1983. Faulkner v. Monroe Cnty.

Sheriff’s Dep’t, 523 F. App’x 696, 701 (11th Cir. 2013) (affirming dismissal of

the sheriff’s office because that entity did not have “the capacity to be sued”).1

Second, Plaintiff fails to adequately set forth his claim against Nurse

McCullan. To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that a person

1 Unpublished decisions are not binding. See McNamara v. Gov’t Emps. Ins. Co., 30

F.4th 1055, 1061 (11th Cir. 2022). Any unpublished decisions cited in this Order are

deemed persuasive on the relevant point of law.

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acting under the color of state law deprived him of a right secured under the

United States Constitution or federal law. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983. A claim that

a prison medical provider was deliberately indifferent to an inmate’s serious

medical need is cognizable under § 1983 as an Eighth Amendment violation.

Brown v. Johnson, 387 F.3d 1344, 1351 (11th Cir. 2004). However, allegations

of medical negligence do not satisfy the stringent deliberate indifference

standard. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). As such, a plaintiff must

do more than allege the care provided was “subpar or different from what [he]

want[ed].” Keohane v. Fla. Dep’t of Corr. Sec’y, 952 F.3d 1257, 1266 (11th Cir.

2020). “Medical treatment violates the [E]ighth [A]mendment only when it is

‘so grossly incompetent, inadequate, or excessive as to shock the conscience or

to be intolerable to fundamental fairness.’” Harris v. Thigpen, 941 F.2d 1495,

1505 (11th Cir. 1991).

If Plaintiff wants to proceed, he must file an amended complaint that

complies with the standards discussed above, the instructions on the enclosed

complaint form, and the instructions that follow.

1. The amended complaint must be marked, “Amended Complaint.”

2. The amended complaint must name as defendants only those who

had been acting under color of state law and are responsible for an

alleged constitutional violation.

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3. The amended complaint must state the full name and address (i.e.,

work location) of each defendant (to the extent known) in the style

of the case on the first page and in section I.B.

4. The list of defendants named on the first page must match the list

in section I.B.

5. In section IV, “Statement of Claim,” there must be a clear

description of how each defendant was involved in the alleged

violation. The allegations should be stated in numbered

paragraphs, each limited to a single set of circumstances. Plaintiff

should separately explain the facts giving rise to his individual

claims for relief, and he should clearly state how each defendant is

responsible for each alleged violation.2

6. In section V, “Injuries,” there must be a statement concerning how

each defendant’s action(s) or omission(s) injured Plaintiff.

7. In section VI, “Relief,” there must be a statement of what Plaintiff

seeks through this action.3

Plaintiff must sign and date the amended complaint after the following

statement on the form:

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, by signing

below, I certify to the best of my knowledge,

information, and belief that this complaint: (1) is not

being presented for an improper purpose, such as to

harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly

increase the cost of litigation; (2) is supported by

2 Plaintiff may attach additional pages, if necessary, but he should continue to

number the paragraphs for a clear presentation of his factual allegations supporting

each claim.

3 The Prison Litigation Reform Act “places substantial restrictions on the judicial

relief that prisoners can seek . . . .” Brooks v. Warden, 800 F.3d 1295, 1307 (11th Cir.

2015) (quoting Al-Amin v. Smith, 637 F.3d 1192, 1195 (11th Cir. 2011)). Additionally,

Plaintiff is advised that district courts generally will not interfere with matters of jail

administration, including employee discipline.

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existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for

extending, modifying, or reversing existing law; (3) the

factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if

specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary

support after a reasonable opportunity for further

investigation or discovery; and (4) the complaint

otherwise complies with the requirements of Rule 11.

Before signing the amended complaint, Plaintiff must ensure his

assertions are truthful and he has not knowingly made false material

declarations. He must neither exaggerate nor distort the facts but instead must

truthfully state the facts underlying his claims. Knowingly making a false

material declaration in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623 is punishable by a fine,

imprisonment, or both.

An amended complaint supersedes the filing of the initial complaint and

becomes the operative pleading. Krinsk v. SunTrust Banks, Inc., 654 F.3d

1194, 1202 (11th Cir. 2011). Thus, Plaintiff’s amended complaint must be

complete, including all related claims he wishes to raise and must not refer

back to his original complaint.

Accordingly, it is now

ORDERED:

1. The Clerk shall send Plaintiff a civil rights complaint form.

2. By June 6, 2023, Plaintiff must mail an amended complaint to the

Court for filing. The amended complaint should comply with the instructions

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on the form and those provided in this order. Plaintiffs failure to comply

with this order may result in the dismissal of this case.

DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 24 day of May,

20238.

: MONTE C. RICHARDSON

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Jax-6

C: Trey U. Waldron