# Donaldson v. State of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections

> District Court, S.D. Ohio · March 14, 2023

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10381955

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, S.D. Ohio
- **Decided:** March 14, 2023
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION AT COLUMBUS

ORA JOSEPH DONALDSON JR., : Case No. 2:22-cv-3275
:
Plaintiff, :
: District Judge Michael H. Watson
vs. :
Magistrate Judge Stephanie K. Bowman
:
STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF :
REHABILITATION AND CORRECTION, :
et al., :
:
Defendants.

ORDER AND
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

On August 30, 2022, plaintiff, Ora Joseph Donaldson, Jr., a prisoner at the North Central
Correctional Complex (NCCC), in Marion, Ohio, filed this civil rights action against the Ohio
Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and the Correctional Reception Center
(CRC) for personal injuries he allegedly sustained when his bunk bed collapsed while he was
housed at the CRC. (Doc. 5). By separate Order, plaintiff was granted leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. (Doc. 4).
On November 7, 2022, the Court issued a Report and Recommendation recommending
the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint because his allegations failed to state a claim upon which
relief could be granted as they sounded in negligence and were brought against defendants who
were not proper defendants in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit. (Doc. 6).
On November 23 and November 28, 2022, respectively, plaintiff filed motions to amend
his complaint. (Docs. 8, 9). On November 28, 2022, plaintiff also filed an amended complaint
and objections to the Court’s November 7, 2022 Report and Recommendation. (Docs. 10, 11).
On December 7 and December 19, 2022, respectively, plaintiff filed supplemental amended
complaints. (Docs. 12, 13). The amended complaint, as supplemented (Docs. 10, 12, 13),
includes additional defendants as well as Eighth Amendment and negligence claims relating to
the collapse of plaintiff’s bed; his medical care at CRC following the collapse of the bed; and the

conditions, including his medical care, at NCCC.
A plaintiff may amend his complaint once as a matter of course at any time before a
responsive pleading is served. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). See also Broyles v. Correctional Med.
Servs., Inc., No. 08-1638, 2009 WL 3154241, at *3 (6th Cir. Jan. 23, 2009). For this reason, it
was unnecessary for plaintiff to file a motion to amend. Nevertheless, for the sake of clarity in
the record, the Court will grant the second-filed motion to amend. (Doc. 9). The Court will deny
the first-filed motion to amend (Doc. 8) because it appears to relate to a different case. The
amended complaint, as supplemented (Docs. 10, 12, 13), supersedes the original complaint for
all purposes and will constitute the operative complaint in this matter. See Calhoun v. Bergh,

769 F.3d 409, 410 (6th Cir. 2014) (“An amended complaint supersedes an earlier complaint for
all purposes.”) (quotation and citation omitted). The undersigned therefore vacates the
November 7, 2022 Report and Recommendation, which relates to the original complaint, as
moot.
This matter is now before the Court for a sua sponte review of the amended complaint, as
supplemented, to determine whether the amended complaint, as supplemented, or any portion of
it should be dismissed because it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief

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can be granted or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See
Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 § 805, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).
I.
In enacting the original in forma pauperis statute, Congress recognized that a “litigant
whose filing fees and court costs are assumed by the public, unlike a paying litigant, lacks an

economic incentive to refrain from filing frivolous, malicious, or repetitive lawsuits.” Denton v.
Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 31 (1992) (quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 324 (1989)). To
prevent such abusive litigation, Congress has authorized federal courts to dismiss an in forma
pauperis complaint if they are satisfied that the action is frivolous or malicious. Id.; see also 28
U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) and 1915A(b)(1). A complaint may be dismissed as frivolous when
the plaintiff cannot make any claim with a rational or arguable basis in fact or law. Neitzke v.
Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 328-29 (1989); see also Lawler v. Marshall, 898 F.2d 1196, 1198 (6th
Cir. 1990). An action has no arguable legal basis when the defendant is immune from suit or
when plaintiff claims a violation of a legal interest which clearly does not exist. Neitzke, 490

U.S. at 327. An action has no arguable factual basis when the allegations are delusional or rise
to the level of the irrational or “wholly incredible.” Denton, 504 U.S. at 32; Lawler, 898 F.2d at
1199. The Court need not accept as true factual allegations that are “fantastic or delusional” in
reviewing a complaint for frivolousness. Hill v. Lappin, 630 F.3d 468, 471 (6th Cir. 2010)
(quoting Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 328).
Congress also has authorized the sua sponte dismissal of complaints that fail to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915 (e)(2)(B)(ii) and 1915A(b)(1). A
complaint filed by a pro se plaintiff must be “liberally construed” and “held to less stringent

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standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94
(2007) (per curiam) (quoting Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976)). By the same token,
however, the complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a
claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)
(quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)); see also Hill, 630 F.3d at

470-71 (“dismissal standard articulated in Iqbal and Twombly governs dismissals for failure to
state a claim” under §§ 1915A(b)(1) and 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii)).
“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the
court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”
Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). The Court must accept all well-
pleaded factual allegations as true, but need not “accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a
factual allegation.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (quoting Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286
(1986)). Although a complaint need not contain “detailed factual allegations,” it must provide
“more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S.

at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). A pleading that offers “labels and conclusions” or “a
formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at
555. Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders “naked assertion[s]” devoid of “further factual
enhancement.” Id. at 557. The complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of what the . . .
claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Erickson, 551 U.S. at 93 (citations omitted).
II.
Plaintiff names the following defendants, in their “individual, and professional
capacities,” in his amended and supplemental amended complaints: ODRC Director Annette

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Chambers-Smith; CRC Warden Josette Okereke; Roy Han, CEO of Management Training
Company, a Utah Company; NCCC Warden Tom Watson; NCCC Deputy Warden Becky Joyce;
NCCC Education Director David Cedar; NCCC Medical Administrator D. Whitaker; and NCCC
Institutional Inspector Lori Shuler. (See Doc. 10, at PageID 46-47; Doc. 12, at PageID 57).
Plaintiff alleges that on April 29, 2022, while he was confined at CRC, he sustained

injuries to his head, neck, and shoulder when the bed he was sleeping on in his cell collapsed.
(Doc. 13, at PageID 66-67). Plaintiff asserts that he suffered nerve injuries from the collapsed
bed and, as a result, the “loss of the use and grip strength of his left shoulder, arm, hand and
fingers.” (Id. at PageID 66). According to plaintiff, “the defendant[s]” had “prior knowledge of
faulty prison equipment.” (Doc. 10, at PageID 48). Plaintiff also blames the collapse of the bed
on “prison staff conducting cell shakedowns on a constant basis,” in which they “break apart” the
bed frames, “causing the pins that connect the frame together to become broken, and altogether
missing[.]” (Doc. 12, at PageID 59; Doc. 13, at PageID 66).
Plaintiff alleges that his cellmate witnessed the collapse and called Corrections Officer

Cardin, who sent plaintiff to medical. According to plaintiff, at medical he “was only given an
x-ray and aspirin.” (Doc. 13, at PageID 66). Plaintiff alleges that porters then transferred the
bed to another cell and, “after th[e] maintenance department in CRC repaired the bed frame[,]”
another inmate was allowed to sleep in it. (Id. at PageID 66-67). Plaintiff alleges that pictures of
the bed frame were taken. (Id. at PageID 67).
Plaintiff alleges that he was not seen at a hospital. (Doc. 13, at PageID 67). He further
alleges that the “medical staff” at NCCC, where he is currently housed, did not have an “EMG”
[sic] performed until the end of August 2022. Plaintiff also claims that the medical staff at

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NCCC are “doing nothing” about the injury. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges that he was “given a medical
lay in for 9 months for rehabilitation of the brachial plexus injury” but was then forced by NCCC
correctional staff to return to his “job/class,” where he was injured when he tripped over the arm
of a vehicle lift that was sticking out from underneath of an automobile. (Id. at PageID 66-67).
Plaintiff alleges that he was denied emergency medical services and it took several days for him

to get medical care. (Id. at PageID 67). Plaintiff asserts that defendant Cedar, the educational
director at NCCC, is at fault for his new injury. (Id.). Plaintiff additionally claims that he was
written up for not going to his “job/class.” (Id).
For relief, plaintiff seeks damages in the amount of $4.2 million. (Doc. 10, at PageID
48).
III.
Based on the above allegations, plaintiff asserts that he is bringing the following claims:
“[d]eliberate indifference, willful and serious misconduct, careless indifference and disregard to
life and safety, gross negligence, willful and wanton negligence, [c]ulpable [n]egligence, and

[c]ivil [r]ecklessness, and breach of duty on the parts of all defendants . . . under 42 U.S.C.
[§] 1983[.]” (Doc. 13, at PageID 65).
For the following reasons, plaintiff’s federal claims regarding the alleged events at CRC
should be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted;
any state-law claims relating to the alleged events at CRC should be dismissed without prejudice;
and plaintiff’s remaining claims arising out of the alleged conditions, including his medical care,
at NCCC should be severed and dismissed without prejudice as they are improperly joined in this
action.

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First, there are no allegations in the amended and supplemental amended complaints
(Docs. 10, 12, 13) against defendant Roy Han. The amended and supplemental amended
complaints, therefore, fail to state a claim against this defendant.
Next, plaintiff has not stated a § 1983 claim against ODRC Director Chambers-Smith or
CRC Warden Okereke. Although plaintiff generally alleges that “the defendant[s]” had “prior

knowledge of faulty prison equipment” (Doc. 10, at PageID 48); “ODRC staff failed to provide .
. . safety” (Doc. 12, at PageID 59); the actions of “all defendants” were “willful and wanton”
(id.); and “ODRC CRC and staff . . . are the cause of this faulty prison issue bed frame” (Doc.
13, at PageID 66), “[s]ummary reference to a single, five-headed ‘Defendants’ does not support a
reasonable inference that each Defendant is liable for [the alleged constitutional violation].”
Boxill v. O’Grady, 935 F.3d 510, 518 (6th Cir. 2019) (citing Heyne v. Metro. Nashville Pub.
Sch., 655 F.3d 556, 564 (6th Cir. 2011) (“This Court has consistently held that damage claims
against government officials arising from alleged violations of constitutional rights must allege,
with particularity, facts that demonstrate what each defendant did to violate the asserted

constitutional right.”) (in turn quoting Lanman v. Hinson, 529 F.3d 673, 684 (6th Cir. 2008)).
Further, it is well-settled that the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply in
§ 1983 lawsuits to impute liability onto supervisory personnel. See, e.g., Wingo v. Tennessee
Dep’t of Corr., 499 F. App’x 453, 455 (6th Cir. 2012) (per curiam) (citing Polk Cty. v. Dodson,
454 U.S. 312, 325 (1981)). “In order to find supervisory personnel liable, a plaintiff must allege
that the supervisors were somehow personally involved in the unconstitutional activity of a
subordinate, . . . or at least acquiesced in the alleged unconstitutional activity of a subordinate.”
Id. (citing Dunn v. Tennessee, 697 F.2d 121, 128 (6th Cir. 1982); Bellamy v. Bradley, 729 F.2d

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416, 421 (6th Cir. 1984)); see also Colvin v. Caruso, 605 F.3d 282, 292 (6th Cir. 2010) (quoting
Cardinal v. Metrish, 564 F.3d 794, 803 (6th Cir. 2009)) (to succeed on a claim against
supervisory state prison officials, the plaintiff must show the officials “at least implicitly
authorized, approved or knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of the offending
officers”). Therefore, in the absence of any allegations that defendants Chambers-Smith or

Okereke actually participated in the alleged unconstitutional actions, any claims against these
defendants in their supervisory capacities are simply insufficient to give rise to an actionable
§ 1983 claim. Cf. Chappell v. Morgan, No. 2:15cv1110, 2016 WL 738098, at *4-5 (S.D. Ohio
Feb. 25, 2016) (Report & Recommendation) (holding that in the absence of any allegation that
supervisory prison officials were involved in or encouraged an alleged assault by a correctional
employee, the case could not proceed against them based on the theory that they failed to take
corrective action after they were notified of the assault), adopted, 2016 WL 1109093 (S.D. Ohio
Mar. 21, 2016).
As for plaintiff’s remaining claims, they involve different events and defendants at

NCCC, a prison located in the Northern District of Ohio. As the Sixth Circuit has recently
reiterated:
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21 provides that a district “court may at any time,
on just terms, add or drop a party” or “sever any claim against a party.” “Courts
consider a number of factors when determining whether to sever claims, including
. . . whether the claims arise out of the same transaction or occurrence” or “present
some common questions of law or fact” and “whether settlement of the claims or
judicial economy would be facilitated,” “prejudice would be avoided,” or “different
witnesses and documentary proof are required.” Parchman [v. SLM Corp.,] 896
F.3d [728,] 733 [6th Cir. 2018].

Cook v. Huss, No. 22-1440, 2022 WL 17836544, at *2 (6th Cir. Dec. 19, 2022).
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Here, although some of plaintiff’s claims arising out of the alleged events at CRC and
NCCC are similar in that plaintiff challenges the medical treatment he received at both prisons,
“[c]ourts in this circuit have required the transactions or occurrences that constitute a ‘series’ to
have some substantial relationship to one another, and have explicitly rejected the argument that
mere commonality among otherwise unrelated events is enough to make them part of the same

series.” Harris v. Erdos, No. 1:21-CV-104, 2022 WL 3053496, at *5 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 3, 2022)
(citing cases). Where, as here, “the real issues of fact and law ar[i]se in two different jails and
involve[] different causes and occurrences leading to [the] alleged constitutional injuries under
§ 1983,” severance of the claims is appropriate. Folse v. Ledet, No. CV 20-2680, 2021 WL
1234531, at *4 (E.D. La. Mar. 10, 2021), report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 20-2680,
2021 WL 1226393 (E.D. La. Apr. 1, 2021) (finding severance under Fed. R. Civ. P. 21(a)(2)
appropriate where the “witnesses and evidence necessary to establish or support the claims
against” against one group of defendants “are not the same as those necessary for the claims
against” another group of defendants).1 See also Walls v. Host Int’l, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-00564,

2015 WL 4644638, at *3 (N.D. Ohio Aug. 4, 2015) (“As such, many courts ‘find that claims
arise out of the same transaction or occurrence when the likelihood of overlapping proof and
duplication in testimony indicates that separate trials would result in delay, inconvenience, and
added expense to the parties and the court.’”) (internal citation omitted).

1To the extent that plaintiff alleges a conspiracy among the defendants, he has not alleged any facts to support
his conclusory claim. See Bickerstaff v. Lucarelli, 830 F.3d 388, 400 (6th Cir. 2016) (“Although circumstantial
evidence may prove a conspiracy, it is well-settled that conspiracy claims must be pled with some degree of specificity
and that vague and conclusory allegations unsupported by material facts will not be sufficient to state such a claim
under § 1983.”).
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“[T]he proper remedy for . . . misjoinder is to sever the claims against the unrelated
parties and dismiss those claims without prejudice.” Cage v. Mich., No. 16cv11679, 2018 WL
3729062, at *2 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 6, 2018). Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 21, courts have “broad
discretion ‘to order severance to avoid causing unreasonable prejudice and expense to the
defendant . . . and to avoid great inconvenience in the administration of justice.’” Proctor v.

Applegate, 661 F. Supp. 2d 743, 781 (E.D. Mich. 2009) (quoting Nali v. Mich. Dep’t of
Corrections, No. 07-10831, 2007 WL 4465247, *3 (E.D. Mich. 2007)) (alteration in original).
IV.

Accordingly, in sum, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that plaintiff’s claims asserting
violations of federal law at CRC be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE for failure to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted, see 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b)(1), and
that the Court DECLINE to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any state-law negligence
claims of plaintiff’s arising out of the alleged events at CRC, and that all such state-law claims
be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDCICE, see 28 U.S.C. § 1367(C)(3). The undersigned
FURTHER RECOMMENDS that plaintiff’s remaining claims arising out of the alleged
conditions, including his medical care, at NCCC are improperly joined in this action and should
be SEVERED and DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to plaintiff re-filing a separate
action or actions including such claims if he so wishes. Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2); 21.2

2Notably, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) provides that civil suits may be brought only in the judicial district where (1)
any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State; (2) a substantial part of the events or omissions giving
rise to the claim occurred; or (3) any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the claim may otherwise
be brought.
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT:
1. The undersigned’s November 7, 2022 Report and Recommendation (Doc. 6) is
VACATED as moot in light of plaintiff’s amended and supplemental amended complaints
(Docs. 10, 12, 13).
2. Plaintiff’s first-filed motion to amend (Doc. 8) is DENIED.

3. Plaintiff’s second-filed motion to amend (Doc. 9) is GRANTED.
IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THAT:
1. The Court DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE plaintiff’s claims asserting violations
of federal law at CRC for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See 28
U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b)(1).
2. The Court DECLINE to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any state-law
negligence claims of plaintiff’s arising out of the alleged events at CRC, and that all such state-
law claims be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDCICE. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(C)(3).
3. The Court SEVER and DISMISS plaintiff’s remaining claims arising out of

alleged the conditions, including his medical care, at NCCC WITHOUT PREJUDICE to
plaintiff re-filing a separate action or actions including such claims if he so wishes. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 20(a)(2); 21. See also Harris, 2022 WL 3053496, at *6-7.
4. The Court certify pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) that for the foregoing
reasons an appeal of any Order adopting this Report and Recommendation would not be taken in
good faith, and therefore, deny plaintiff leave to appeal in forma pauperis. See McGore v.
Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1997).

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PROCEDURE ON OBJECTIONS:
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), WITHIN 14 DAYS after being served with a copy of
the recommended disposition, a party may serve and file specific written objections to the
proposed findings and recommendations. This period may be extended further by the Court on
timely motion for an extension. Such objections shall specify the portions of the Report objected

to and shall be accompanied by a memorandum of law in support of the objections. If the Report
and Recommendation is based in whole or in part upon matters occurring on the record at an oral
hearing, the objecting party shall promptly arrange for the transcription of the record, or such
portions of it as all parties may agree upon, or the Magistrate Judge deems sufficient, unless the
assigned District Judge otherwise directs. A party may respond to another party’s objections
WITHIN 14 DAYS after being served with a copy thereof. Failure to make objections in
accordance with this procedure may forfeit rights on appeal. See Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140
(1985); United States v. Walters, 638 F.2d 947 (6th Cir. 1981).

March 14, 2023 s/Stephanie K. Bowman
STEPHANIE K. BOWMAN
United States Magistrate Judge

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10381955. Public record. Not legal advice.