Winters-El v. Sawyer

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 4 2002
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
DAVID R. WINTERS-EL,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 01-1537
(D.C. No. 99-S-1356)
KATHLEEN HAWK SAWYER, (District of Colorado)
Director of Bureau of Prisons;
MICHAEL PUGH, Warden, ADX,
Florence, CO,
Defendants - Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY, McKAY, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this court has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G).
Accordingly, appellant’s motion requesting oral argument is denied and the case
is ordered submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Proceeding pro se, David Winters-El appeals the district court’s dismissal
of the civil rights complaint he brought pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named
Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). Winters-El
complains that Defendants have violated his Eighth Amendment rights by refusing
to replace certain light fixtures in the prison thereby deliberately exposing him to
risk of serious harm, deliberately exposing him to the Hepatitis C virus, and
denying him appropriate medical treatment. Winters-El also alleges that
Defendants retaliated against him by destroying his personal property, placing
him in the Special Housing Unit, and contaminating his food. Winters-El seeks
both injunctive relief and monetary damages.
After defendant Pugh filed a motion to dismiss the claims asserted against
him, Winters-El filed an amended complaint. Thereafter, both Defendants filed a
motion to dismiss all of Winters-El’s claims against them. Winters-El filed a
motion for summary judgment. The matter was referred to a federal magistrate
judge who prepared a written recommendation concluding that all of Winters-El’s
claims should be dismissed. After considering Winters-El’s written objections,
the district court adopted the magistrate’s recommendation and dismissed
Winters-El’s complaint. Winters-El’s motion for summary judgment was denied
and all other outstanding motions were denied as moot. Winters-El brought this
appeal.
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The district court dismissed the claims asserted against Defendants in their
official capacities because such claims are barred by the doctrine of sovereign
immunity. See Farmer v. Perrill , 275 F.3d 958, 963 (10th Cir. 2001) (“There is
no such animal as a Bivens suit against a public official tortfeaser in his or her
official capacity.”). The claims against defendant Hawk-Sawyer were dismissed
for lack of personal jurisdiction. The district court then reviewed the claims
asserted against defendant Pugh in his individual capacity. The court concluded
that the facts alleged by Winters-El to support his light-fixture claim did not
show that he is incarcerated under conditions posing a serious risk of harm to his
health or safety. See Farmer v. Brennan , 511 U.S. 825, 834 (1994) (“[T]he
inmate must show that he is incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial
risk of serious harm.”). With respect to the claims arising from his contraction of
and treatment for Hepatitis C, the court concluded that Winters-El had failed to
allege specific facts demonstrating that Defendants had personally participated in
the alleged unconstitutional acts. See Jenkins v. Wood , 81 F.3d 988, 994 (10th
Cir. 1996) (“The plaintiff must show the defendant personally participated in the
alleged violation.”). Finally, the court concluded that Winters-El’s retaliation
claim was based on speculation and conjecture and was not supported by
“specific facts showing retaliation because of the exercise of [his] constitutional
rights.” Frazier v. Dubois , 922 F.2d 560, 562 n.1 (10th Cir. 1991).
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We have reviewed the record, the appellate briefs, and the applicable law
and conclude that the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider Winters-El’s
Eighth Amendment claim that Defendants deliberately exposed him to the
Hepatitis C virus. That claim should have been dismissed without prejudice
based on the district court’s finding that Winters-El failed to exhaust his
administrative remedies. See Booth v. Churner , 531 U.S. 731, 741 (2001).
Accordingly, we remand that claim with instructions to the district court to
vacate that portion of its order dismissing the claim and to enter an order
dismissing the claim without prejudice. The district court’s dismissal of all other
claims raised in Winters-El’s complaint and its denial of all other outstanding
matters is affirmed for substantially the reasons stated by the district court.
Winters-El is reminded that he remains obligated to continue making partial
payments until his appellate filing fee is paid in full. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b).
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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