Requena v. Roberts

June 22, 2018 by Justia

Adrian Requena was an inmate housed by the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC). His initial 42 U.S.C. 1983 complaint named eleven prison employees as defendants and alleged various violations of his First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Two months later, he amended that complaint, without leave to do so, again asserting various violations of his constitutional rights and adding nine defendants. The district judge screened that complaint, and after setting forth the claims, he decided they were “not linked by a common question of law or fact, involved different defendants, and arose from different transactions.” The court concluded Requena “may not present all of the claims in a single action” and directed him to decide which claims he wished to pursue and file a second amended complaint accordingly. The second amended complaint named 38 defendants and alleged myriad violations of his First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Attached to the complaint was over 450 pages of exhibits. The complaint fell far short of containing “a short and plain statement” of the claims showing entitlement to relief, nor did it provide any citations to the exhibits to aid any court in navigating them. The court again screened the complaint and concluded “many of [the] claims lack support or substance, and much of the material submitted as exhibits appears to be irrelevant and disorganized.” At the end, the judge identified two claims meriting discussion: (1) denial of hygiene supplies; and (2) denial of access to the courts. Both failed to state a claim for relief. The trial court then dismissed the entire complaint with prejudice, but did not first explicitly address whether amendment of the complaint would be futile, even though Requena’s complaint requested leave to amend if necessary to cure any deficiencies. Judgment was entered the same day. Requena filed a motion to alter or amend judgment, which the judge denied. After review, the Tenth Circuit reversed dismissal with prejudice one of Requena's Eighth Amendment claims agains prison officials regarding their alleged failure to protect him from a beating; the Court affirmed dismissal of the second amended complaint in all other respects. View "Requena v. Roberts" on Justia Law