JACKSON v. MADISON COUNTY COMMUNITY JUSTICE/WORK-RELEASE CENTER

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION QUINTON JACKSON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 1:20-cv-01696-JPH-MPB ) MADISON COUNTY BOARD OF ) COMMISSIONERS, et al. ) ) Defendants. ) Order Screening Amended Complaint and Directing Issuance of Process On September 14, 2020, the Court screened and dismissed plaintiff Quintin Jackson's complaint and directed him to file an amended complaint. Dkt. 14. After multiple extensions of time, Mr. Jackson filed an amended complaint on February 22, 2021. Dkt. 25. He is currently incarcerated at Heritage Trails Correctional Facility. Id. at 1. Because Mr. Jackson is a "prisoner," the Court must screen his complaint before service on the defendants. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (c).

I. Screening Standard Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b), the Court must dismiss the amended complaint if it is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. In determining whether the amended complaint states a claim, the Court applies the same standard as when addressing a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Cesal v. Moats, 851 F.3d 714, 720 (7th Cir. 2017). To survive dismissal, [the] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. 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.

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Pro se complaints are construed liberally and held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers. Perez v. Fenoglio, 792 F.3d 768, 776 (7th Cir. 2015).

II. Allegations and Discussion Mr. Jackson's complaint arises from events that occurred while he was an inmate at the Madison County Justice/Work-Release Center (the Center). He names several defendants in his amended complaint: (1) the Madison County Board of Commissioners; (2) Mason Brizendine, director of the Center; (3) Tia Baker, assistant director of the Center; (4) Shawn Shepard, Unit Management Manager for the Center; (5) Jenny Chambers, Chief Security Officer at the Center; (6) Scott Mellinger, Sheriff of Madison County; (7) Officer Chase Courtney, an officer at the Center; and (8) Officer Dillon Frost, an officer at the Center. He seeks monetary damages.

On May 26, 2020, Mr. Jackson informed Officer Courtney and Officer Frost that he was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and needed to go to the hospital. Officer Courtney and Officer Frost ignored the complaints and refused to seek medical treatment for Mr. Jackson. The next day, Mr. Jackson described his "concerns of the chest pains and headaches" to Ms. Chambers and Mr. Shepard. Dkt. 25 at 3. They also denied his request to seek medical treatment.

Mr. Jackson alleges that the Madison County Board of Commissioners failed to implement policies and procedures to safeguard his rights to receive medical treatment. He seeks to hold Ms. Baker responsible because she improperly supervised Ms. Chambers and Mr. Shepard and allowed them to deny Mr. Jackson his right to receive medical treatment. Similarly, he seeks to hold Mr. Brizendine liable for failing to supervise and train employees of the Center and for failing to ensure Mr. Jackson received medical treatment after learning of his symptoms. Finally, Mr. Jackson alleges that Sheriff Mellinger failed to oversee and supervise employees of the Center with respect to the provision of medical treatment and thus prolonged Mr. Jackson's suffering from headaches and chest pains.

Mr. Jackson asserts that Ms. Chambers and Mr. Shepard are responsible for refusing to allow Mr. Jackson to get medical treatment and that by doing so, they caused him to suffer from headaches and chest pains. He also contends that Ms. Chambers and Mr. Shepard refused to allow medical treatment in retaliation for a complaint Mr. Jackson filed against them.

With respect to Officer Courtney and Officer Frost, Mr. Jackson states that their refusal to allow him to receive medical treatment prolonged his suffering from headaches and chest pains and unnecessarily exposed other individuals at the Center to COVID-19.

Mr. Jackson's Eighth Amendment claims shall proceed as submitted against the Madison County Board of Commissioners, Mason Brizendine, Tia Baker, Shawn Shepard, Jenny Chambers, Sheriff Scott Mellinger, Officer Courtney, and Officer Frost. His First Amendment retaliation claims shall proceed as submitted against Shawn Shepard and Jenny Chambers.

This summary of claims includes all of the viable claims identified by the Court. If Mr. Jackson believes that additional claims were alleged in the amended complaint, but not identified by the Court, he shall have through April 1, 2021, in which to identify those claims.

III. Issuance of Process The clerk is directed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(3) to issue process to (1) the Madison County Board of Commissioners; (2) Mason Brizendine; (3) Tia Baker; (4) Shawn Shepard; (5) Jenny Chambers; (6) Sheriff Scott Mellinger; (7) Officer Chase Courtney; and (8) Officer Dillon Frost in the manner specified by Rule 4(d). Process shall consist of the amended complaint, dkt. [25], applicable forms (Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons and Waiver of Service of Summons), and this Order.

The clerk is directed to update the docket to reflect that Mr. Jackson's first name is Quintin.

SO ORDERED.

Date: 3/4/2021 Sjamnu Pataick Hanbor James Patrick Hanlon United States District Judge Southern District of Indiana Distribution: QUINTIN JACKSON 263664 HERITAGE TRAIL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY W. Main Street Plainfield, IN 46168 Madison County Board of Commissioners Madison County Government Center East 9th Street Anderson, IN 46016 Mason Brizendine Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Tia Baker Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Shawn Shepard Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Jenny Chambers Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Sheriff Scott Mellinger Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Officer Chase Courtney Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016 Officer Dillon Frost Central Avenue Anderson, IN 46016