Mark Bitzan v. Jerry Bartruff
Opinion of the Court
*717Iowa inmate Mark Bitzan appeals following the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendants on his claims under
Initially, we find no abuse of discretion in the court's order separating unrelated claims Bitzan initially raised from the claims in the underlying case. See Mosley v. Gen. Motors Corp. ,
We also agree the district court properly granted summary judgment on Bitzan's retaliation claims against VanWye, Nelson, Eaves, Dahm, and Bartruff, because Bitzan did not allege any facts connecting those defendants to the challenged actions. See Madewell v. Roberts ,
We conclude that a genuine issue of material fact remained, however, as to Bitzan's retaliation claims against Schierbrock, DeGrange, Wilcox, Eisnnicher, Bowker, Roberts, and Jill Johnson. Bitzan presented evidence these specific defendants placed him in administrative segregation and prevented him from providing his attorney with legal documents shortly after he filed a previous lawsuit against prison officials (including Schierbrock, DeGrange, Bowker, and Roberts), and that they knew of the lawsuit. See Spencer v. Jackson Cty. ,
Rather than offering evidence justifying the adverse actions, the Appellees argued the actions Bitzan claims were retaliatory could not have been such since they occurred prior to the filing of the lawsuit.
*718However, this is simply not the case. The administrative segregation occurred on or about May 7, 2014, and the lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2014. The Appellees brief fails to even address the administrative segregation despite Bitzan's clear argument that it was in retaliation for the lawsuit. Thus, an issue of material fact remains. We reverse the order of summary judgment and conclude that further proceedings are required on the retaliation claims against these defendants.
The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We deny Bitzan's motion to supplement the record and his request for judicial notice, and dismiss the appeal as to defendant Ludwick due to his death.
Concurring Opinion
With regard to the remand of Mark Bitzan's retaliation claims against certain defendants, I question whether placing an inmate in administrative segregation, typically a non-punitive classification, can be actionable retaliation for his recently filing a lawsuit, and Bitzan's claim that defendants prevented him from providing his attorney with legal documents relating to the other lawsuit should be litigated in that lawsuit, not in a separate lawsuit alleging retaliation. However, as defendants only presented the district court with an inaccurate temporal defense to the retaliation claims, I have no choice but to concur in a remand for further proceedings on these claims. I join the court's opinion affirming dismissal of the remaining claims.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mark BITZAN Plaintiff - Appellant Gary L. Buck Plaintiff v. Jerry BARTRUFF, IDOC Director; John Baldwin, Former IDOC Director; Dorothy Faust, Religion Review Committee; Sheryl Dahm, Assistant IDOC Deputy Director; Jay Nelson, IDOC Religious Coordinator; Nick Ludwick, ISP Warden; Mark Roberts, ISP Deputy Warden; Rebecca Bowker, ISP Executive Officer; Mike Schierbrock, ISP A/W Treatment; Jill Johnson, ISP Administrative Assistant; Debbie Ferril, ISP Property; David DeGrange, ISP Investigator; Randy VanWye, ISP Investigator; Nikki Eaves, ISP Mailroom; Cynthia Phillips, ISP Mailroom; Berl Wilcox, ISP Segregation Unit Manager; Mike Eisnnicher, ISP Segregation Committee; Bradley Hoenig, ISP Segregation Committee Defendants - Appellees Statewide Religion Review Committee; Julie Johnson, ISP Former A/W Administration; Debbie Nichols ; Jane Doe, ISP Mailroom Defendants
- Cited By
- 174 cases
- Status
- Published