Anders v. Russell

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ROANOKE DIVISION TONY ANDERS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) Case No. 7:21CV00030 ) v. ) OPINION AND ORDER ) SUPERINTENDANT BOBBY ) By: James P. Jones RUSSELL, ET AL., ) United States District Judge ) Defendants. ) Tony Anders, Pro Se Plaintiff.

The plaintiff, Tony Anders, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that jail officials housed him under unsafe conditions related to the COVID-19 virus. With Anders’s Complaint, filed in January of 2021, he submitted a motion seeking interlocutory injunctive relief to be transferred to another detention facility to serve his prison sentence.

After review of the record, I conclude that the motion must be denied as moot.

When Anders filed this civil action, he was confined at the Western Virginia Regional Jail (“WVRJ”) in Salem, Virginia. The record indicates that he was transferred to a state prison facility in February of 2021. Therefore, Anders is no longer subject to the dangers he has alleged he might encounter at the WVRJ in the absence of court intervention. Accordingly, his requests for interlocutory relief regarding conditions or individuals at WVRJ are moot and must be denied as such.

Rendelman v. Rouse, 569 F.3d 182, 186 (4th Cir. 2009) (“[A]s a general rule, a prisoner’s transfer or release from a particular prison moots his claims for injunctive . . . relief with respect to his incarceration there.”); Incumaa v. Ozmint, 507 F.3d 281, 287 (4th Cir. 2007) (“Once an inmate is removed from the environment in which he is subjected to the challenged policy or practice, absent a claim for damages, he no longer has a legally cognizable interest in a judicial decision on the merits of his claim.”).

For the stated reasons, it is ORDERED that Anders’s motion seeking interlocutory injunctive relief, ECF No. 2, is DENIED as moot.

ENTER: May 24, 2021 /s/ JAMES P. JONES United States District Judge