CLERK'S OFFICE U.S. DIST. COURT IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ee FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA January 24, 2025 ROANOKE DIVISION LAURA A. AUSTIN, CLERK BY: s/J.Vasquez JONATHAN LYNN PILKINS, ) Depo □□□□□ Plaintiff, ) Civil Action No. 7:24cev564 ) v. ) OPINION and ORDER ) SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL ) By: Robert S. Ballou JAIL AUTH.-TAZEWELL, et al., ) United States District Judge Defendants. ) Plaintiff Jonathan Lynn Pilkins, proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights action against several defendants, pursuant to

, alleging excessive use of force resulting in bodily injury. Defendant Southwest Virgina Regional Jail Authority—Tazewell (hereafter, SWVRJA) has filed a Motion to Dismiss SWVRJA from the case. ECF No. 15. I will grant the motion because the jail is not a proper party under § 1983. Section 1983 provides a cause of action against a “person” who, acting under color of state law, violates the constitutional rights of another.

; Loftus v. Bobzien,

(4th Cir. 2017). Liability under § 1983 is “personal, based upon each defendant’s own constitutional violations.” Trulock v. Freeh,

(4th Cir. 2001). A proper claim requires factual details about a defendant’s personal involvement in the violation of a plaintiffs rights. Wilcox v. Brown,

(4th Cir. 2017). A jail is not a person within the meaning of § 1983 and lacks the capacity to be sued. McCoy v. Chesapeake Corr.

(E.D. Va. 1992). Therefore, SWVRJA is hereby DISMISSED as a defendant from this suit, and the action will proceed against the remaining named defendants. Enter: January 23, 2025 lol Kobe S. Babllow Robert S. Ballou United States District Judge