Opinion
4:23-CV-00181-LPR
07-14-2023
LEE A. FOSTER, JR. ADC #142627 PLAINTIFF v. DEXTER PAYNE, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
LEE P. RUDOFSKY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
The Court has received a Partial Recommended Disposition (“PRD”) from United States Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe. No objections have been filed, and the time to do so has passed. After a careful and de novo review of the PRD and the record, the Court adopts the PRD in its entirety. Accordingly, Mr. Foster may proceed with his due process, inhumane conditions, retaliation, and equal protection claims (against Defendants Payne, Knight, Wade, Coleman, and Musselwhite) stemming from his June 27, 2022 transfer to restrictive housing. All other claims are dismissed without prejudice as improperly joined. It is certified, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), that an in forma pauperis appeal of this Order would be frivolous and not taken in good faith.
PRD (Doc. 26).
There is one caveat. To the extent Mr. Foster is seeking monetary damages from his official capacity claims, his claims are barred by sovereign immunity. Will v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58 (1989). However, the Court recognizes that Mr. Foster is also seeking injunctive relief. To the extent Mr. Foster is seeking injunctive relief from his official capacity claims, his claims may proceed pursuant to Ex Parte Young. See Treleven v. Univ. of Minn., 73 F.3d 816, 819 (8th Cir. 1996).
The Court wishes to emphasize that its conclusion that Mr. Foster has stated viable claims against each defendant is a tentative one. An adversarial motion to dismiss may well convince the Court otherwise with respect to one or more of the claims that survive screening.
IT IS SO ORDERED.