Opinion
13-P-406
03-11-2016
HAYWOOD BLEDSOE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION & others.
NOTICE: Summary decisions issued by the Appeals Court pursuant to its rule 1:28, as amended by 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1001 (2009), are primarily directed to the parties and, therefore, may not fully address the facts of the case or the panel's decisional rationale. Moreover, such decisions are not circulated to the entire court and, therefore, represent only the views of the panel that decided the case. A summary decision pursuant to rule 1:28 issued after February 25, 2008, may be cited for its persuasive value but, because of the limitations noted above, not as binding precedent. See Chace v. Curran, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 258, 260 n.4 (2008).
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28
Haywood Bledsoe, acting pro se, appeals from the entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendant representatives of the Department of Correction. We affirm.
Background. In May, 2004, Beldsoe filed a complaint, later amended, alleging that he was disciplined without due process of law and that his placement in isolation violated his State and Federal constitutional rights. In February, 2006, in a written memorandum of decision and order, a judge in the Superior Court (first motion judge) partially allowed a motion by the defendants for summary judgment on Bledsoe's amended complaint. In June, 2011, a different judge (second motion judge) allowed the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the remaining counts of the amended complaint. Judgment entered dismissing Bledsoe's complaint in its entirety.
Discussion. Contrary to Bledsoe's first argument on appeal, the second motion judge could consider the motion for judgment on the remaining counts of the amended complaint. See Peterson v. Hopson, 306 Mass. 597, 601 (1940) ("Though there is no duty to reconsider a case, an issue, or a question of fact or law, once decided, the power to do so remains in the court until final judgment or decree"). Because "[t]he denial of a motion for summary judgment is not a final judgment or decree[,]" the second motion judge "was within his authority to reconsider and alter the prior decision." Riley v. Presnell, 409 Mass. 239, 242 (1991).
Bledsoe next argues that summary judgment was inappropriate because facts material to his claims remain in dispute. In reviewing the judge's decision, we examine the summary judgment record to determine "whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to [Bledsoe], all material facts have been established and the [defendants are] entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Augat, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 410 Mass. 117, 120 (1991).
Here, the record supports the first motion judge's conclusion that Bledsoe could not recover on the basis of his treatment in isolation because he failed to file any grievances. "Both Federal and State law now expressly require inmates to exhaust available grievance procedures before going to court[, and t]here is no evidence in the summary judgment record that [Bledsoe] ever attempted to do so . . . ." Ryan v. Pepe, 65 Mass. App. Ct. 833, 839 (2006). "[H]is claims were thus properly dismissed." Ibid.
The first motion judge denied summary judgment on Bledsoe's claim that he was disciplined without due process of law, insofar as the claim rested on the second of two disciplinary reports. In support of their second motion for summary judgment, the defendants submitted evidence that Bledsoe pleaded guilty to the offense charged in the second report. "At a minimum," due process "requires that there be notice and an opportunity for a hearing before a person is deprived of a protected property interest." Ciampi v. Commissioner of Correction, 452 Mass. 162, 170 (2008). The summary judgment record shows that Bledsoe waived his right to a hearing by pleading guilty, and that he exercised his right to appeal the sanction imposed. "[N]othing more was required." Id. at 171.
Judgment affirmed.
By the Court (Vuono, Carhart & Kinder, JJ.),
The panelists are listed in order of seniority. --------
/s/
Clerk Entered: March 11, 2016.