Opinion
1:21-cv-01436
09-30-2022
SELWYN BROWN, Plaintiff v. JOHN WETZEL, et al., Defendants
ORDER
Yvette Kane, District Judge United States District Court
AND NOW, on this 30th day of September 2022, upon consideration of Defendants' pending motion to dismiss and/or motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 12) and Plaintiff's motions to stay the proceedings (Doc. Nos. 16, 17), and in accordance with the Court's accompanying Memorandum, IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. Defendants' motion to dismiss and/or motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 12) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as follows:
a. Defendants' motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's failure to exhaust his claims against Defendants John Wetzel, Karen Merritt-Scully, and Kevin Kauffman, and as to Plaintiff's claim concerning the NGE National Newspaper. The Clerk of Court is directed to defer the entry of judgment in favor of these Defendants until the conclusion of the above-captioned action;
b. Defendants' motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment claim;
c. Defendants' motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's Fourteenth Amendment procedural and substantive due process claims;
d. Defendants' motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) conspiracy claims;
e. Defendants' motion is DENIED as to Plaintiff's failure to allege the personal involvement of Defendant Walker under Section 1983;
f. Defendants' motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) claim for damages against Defendants in their individual capacities;
g. Defendants' motion is DENIED as to Plaintiff's First Amendment claim concerning free exercise of religion;
h. Defendants' motion is DENIED as to Plaintiff's RLUIPA claims for injunctive and declaratory relief against Defendants in their official capacities;
i. Defendants' motion is DENIED as to Plaintiff's Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim;
2. Plaintiff's motions to stay the proceedings (Doc. Nos. 16, 17) are DENIED;
3. Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file an amended complaint as to the following claims: his Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process claim against Defendant Walker and his Section 1983 conspiracy claim against Defendant Walker; and
4. Plaintiff, should he elect to do so, shall file his amended complaint within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. Because an amended complaint supersedes an original complaint, Plaintiff's amended complaint must also set forth his other surviving claims (i.e., his First Amendment claim, his Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim, and his RLUIPA claim for injunctive and declaratory relief). If, however, Plaintiff would simply like to proceed to discovery with the surviving claims in his original complaint, he is free to file a letter with the Court within the thirty (30) days, stating that he would like to proceed on the surviving claims in his original complaint. If Plaintiff fails to file such a letter or an amended complaint, or an extension of time to do so, within the thirty (30) days, then this matter will automatically proceed on his original complaint with respect to his First Amendment free exercise of religion claim, Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim, and RLUIPA claim against Defendant Walker.