Opinion
2:24-cv-694-SPC-NPM
11-19-2024
NICHOLAS GARY HELMAN, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF FLORIDA and COUNTY OF CHARLOTTE, Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
SHERI POLSTER CHAPPELL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court is Plaintiff Nicholas Gary Helman's Complaint (Doc. 1). Helman is a pretrial detainee in Charlotte County Jail, and he sues the State of Florida and Charlotte County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Magistrate Judge Nicholas Mizell granted Helman leave to proceed in forma pauperis, so the Court must review the Complaint sua sponte to determine whether it is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks monetary damages against a party who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2).
To state a § 1983 claim, a plaintiff must allege that (1) the defendant deprived him of a right secured under the Constitution or federal law, and (2) the deprivation occurred under color of state law. Bingham v. Thomas, 654 F.3d 1171, 1175 (11th Cir. 2011) (citing Arrington v. Cobb Cnty., 139 F.3d 865, 872 (11th Cir. 1998)). In addition, a plaintiff must allege and establish an affirmative causal connection between the defendant's conduct and the constitutional deprivation. Marsh v. Butler Cnty., Ala., 268 F.3d 1014, 1059 (11th Cir. 2001).
Helman claims he was refused a bible while in the jail's medical pod, missed meals and showers, and was infected with HIV, but he does not identify any individuals responsible for these harms. Instead, Helman sues Florida and Charlotte County. Municipalities can only be liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if “the alleged constitutional harm is the result of a custom or policy.” Brennan v. Headley, 807 Fed.Appx. 927, 937 (11th Cir. 2020); see also Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Sec. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978). The Complaint fails to identify any custom or policy that caused the alleged harm. Helman cannot sue the state and county based merely on vague allegations of mistreatment by unnamed officials.
The Court will dismiss Helman's Complaint and give him an opportunity to amend. To survive preliminary review, an amended complaint must either (1) name as defendants the individual officials who violated Helman's federal rights; or (2) plausibly allege a custom or policy of Florida and/or Charlotte County caused a violation of Helman's federal rights. Also, the amended complaint must state Helman's claims “in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(b).
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
Plaintiff Nicholas Gary Helman's Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. The Clerk is DIRECTED to send Helman a civil-rights complaint form marked with the case number and the title, “Amended Complaint.”
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on November 15, 2024.