Opinion
Civil Action No. 6:02-CV-021-C
April 17, 2002
ORDER
Plaintiff, Henry Lee Mayberry, Jr, filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on April 5, 2002, against Charles Holler. Plaintiff is incarcerated in the Darrington Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division.
Plaintiff states that Defendent Holler is the owner of Holler Well Service in Water Valley, Texas. According to Plaintiff, he was injured while working for Defendant Holler. He seeks reimbursement for medical bills and monetary damages for lost wages, mental anguish, and physical disfigurement
Two elements must be shown before Plaintiff can recover on his claim. First, Plaintiff must have been deprived of a right secured the Constitution and laws of the United States and second, the deprivation must have been conducted "under color of any statute . . . of any state," i.e. state action. Adickes v. S. H. Kress Co., 398 U.S. 144 (1970). Defendant Holler is not a state actor.
Further, a claim of negligence will not support a federal civil rights action. Daniel v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 331-34 (1986).
The Court finds that Plaintiff's complaint should be dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim, subject to his right to pursue his claims in state court.
SO ORDERED.
If Plaintiff desires to pursue his negligence claim, he should file suit in state court, bearing in mind that the State of Texas has a two year statute of limitations for negligence actions.