Diggs v. Contra Costa County Jail Food Services, West County Jail

Background

Louis Diggs, an incarcerated person housed at West County Jail, filed this civil-rights action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His complaint named Contra Costa County Jail and West County Jail Food Services as defendants. He alleged that County Jail Food Services served him moldy food on May 18, 2022. He sought $205,000 for being served the food and an additional $150,000 for eating half of it before noticing the mold.

The court reviewed the complaint under the prisoner-screening law, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. That law requires the court to identify claims that can proceed and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, or seek money from an immune defendant. To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege both a violation of a constitutional or federal-law right and a violation by someone acting under state law.

Court’s Analysis

The court said that Diggs’s food-related rights would arise under either the Eighth Amendment or, if he was a pretrial detainee, the Fourteenth Amendment’s due-process protection. The opinion noted that it was unclear whether Diggs was a pretrial detainee or incarcerated after a conviction.

The court concluded that a single incident involving moldy food did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment or another constitutional violation. It explained that the Constitution requires food adequate to maintain an inmate’s health, but that unpleasant food, including food that occasionally contains foreign objects or is served cold, does not necessarily create a constitutional deprivation.

Disposition

The court dismissed the action with prejudice for failure to state a claim. It determined that amendment would be futile, so it did not allow Diggs to amend the complaint. Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered the clerk to issue judgment and close the file.