Wood v. C.O. P. Byrd

Background

Johnny E. Wood, who was incarcerated and representing himself, sued Correction Officers Jovan Perez, Peter Byrd, Juan E. Rodriguez, and Michael Manson; Nurses Travis and M. Brown; and Lieutenant William Vesneske. He alleged that the defendants conspired to deprive him of constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment, and he sought damages under federal and state law.

Wood alleged that, on May 19, 2016, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Byrd struck him and that Byrd, Perez, and Rodriguez repeatedly punched and kicked him. Wood said he had asthma, was having trouble breathing, and needed his inhaler, but that Byrd ignored his requests for medical care. Wood further alleged that Brown inadequately assessed and treated him and that Byrd and Brown agreed not to properly treat or document his injuries.

Wood also alleged that, after his transfer to Upstate Correctional Facility, Travis, Manson, and Vesneske denied or failed to obtain medical care for him, including an asthma inhaler. He alleged that Vesneske threatened him and warned that a grievance would not reach its destination. Wood later received emergency surgery for a collapsed lung and claimed continuing symptoms. He acknowledged that he had not filed a grievance about the Sing Sing events, but argued that fear and threats made the grievance process unavailable.

Claims and Motions

Wood's first cause of action concerned the alleged events at Sing Sing involving Perez, Byrd, Rodriguez, and Brown. The defendants moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which allows dismissal for failure to state a legally sufficient claim, arguing that the Prison Litigation Reform Act required Wood to exhaust available prison grievance procedures before filing suit.

Wood's second cause of action concerned the alleged events at Upstate involving Travis, Manson, and Vesneske. The defendants moved under Rule 12(b)(3), which addresses improper venue, arguing that the Southern District of New York was not the proper location for those claims. Alternatively, they asked the court to transfer those claims to the Northern District of New York.

Exhaustion Ruling

The court held that the complaint itself showed that Wood had not properly exhausted the available grievance process for the Sing Sing claims. The prison grievance program generally required an inmate to file a written grievance within 21 days of the incident, with a possible exception within 45 days if the inmate showed mitigating circumstances, followed by appeals through the grievance system.

Wood relied on his alleged fear of retaliation, particularly Vesneske's alleged threats on July 22, 2016, to argue that the grievance process was unavailable. The court concluded that this alleged intimidation occurred after the time for filing a grievance about the May 19 incident, including the period for requesting an exception, had already expired. The court therefore granted the motion to dismiss the first cause of action and dismissed all claims against Perez, Byrd, Rodriguez, and Brown without prejudice.

Venue Ruling

The court concluded that venue for the Upstate claims was improper in the Southern District of New York. Venue is the legally proper federal district for a case. The court explained that venue is generally evaluated claim by claim and that the events directly underlying the second cause of action occurred at Upstate, in the Northern District of New York. The earlier Sing Sing events did not establish venue for the separate Upstate claims merely because Wood alleged that they provided the motive for later conduct.

Rather than dismissing the Upstate claims, the court determined that transferring them was in the interest of justice because dismissal could cause the applicable limitations period to bar refiling. The court therefore granted the motion to transfer venue as to the second cause of action, severed Wood's claims against Travis, Vesneske, and Manson, and transferred them to the Northern District of New York.

Disposition

The court granted the motion to dismiss with respect to the first cause of action and granted the motion to transfer venue with respect to the second cause of action. The dismissal of the claims against Perez, Byrd, Rodriguez, and Brown was without prejudice. The court stated that Wood could file a fourth amended complaint within 30 days addressing the identified deficiencies. The Clerk was directed to transfer the relevant files and send Wood a copy of the opinion.