Wells v. Green Haven Correctional Facility

Background

Carl D. Wells, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, submitted two letter complaints. One was addressed to the court and an acting official of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; the other was addressed to the United States Attorney General. The letters were opened together as a new civil action.

Wells alleged unconstitutional conditions of confinement at Green Haven. His allegations included a prisoner’s death, cell lockdowns, fights, bird feces, clogged cell vents, staff shortages, and inadequate medical care. He primarily alleged that medical staff had fabricated test results and lied to him. He did not submit the $405 filing fee. The court therefore treated his submission as a request to proceed without prepaying the fee, commonly called proceeding in forma pauperis.

Three-strikes rule

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a prisoner generally may not bring a civil action without prepaying the filing fee if the prisoner previously brought three or more federal actions or appeals that were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim. An exception applies when the prisoner is under an imminent danger of serious physical injury.

The court stated that Wells was already barred from filing a new action without prepaying the fee unless the imminent-danger exception applied. The court also noted that an imminent danger must exist when the complaint is filed. It found that Wells’s allegations did not show that he faced an imminent danger of serious physical injury at that time. The court referred to Wells’s earlier related litigation and said he was, or should have been, aware that he needed to provide facts supporting the exception.

Disposition

The court dismissed the action without prejudice under § 1915(g)’s three-strikes rule. The dismissal did not decide whether Wells’s allegations about Green Haven’s conditions or medical care were legally valid. The opinion states that Wells may commence a new action by paying the filing fees; any new prisoner civil-rights complaint would then be subject to statutory screening.

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment.