J. RANDAL HALL, District Judge.
Presently before the Court are Defendants' Objections to the Magistrate Judge's January 10, 2017, Report and Recommendation. (Doc. 31.) After an independent and de novo review of the entire record, the undersigned concurs with the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, (doc. 30). Accordingly, the Court
Plaintiff filed this case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and contended Defendants denied him access to necessary medical care, in violation of his rights under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Doc. 1.) The Magistrate Judge conducted the requisite frivolity review on June 8, 2016, (doc. 9), and found that Plaintiffs Eighth Amendment claims for injunctive relief against Defendants Toole, Williams, Broome, and Sabine in their official capacities and his claims for monetary damages against these Defendants§ in their individual capacities should proceed. (Doc. 8.) However, the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Court dismiss Plaintiffs claims for monetary damages against Defendants in their official capacities and Plaintiffs claims against Defendants Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia State Prison, Bryson, Lewis, Jacobs, Fountain, Nicolov, and Fara. (Doc. 9.) The Court adopted the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. (Doc. 29.)
Defendants Toole, Williams, Broome, and Sabine filed a Motion to Dismiss on August 11, 2016, (doc. 19), and on January 10, 2017, the Magistrate Judge recommended the Court deny that Motion. Defendants filed Objections to the January 10, 2017, Report and Recommendation on January 24, 2016. (Doc. 31.)
Defendants Toole, Williams, and Sabine object to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation that the Court deny their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference claims against them. (Doc. 31, p. 2.) Specifically, Defendants Toole, Williams, and Sabine contend that"[r]ead fairly, the only averments in the complaint concerning these Defendants are that they denied one or more grievances concerning Plaintiffs hip." (Id) Defendants argue that they cannot be held liable under Section 1983 for the mere denial of a grievance and that Plaintiffs Eighth Amendment claims against them should, therefore, be dismissed.
"An allegation that prison officials denied grievances does not `support a finding of constitutional violations on the part of those defendants."
Nevertheless, as the Magistrate Judge explained in the Report and Recommendation, in this particular case, Defendants Toole, Williams, and Sabine's denials of Plaintiffs grievances cannot be severed from Plaintiffs deliberate indifference claims. Defendants assert that "this is no different than saying the denial of the grievance makes the prison official liable for the violation claimed in the grievance[.]" (Doc. 31, p. 2). However, Defendants§ argument ignores certain facts embedded within Plaintiffs claims. Plaintiff is not merely attempting to hold Defendants liable for deliberate indifference that predated his grievances. Rather, Plaintiff contends Defendants exhibited deliberate indifference during and after the grievance process by refusing him necessary medical attention requested in his grievances. Defendants are not insulated from liability simply because they received the request for medical attention via grievances.
Further, Plaintiff contends that Defendants Tool and Sabine denied his grievances because the medical care he requests is expensive, (doc. 1, p. 10), and that Defendant Williams denied his grievance by "falsely stating that Plaintiff refused to be seen at sick call[.]" (
For the reasons stated in the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation and set forth above, the Court OVERRULES Defendants§ Objections, ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation as the opinion of the Court, and DENIES Defendants§ Motion to Dismiss, (doc. 19).
SO ORDERED.