Powell v. Blount County Juvenile Detention Center, No. 3:2009cv00277 - Document 9 (E.D. Tenn. 2010)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION as set forth in following order.Signed by District Judge Thomas A Varlan on 1/19/10. (copy mailed to pro se plaintiff)(ABF)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE C.P., by and through his mother, MARILYN POWELL, pro se, Plaintiff, v. BLOUNT COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No.: 3:09-CV-277 (VARLAN/SHIRLEY) MEMORANDUM OPINION This civil action is before the Court on defendant Blount County Juvenile Detention Center s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 6], in which defendant moves the Court to dismiss plaintiff s pro se complaint [Doc. 3] brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because defendant is not a person which can be sued under § 1983 and therefore the complaint fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted. Plaintiff has responded in opposition [Doc. 8], asserting that defendant is a suitable entity within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. [Id.] Defendant has not filed a reply and the time for doing so has passed. See L.R. 7.1(a), 7.2. The matter is ripe for determination. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff, proceeding pro se, brought this civil rights action against defendant alleging that her son, CP, was discriminated against by defendant because of his disability and race [Doc. 2, p. 2]. Plaintiff also alleges that defendant violated the due process rights of both plaintiff and CP by adopting a policy for locking CP down because he has a disability and defending himself from a white male detainee . . . . [Id.]. Defendant is the only defendant named by plaintiff [see Doc. 3]. As an initial matter, the Court notes that it is mindful that a complaint filed by a pro se plaintiff is to be liberally construed. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972). In order to state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must establish that he or she was deprived of a federal right by a person acting under color of state law. Black v. Barberton Citizens Hosp., 134 F.3d 1265, 1267 (6th Cir. 1998); O Brien v. City of Grand Rapids, 23 F.3d 990, 995 (6th Cir. 1994). However, defendant is not a legal entity amendable to suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because it is not a person within the meaning of § 1983. See Monell v. Dep t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 688-90 (1978) (describing the meaning of persons under 42 U.S.C. § 1983); Cage v. Kent County Corr. Facility (Jail), No. 96-1167, 1997 WL 225647, at *1 (6th Cir. May 1, 1997). Defendant is not a municipality or a part of a local government, but rather, a name Blount County Juvenile Detention Center assigned to a building in Blount County which houses juvenile inmates, and, as such, is not a separate legal entity which can be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Thus, defendant is not a person within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Shoemaker v. Greene County Jail Detention Center, No. 2:07-CV-124, 2007 WL 2159295, at * 1 (E.D. Tenn. July 26, 2007) ( The Greene County Jail Detention Center is a building and not a person who can be sued under § 1983. ); Seals v. Grainger County Jail, No. 3:04CV606, 2005 WL 1076326 (E.D. Tenn. May 6, 2005) ( The Grainger County Jail . . . is not a suable entity within the meaning of § 1983. ). 2 Accordingly, and for the reasons stated herein, the Court finds that defendant s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 6] is well-taken and it is hereby GRANTED. Because it is quite clear that plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because plaintiff has not sued a legal entity subject to suit under this civil rights statute, this case is hereby DISMISSED. The clerk is DIRECTED to close this case. An appropriate order will be entered. s/ Thomas A. Varlan UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 3

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