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Wood v. Martin12/10/2003
Plaintiff, Douglas Wood ("Wood"), brought an action against prison officials, seeking damages for alleged malfeasance in denying his transfer to a work release facility. The trial court dismissed his petition, stating that the petition did not comply with the provisions of La. R.S. 15:1184, et seq., said provisions constituting part of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the trial court's dismissal of Wood's petition.
FACTS
In his petition, Wood asserts that on or about March 13, 2001, he became eligible for transfer to a work release facility, and that in August 2001 he applied for such a transfer. However, he alleges that on or about December 10, 2001, he was informed that Deputy Warden Angel Martin had denied his transfer; therefore, he filed a grievance under the Corrections Administrative Remedy Procedure (CARP), stating that there was no authority to deny his transfer because only the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections could deny or approve the request. Wood further alleged that Warden Tim Wilkinson denied his grievance and "effectually condoned" the actions of Deputy Warden Martin. According to Wood, the actions of the defendants not only resulted in his loss of the right to be considered for work release, but also resulted in his loss of the potential for over one year's wages that he could have earned and saved for his pending release. Accordingly, he filed suit seeking damages for what he termed a tort claim.
The record on appeal indicates that Wood went through the required three-step administrative remedy procedure, but his request for relief was denied at each step. The first-step respondent was Ann Boyd, the Records Supervisor who denied Wood's complaint on December 20, 2001. The second-step respondent was Warden Tim Wilkinson who also denied Wood's grievance on January 7, 2002, indicating to Wood that he was welcome to take his grievance to the Office of the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Wood did proceed to the third step as shown by the April 3, 2002, denial of his request for administrative remedy at the headquarters of the Department. The third-step denial indicated that the first and second level responses had been determined to be clear and concise and to have thoroughly addressed his issues; therefore, there was no basis for administrative intervention.
DISCUSSION
Initially, we observe that because the trial court dismissed this action a few days after it was filed, we have no answer on behalf of the defendants named in the petition, and we have no brief by any party in support of the trial court's judgment. Furthermore, we have no reasons for judgment by the trial court, either oral or written, other than the notation that Wood's petition did not comply with the provisions of the PLRA.
On appeal, Wood argues that the district court erroneously ruled that he failed to comply with the PLRA because the PLRA deals with lawsuits filed by prisoners concerning "the conditions of confinement or the effects of actions by governmental officials on the lives of persons confined in prison." Wood asserts that the court evidently dismissed his action based on the screening provisions found in La. R.S. 15:1184(B). However, Wood asserts that he filed suit against the wardens personally, not in their capacity as governmental officials, and that because their actions violated state law, they acted outside the scope of their employment and could not claim qualified immunity. Nevertheless, he stated in his appellate brief that he would not attempt to argue that his suit did not fall under the PLRA because that qu
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