Cruel & Unusual Punishment

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Marcos Gray v. Marcus Hardy

Case No.: 13-3413

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and MANION and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Cruel & Unusual Punishment

Court prematurely dismissed appellants 8^th amendment violation claims related to inhumane conditions of appellant prison cell.

“Gray’s grievance demonstrates the prison and warden’s knowledge of the conditions about which he is complaining. The response he received was signed by Warden Hardy. The grievance and response are thus sufficient to create a triable issue of fact on deliberate indifference. See Vance v. Peters, 97 F.3d 987, 993 (7th Cir. 1996) (“an inmate’s letters to prison administrators may establish a basis for § 1983 liability” where “the communication, in its content and manner of transmission, gave the prison official sufficient notice to alert him or her to an excessive risk to inmate health or safety” (internal quotation marks omitted)). (We note that Warden Hardy does not rely on Vance v. Rumsfeld, 701 F.3d 193 (7th Cir. 2012) (en banc), which held, following Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), that knowledge of subordinates’ misconduct is not enough for liability. 701 F.3d at 204. Regardless, Gray alleges that Hardy not only knew about the problems but was personally responsible for changing prison policies so that they would be addressed.)”

Reversed and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.