Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

208 Ga. App. 516

431 S.E.2d 148

93 FultonCountyD.Rep. 1792

Battle v. Seago

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Decided April 20, 1993

Court of Appeals of Georgia · decided 1993-04-20

Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))

Relies on Conley v. Gibson · Haines v. Kerner · Vinnedge v. Gibbs

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1993-04-20

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently June 2012

7 state decisions

40199320002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

McMurray, Presiding Judge.

¶1 This is a sexual harassment action filed pro se by a male inmate against a woman employee of the Department of Corrections. An order denying filing pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-2 (d) was entered and plaintiff Battle appeals. Held:

¶2 Under the statutory provision, the order denying filing is treated the same as a dismissal. “ ‘ “A pro se complaint is not held to stringent standards of formal pleadings, Haines v. Kerner, 404 U. S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972) (Vinnedge v. Gibbs, 550 F.2d 926 (1) (4th Cir. 1977)), and the ‘complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.’ Conley v. Gibson, 355 U. S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). See also J. Moore, 2A Moore’s Federal Practice, ¶ 12.08 at 2265-86 (1972).” Hughes v. Roth, 371 FSupp. 740, 741 *517 (D.C.Pa. 1974).’ Johnson v. Jones, 178 Ga. App. 346, 349 (343 SE2d 403).” Baxley v. Sutter, 203 Ga. App. 579 (417 SE2d 205). See also Johnson v. Jones, supra.

Decided April 20, 1993. Terry L. Battle, pro se. Michael J. Bowers, Attorney General, Daryl A. Robinson, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Terry L. Long, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

¶3 The complaint in the case sub judice clearly states a claim actionable under 42 USCA § 1983. Plaintiff has not relied on general allegations, but has stated specific allegations of misconduct on the part of defendant Seago within the period of the statute of limitation. Prisoners are entitled to the protection of the Eighth Amendment from sexual harassment at the hands of prison staff. While plaintiff’s allegations are somewhat bizarre, we cannot assume that they did not occur. See McKenzie v. State of Wisconsin, Dept. of Corrections, 138 FRD 554, 555, and Vang v. Toyed, 944 F2d 476 (9th Cir.). The superior court erred in denying the filing of plaintiff’s complaint.

¶4 Judgment reversed.

Johnson and Blackburn, JJ., concur.
/208/gaapp/516 · .json · Public domain