The U.S. Department of Justice wants a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit of Kenneth J. Houck, an openly gay federal inmate who was severely injured in Philadelphia four years ago.
In 2011, Houck was reading an LGBT novel at the Federal Detention Center in Center City when two other inmates brutally assaulted him. As a result, Houck’s right leg was fractured in multiple places and he underwent numerous surgeries to prevent its amputation.
Houck continues to walk with a limp and he’s in constant pain and discomfort, according to court papers.
The incident occurred shortly after Houck requested extra security because fellow inmates allegedly threatened him. But officials failed to provide the requested security, according to Houck.
Last year, Houck filed suit against the federal Bureau of Prisons, seeking $1.8 million in damages. He alleges negligence, deliberate indifference, cruel and unusual punishment and other misconduct on the part of prison officials.
But earlier this month, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya to dismiss Houck’s lawsuit. The 22-page filing argues that Houck’s claims lack merit. It also suggests that Houck failed to support his claims with relevant facts.
“[A]bsent factual enhancements, allegations of improper conduct are not entitled to the presumption of truth,” the filing states.
The filing goes on to note that Houck shouldn’t be permitted to draw conclusions in his pleadings without offering facts to support them.
“[P]laintiffs must plead non-conclusory facts sufficient to allow the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant engaged in the alleged misconduct,” the DOJ noted.
The DOJ acknowledges that Houck is acting as his own attorney, thus he should be given some leniency regarding his pleadings. But the filing emphasizes that Houck’s pleadings fail to demonstrate that any of his constitutional rights have been violated.
Regarding Houck’s claim that the BOP failed to provide adequate medical treatment for him, the filing states: “A mere difference of opinion between medical staff and the inmate as to appropriate treatment is not enough to show deliberate indifference.”
Houck also alleges that prison officials retaliated against him after he filed administrative complaints by refusing to transfer him to a facility closer to his relatives on the East Coast.
But the DOJ’s filing argues that Houck failed to show that the denial of his transfer request was due to retaliation.
Additionally, the DOJ argues that Houck’s claim of medical negligence must be dismissed because he failed to obtain a “certificate of review” from a licensed professional to support his claim.
As of presstime, Tafoya hadn’t ruled on the DOJ’s request to dismiss Houck’s lawsuit.
In 2011, Houck, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of transporting child pornography. He’s incarcerated at a federal prison in Marion, Ill. Houck’s scheduled release date is June 11, 2018.