Opinion
Civil Action No. 7:14-cv-00219
05-01-2014
ERIC ROBERT SMITH, Plaintiff, v. FAUQUIER COUNTY ADULT DETENTION CENTER, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
By: Hon. James C. Turk
Senior United States District Judge
Eric Robert Smith, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, filed a Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 naming the Fauquier County Adult Detention Center ("Jail") as the sole defendant. The court must dismiss the Complaint because Plaintiff fails to name a person acting under color of state law as a defendant. See, e.g., West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). Plaintiff names only the Jail as a defendant, which is not amenable to suit via § 1983. See Preval v. Reno, 57 F. Supp. 2d 307, 310 (E.D. Va. 1999) ("[T]he Piedmont Regional Jail is not a "person," and therefore not amenable to suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983."), aff' d in part and rev'd in part, 203 F.3d 821 (4th Cir. 2000), reported in full-text format at 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 465, at *3, 2000 WL 20591, at * 1 ("The court also properly determined that the Piedmont Regional Jail is not a 'person' and is therefore not amenable to suit under § 1983[.]"). Accordingly, Plaintiff presently fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, and the court dismisses the Complaint without prejudice, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1).
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Senior United States District Judge