Corey Allan Donaldson v. Tony Normand

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 19-11720
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 5:18-cv-00007-LGW-BWC
COREY ALLAN DONALDSON,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
GEO GROUP, INC., et.al.,
Defendants,
TONY NORMAND,
Federal Agent (F.B.O.P.)
Defendant - Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Georgia
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(May 26, 2021)
Before NEWSOM, ANDERSON and DUBINA, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM:
In our panel opinion in this case, we held: “[p]unitive damages are not
available to prisoners under the PLRA, absent the demonstration of physical injury
that satisfies 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e)’s physical injury requirement, and this applies
even to constitutional claims.” See Donaldson v. GEO Group, Inc., et al., 843 F.
App’x 161 (11th Cir, 2021). In so holding, we followed our prior panel precedent
of Al-Amin v. Smith, 637 F.3d 1192, 1198–99 (11th Cir. 2011).
Recently, the Eleventh Circuit heard en banc in Hoever v. Marks, No. 17–
10792, ___ F.3d ___, 2021 WL 1326618 (11th Cir. Apr. 9, 2021), the identical
issue raised before us in Donaldson. Specifically, our court considered “whether
the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e), bar[s] punitive
damages for constitutional claims, including First Amendment claims, without a
showing of physical injury?” Because our court answered that question in the
negative, we sua sponte vacate our panel opinion in Donaldson as well as vacate
the district court’s order dismissing Donaldon’s Bivens v. Six Unknown Named
Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S. Ct. 1999 (1971), action for failing to state a claim upon
which relief could be granted and remand this case to the district court for further
consideration in light of this court’s en banc holding in Hoever.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
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