NEWARK, NJ – A federal judge has ruled that a New Jersey inmate’s lawsuit alleging inadequate medical care at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution may proceed, allowing both constitutional and federal tort claims to move forward.
U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti granted plaintiff Robert Charles Morris permission to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning he can pursue the case without paying filing fees upfront due to financial hardship. The opinion, issued January 20, 2026, formally reopens the case and directs the Clerk of Court to file the complaint and serve notice to relevant officials.
Morris filed the civil action under Bivens v. Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), accusing Bureau of Prisons employees Dr. Pradip M. Patel, Ekaterine Metreveli, and Denieca Taylor-Fearon of showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs while he was incarcerated. The court found that Morris’s claims alleging violations of his Eighth Amendment rights were sufficient to proceed past initial screening.
Judge Martinotti’s order also assessed Morris the standard $350 filing fee, which he must pay through installment deductions from his prison account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The ruling cites Bruce v. Samuels (2016), clarifying that multiple cases can trigger simultaneous deductions of up to 20% of an inmate’s monthly income for each pending action.
The case, docketed as Morris v. Bureau of Prisons et al., will now move forward for further proceedings, with both Bivens and FTCA claims to be evaluated on their merits.
Key Points: Federal judge allows inmate’s medical care lawsuit to proceed in New Jersey – Newark
- Judge Brian R. Martinotti allowed Robert Charles Morris’s civil rights and FTCA claims to move forward.
- The lawsuit accuses federal prison medical staff of deliberate indifference to medical needs.
- The court granted in forma pauperis status and set filing fee payments under PLRA requirements.
