A federal prison inmate filed a pro se action against various employees of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), claiming that he was deprived of his constitutional rights.  Colon, who suffers from asthma, alleges that the level of enforcement of the BOP’s no-smoking policy at FCI Ray Brook, where he is incarcerated, has been inadequate to protect him from exposure to secondhand smoke.  The U.S. Magistrate Judge ruled that “there is no basis to conclude that the United States has waived its sovereign immunity as to damage claims for constitutional torts” and recommended “dismissal only of plaintiff’s claim for damages against the defendants in their official roles, but that they remain as parties on the action in their capacity as BOP employees for the limited purpose of being subject to any equitable relief which may be granted in the case.”

The U.S. District Court, at 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50028, approved and adopted the Report-Recommendation in its entirety.

2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50034 (U.S.D.C. N.D. N.Y. 2006).