A convicted murderer from Philadelphia who says his desk lamp and typewrite ribbons went missing while he was inmate at a state prison in Schuylkill County has the right to pursue a lawsuit for negligence against prison employees, a Commonwealth Court panel has ruled.

In a 16-page opinion, filed May 5, Commonwealth Court judges Robert Simpson and Michael H. Wojcik, and Senior Judge Dan Pellegrini, affirmed in part and reversed in part the county court ruling, and remanded the matter for further proceedings.Stephen Palmer, 40, was in the state prison at Mahanoy in September 2015 when he filed the suit in Schuylkill County court against John Doe, in his official capacity as sergeant of the "J" housing unit; correctional officer Disabella, in his official capacity as housing unit officer; Sgt. Myers, in his official capacity as property sergeant; John Doe, in his official capacity as restricted housing unit (RHU) officer; and John Kerestes, in his official capacity as superintendent of the prison.The county court had dismissed Palmer's suit as "frivolous."In his Commonwealth Court filing, Palmer appealed the county court order that denied his request to proceed with the suit as "improper."His claim was valid, he argued, and state prison employees are not "sovereign," or protected from lawsuits.The Commonwealth Court judges agreed that state department of Corrections employees can be sue for negligence, and that palmer could sue Sgt. Doe, Disabella, Myers and officer Doe for the loss of his property because they "had a duty to secure and protect Palmer's property," the judges ruled."Under these circumstances, we cannot say Palmer's negligence claim is frivolous so as to warrant dismissal," Simpson wrote."Where an inmate alleges negligence resulting in damage to property in the care, custody or control of prison employees, sovereign immunity will not bar the action," he wrote.As to the part of Palmer's suit that concerned the lack of a personal property inventory document, the judges ruled that the grievance process was adequate to address that complaint, so a lawsuit was unnecessary.In his complaint, Palmer said he arrived at the prison in 2002. In 2005, he bought a "Hi Intensity Desk Lamp" for $14.75. In 2008, he bought two three-packs of Brother Nylon Typewriter Ribbons for $45.98.Palmer claims that in October 2014, he was placed in the restricted housing unit after a "conflict" with a cellmate.His personal property, including the desk lamp and typewriter ribbons, stayed in his cell.His suit argued that either the J Block Sergeant and/or Disabella packed his stuff without the required property inventory, and turned it over to either Myers or an unidentified RHU officer.After 10 days, Palmer was released from the RHU and was assigned to another unit. He received his personal property without the required property inventory sheet, and realized several items were missing, including the desk lamp and typewriter ribbons.Palmer told officials, including Myers, that his personal property was missing. In November 2014, he filed a grievance.He claimed the prison routinely packed inmates' belongings without a property inventory, and that items are lost.The practice, he claims, "showed a deliberate indifference on the part of Superintendent Kerestes to the constitutional rights of persons within (the prison), and (was) the cause of the violations of (Palmer's) rights."On Nov. 14, 2000, Palmer, then 25, shot to death Kevin Holmes, an 18-year-old high school senior, in Philadelphia in a fit of road rage after a car crash.