Hollihan v. Pa. Dep't of Corr.

• Decision Date: 20 January 2016
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-CV-5
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Parties: Richard Hollihan, Plaintiff & Putative Class Representative v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al., Defendants.

159 F.Supp.3d 502

Richard Hollihan, Plaintiff & Putative Class Representative

v.Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-CV-5

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

Signed January 20, 2016

David Rudovsky, Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg, LLP, Eric J. Rothschild, Eric Wolfish, Pepper Hamilton LLP, Angus R. Love, PA Institutional Law Project, Philadelphia, PA, Thomas B. Schmidt, III, Pepper Hamilton, LLP, Harrisburg, PA, Alexandra T. Morgan-Kurtz, PA Institutional Law Project, Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiff & Putative Class Representative.

Jessica S. Davis, Office of Attorney General, Harrisburg, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

Christopher C. Conner

, Chief Judge

The putative class action at bar challenges the confidential treatment regime of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (“Department”) colloquially known as the “One Good Eye” policy. Culled to its essence, this administrative policy denies cataract surgery

to inmates who retain a threshold modicum of visual acuity in one eye, notwithstanding physician recommendations to the contrary. The court finds that such draconian medical treatment, as unearthed in the complaint, may transgress the Eighth Amendment.

Plaintiff Richard Hollihan (“Hollihan”) brings this litigation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. ,

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504 ”), 29 U.S.C. § 794, Article I, § 13 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, Pa. Const. art. I, § 13, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1). Before the court are three motions (Docs. 17, 28, 42) to dismiss for failure to state a claim, filed by defendants Wexford Health Sources, Inc. (“Wexford”), Dr. Rashida Mahmud (“Dr. Mahmud”), Dr. John Robinson (“Dr. Robinson”), and Dr. Donald Kern (“Dr. Kern”). Also pending is a motion (Doc. 60) for judgment on the pleadings filed by the Department, John Wetzel (“Wetzel”), and Bryan Hyde (“Hyde”) (collectively, “Commonwealth defendants”).

The motions will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Factual Background & Procedural History

Hollihan is an inmate at the State Correctional Institution in Somerset, Pennsylvania (“SCI Somerset”), where he has been incarcerated since 2001. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 2, 38). Wexford is a private corporation, commissioned by the Department to provide medical care to inmates housed in state correctional facilities. (Id. ¶ 12). Wetzel serves as Secretary of the Department, and Hyde occupies the role of Correctional Health Care Administrator at SCI Somerset. (Id. ¶¶ 8-9). Dr. Mahmud is a physician at SCI Somerset, Dr. Robinson serves as Medical Director at SCI Somerset, and Dr. Kern is tasked with supervising the provision of health care to state inmates by Wexford employees. (Id. ¶¶ 10-11, 13). Drs. Mahmud, Robinson, and Kern are employed by Wexford. (Id. ¶ 13; Doc. 18 at 4; Doc. 50 at 3).

Hollihan has suffered from various eye and vision conditions since 1999. (Doc. 1 ¶ 37). He received cataract surgery

on his right eye in 2001, while incarcerated in Pennsylvania. (Id. ¶ 39). Prior to 2008, Dr. Irwin, an optometrist at SCI Somerset, determined that Hollihan's left eye required cataract surgery, to which Hollihan consented. (Id. ¶ 40). The Department and its staff thereafter denied the recommended surgical procedure. (Id. ¶ 41). Hollihan appealed this determination to no avail, receiving the Department's conclusive denial in 2010. (Id. ¶ 42).

In February 2012, Dr. Mahmud and Dr. Shariat, an ophthalmologist at Somerset Hospital, examined Hollihan's eyes. (Id. ¶ 43). They diagnosed Hollihan's left eye with a “very ripe” cataract and measured his right eye visual acuity at 20/70. (Id. ) Subsequent to a follow-up appointment in August 2012, Dr. Shariat requested that Dr. Mahmud arrange for cataract surgery

to be performed on Hollihan's left eye. (Id. ¶ 48). Thereupon, Dr. Mahmud scheduled an operation for September 2012. (Id. ¶ 49). Dr. Mahmud subsequently postponed the procedure. (Id. ¶ 51). Hollihan thereafter filed a second administrative grievance seeking cataract surgery on his left eye. (Id. ¶ 52). In January 2013, the Department upheld Dr. Mahmud's decision to postpone, noting that Hollihan would receive the operation at a later date. (Id. ¶ 54).

Dr. Irwin performed an additional eye examination on Hollihan in May 2013; he diagnosed Hollihan's left eye with a “very dense cataract” and referred him to an ophthalmologist for surgery. (Id. ¶ 55). Contravening Dr. Irwin's referral, Dr. Mahmud scheduled Hollihan for a follow-up consultation three months later. (Id. ¶ 56). Dr. Mahmud explained that Hollihan was ineligible for cataract surgery

on his left eye because the visual acuity in his right eye measured 20/60. (Id. ) In response, Hollihan filed a “Request to Staff to the Medical Department” on June 10, 2013, wherein he sought permission to schedule the recommended operation with an ophthalmologist. (Id. ¶ 58). Hyde replied to Hollihan that the 20/60 vision in his right eye precluded this request. (Id. ¶ 59).

On December 19, 2013, a physician at SCI Somerset observed that Hollihan suffered from progressive vision loss and referred him to an ophthalmologist. (Id. ¶ 62). Shortly thereafter, both Dr. Robinson and Dr. Kern countermanded the physician's referral. (Id. ¶¶ 63-64). Dr. Kern cited the “good vision” in Hollihan's right eye as support for this disallowance. (Id. ¶ 64).

Hollihan submitted a second “Request to Staff” in February 2014, seeking further information regarding his ineligibility for cataract surgery

. (Id. ¶ 65). In riposte, Hyde explained that Hollihan “did not meet the criteria for cataract extraction.” (Id. ¶ 66). Hollihan subsequently filed a third administrative grievance. (Id. ¶ 67).

The Department denied Hollihan's third petition, affirming its initial determination twice on appeal. (Id. ¶¶ 68-70). Each such adjudication referenced Department Policy 13.2.1, Section 16, Chapter 4, which prohibits cataract surgery

for inmates who have “better than 20/50” corrected vision in one eye. (Id. ) According to Hollihan, this provision is known colloquially among prison staff as the “One Good Eye” policy. (Id. ¶ 71).

Throughout this period, the cataract in Hollihan's left eye led to multifarious difficulties. Hollihan became virtually blind in his left eye, allegedly causing the vision in his right eye to deteriorate. (Id. ¶¶ 73, 75). The cataract also prevented treating physicians from examining his optic nerve and retina for disease

. (Id. ¶ 74). As a result of his deficient eyesight, Hollihan struggled to read, write, walk, and perform manual tasks. (Id. ¶¶ 77-78). He ultimately received cataract surgery on his left eye in February 2015. (Doc. 23 at 9 n.6; Doc. 44).

Hollihan commenced the instant action on January 2, 2015. (Doc. 1). Contemporaneously with the complaint, he filed a motion (Doc. 2) for class certification. The court denied Hollihan's motion without prejudice and directed the parties to engage in limited class discovery, which is ongoing in praesenti. (Doc. 78). In the complaint, Hollihan first alleges that the Commonwealth defendants discriminated against him on the basis of disability in violation of the ADA (Count I), and that the Department discriminated against him on the basis of disability in violation of Section 504

(Count II). (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 91-94). Hollihan further asserts, pursuant to § 1983, that the following defendants violated his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment: Dr. Robinson, Wetzel, and Hyde, in their official capacities (Count III); and Wexford, Dr. Mahmud, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Kern, and Hyde, in their individual capacities (Count V). (Id. ¶¶ 95-96, 99-104). Lastly, Hollihan claims that Wetzel, Hyde, and Dr. Robinson, acting in their official capacities, violated Pennsylvania's constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment (Count IV). (Id. ¶¶ 97-98). To rectify his alleged injuries, Hollihan seeks declaratory and injunctive relief; compensatory and punitive damages; and attorneys' fees and costs. (Id. at 21-22).

In three separate motions (Docs. 17, 28, 42), Wexford, Drs. Mahmud and Robinson, and Dr. Kern seek dismissal of Hollihan's claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Similarly, the Commonwealth defendants move (Doc. 60) for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c). The motions are fully briefed and ripe for disposition.

II. Legal Standard

Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

provides for the dismissal of complaints that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must “accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Phillips v. Cty. of Allegheny , 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir.2008).

Federal notice and pleading rules require the complaint to provide “the defendant fair notice of what the...claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Phillips , 515 F.3d at 232

(quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)

). To test the sufficiency of the complaint, the court must conduct a three-step inquiry. See Santiago v. Warminster Twp. , 629 F.3d 121, 130–31 (3d Cir.2010). In the first step, “the court must ‘tak[e] note of the elements a plaintiff must plead to state a claim.’ ” Id. at 130 (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 675, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ). Next, the factual and legal elements of a claim should be separated; well-pleaded facts must be accepted as true, while mere legal conclusions may be disregarded. Id. at 131 ; see also Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside , 578 F.3d 203, 210–11 (3d Cir.2009). Once the court isolates the well-pleaded factual allegations, it must determine whether they are sufficient to show a ...