Jackson v. Lightsey

• Decision Date: 18 December 2014
• Docket Number: No. 13–7291.,13–7291.
• Citation: 775 F.3d 170
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
• Parties: Samuel Junior JACKSON, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Dr. Joseph LIGHTSEY; Dr. Sher Guleria, Defendants–Appellees, and N.C. D.O.C. Medical Staff, Defendant.

775 F.3d 170

Samuel Junior JACKSON, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.Dr. Joseph LIGHTSEY; Dr. Sher Guleria, Defendants–Appellees,andN.C. D.O.C. Medical Staff, Defendant.

No. 13–7291.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: Oct. 28, 2014

Decided: Dec. 18, 2014

Affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part. ARGUED: Daniel Scott Harawa, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Kelly Street Brown, Young Moore and Henderson, P.A., Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees. ON BRIEF:

Elliott Schulder, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Elizabeth P. McCullough, Young Moore and Henderson, P.A., Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.

Before MOTZ, WYNN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.Affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part by published opinion. Judge HARRIS wrote the opinion, in which Judge MOTZ and Judge WYNN joined.PAMELA HARRIS, Circuit Judge:

Samuel Junior Jackson (“Jackson”) is an inmate in the care of the North Carolina Department of Corrections. Since his incarceration, Jackson alleges, his chronic heart condition has deteriorated, and he has suffered both a heart attack and a host of other maladies that severely compromise his quality of life. Jackson filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment and naming as defendants two prison doctors, Joseph Lightsey (“Lightsey”) and Sher Guleria (“Guleria”), and the medical staff of the Department of Corrections (the “Staff”). The district court dismissed all of Jackson's claims at the pleading stage, ruling first that the Staff should be dismissed as a party and then, in a subsequent order, that Jackson had failed to state a claim against the doctors under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The principal question before us is whether Jackson's complaint sets forth plausible claims of deliberate indifference that should survive a motion to dismiss. But before we can reach that issue, we must consider whether this appeal is properly before us, in whole or in part, in light of certain omissions in Jackson's notice of appeal.

We conclude that Jackson did not appeal from the district court order dismissing the Staff as a party to this case, depriving us of jurisdiction to review that order. We do, however, have jurisdiction over the dismissal of Jackson's claims against the doctors, and we hold that while the claim against Lightsey was properly dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6), Jackson has alleged facts supporting a plausible claim of deliberate indifference against Guleria. We therefore vacate the district court's dismissal of Jackson's claim against Guleria and remand for further proceedings.

I.

A.

Because Jackson appeals from an order granting a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), we recount the facts as alleged by Jackson, accepting them as true for purposes of this appeal. See Summers v. Altarum Inst., Corp., 740 F.3d 325, 327–28 (4th Cir.2014).

Jackson has been an inmate in North Carolina's state prison system since 2008. In 2003, before he was incarcerated, Jackson was diagnosed with congestive heart failure by Dr. Lindsey White (“White”), a cardiologist. White prescribed Jackson a set of six medications that proved effective in managing Jackson's heart condition.

Upon his incarceration at Central Prison in Raleigh in 2008, Jackson met with Lightsey, who is not a cardiologist, for a screening appointment. During this session, Jackson either presented Lightsey with medical records documenting his cardiologist's diagnosis of congestive heart failure and his prescriptions, or notified Lightsey that White would be sending the records to him separately. ¹ Lightsey proceeded to diagnose Jackson with a heart arrhythmia, a comparatively less serious condition, and to alter Jackson's medication regimen.

Jackson alleges that his health went into a tailspin following Lightsey's intervention. He began to experience a number of unpleasant and alarming symptoms, including chest pains and burning sensations in several parts of his body. Fearing that the changes to his medication were to blame, Jackson made multiple requests to the Staff to be seen by a cardiologist, all of which were denied. This deterioration culminated in Jackson suffering a heart attack, for which he received treatment at Rex Hospital in Raleigh.

Jackson was later transferred to Nash Correctional Institution in Nashville, North Carolina. There, he saw Guleria, who told Jackson that he would order additional tests and treatments, including an electrocardiogram, heart rate monitoring, and a special diet. Several months after this visit, having never received any of the tests or treatments and having made numerous sick call requests, Jackson was informed by members of the Staff that they had no record of Guleria entering any orders. As a result of substandard care provided by the defendants, Jackson suffers from chronic and extreme pain, and is unable even to walk to the prison dining hall to eat.

B.

On November 2, 2011, Jackson filed his § 1983 complaint in the District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, naming Lightsey, Guleria, and the Staff as defendants and alleging deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. J.A. at 6. In response to an order from the district court identifying an omission in his original complaint, Jackson filed an amended complaint on April 27, 2012. J.A. at 19.

The district court reviewed that complaint for frivolity under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Finding that the complaint's allegations pertained only to Lightsey and Guleria, in an order dated July 6, 2012 (the “2012 Order”) the district court dismissed all claims against the Staff and dismissed the Staff as a party to the case. Jackson v. Lightsey, No. 5:11–ct–03221–F (E.D.N.C. July 6, 2012), ECF No. 9.

The remaining defendants, Lightsey and Guleria, then moved to dismiss Jackson's complaint under Rule 12(b)(6). The district court granted their motion in a July 31, 2013 order (the “2013 Order”), holding that Jackson's allegations described only a medical disagreement over proper diagnosis and care and thus failed to state a claim for deliberate indifference. Jackson v. Lightsey, No. 5:11–ct–03221–F (E.D.N.C. July 31, 2013), ECF No. 41. On the same day, the clerk of the district court entered a final judgment in the case, dismissing Jackson's action in its entirety. Jackson v. Lightsey, No. 5:11–ct–03221–F (E.D.N.C. July 31, 2013), ECF No. 42.

On August 12, 2013, Jackson filed a handwritten document with the clerk of the district court stating his intention to “[a]ppeal the Order of the United States District Court [for the] Eastern District of North Carolina [ ] on this the 31st day of July, 2013 by James C. Foxx [sic], Senior United States District Judge.” J.A. at 62. The document did not name the court to which Jackson intended to appeal. However, the clerk for the Fourth Circuit, following standard procedure for pro se appeals, promptly issued an informal briefing order to Jackson as well as to the lawyers who had represented Lightsey and Guleria in the district court. Jackson v. Lightsey, No. 13–7291 (4th Cir. Aug. 13, 2013), ECF No. 5. After Jackson and appellees Lightsey and Guleria filed their informal briefs, the clerk appointed appellate counsel for Jackson to facilitate this appeal. Jackson v. Lightsey, No. 13–7291 (4th Cir. Apr. 28, 2014), ECF No. 25.

II.

Before reaching Jackson's deliberate indifference claims, we must address whether Jackson has brought those claims before us consistent with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c). Because “Rule 3's dictates are jurisdictional in nature, and their satisfaction is a prerequisite to appellate review,” Smith v. Barry, 502 U.S. 244, 248, 112 S.Ct. 678, 116 L.Ed.2d 678 (1992), this analysis determines whether we have jurisdiction over this appeal, and if so, whether it extends to all of Jackson's claims.

A.

Appellees contend that we are without jurisdiction to decide this case because Jackson failed to name the Fourth Circuit as the court to which he intended to appeal an order of a federal district court within that circuit. Pointing to Rule 3(c)(1)(C)'s requirement that a notice of appeal “name the court to which the appeal is taken,” they argue that although there is no court other than the Fourth Circuit to which Jackson could have appealed, this defect in Jackson's notice is fatal to our jurisdiction.

We disagree. Our approach to Rule 3 is not so formalistic. Instead, following the instruction of the Supreme Court, we construe Rule 3 liberally, and measure compliance by asking whether “the litigant's action is the functional equivalent of what the rule requires.” Smith, 502 U.S. at 248, 112 S.Ct. 678 ( quoting Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312, 317, 108 S.Ct. 2405, 101 L.Ed.2d 285 (1988)); see In re Spence, 541 F.3d 538, 543 (4th Cir.2008). Where a challenged notice of appeal has provided adequate notice and caused the complaining party no prejudice, there is no reason to allow a “technical impediment[ ]” to foreclose appellate review. In re Spence, 541 F.3d at 543 ( quoting Bogart v. Chapell, 396 F.3d 548, 555 (4th Cir.2005)); see Smith, 502 U.S. at 248, 112 S.Ct. 678 (notice afforded by a document determines the document's sufficiency as a notice of appeal); Canady v. Crestar Mortg. Corp., 109 F.3d 969, 974–75 (4th Cir.1997) (finding compliance with Rule 3 in light of adequate notice and lack of prejudice to the appellee).

Applying those principles, we have no difficulty concluding that Jackson's failure to add the words “Fourth Circuit” to his notice of appeal did not bring him out of compliance with Rule 3. Where, as in this case, there is only one possible appellate forum, the filing of an otherwise proper notice of appeal may itself be the “functional equivalent” of naming that court under Rule 3(c)(1)(C...