Easton v. Sundram
| Decision Date | 18 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 1581,1581 |
| Citation | 947 F.2d 1011 |
| Parties | Karl EASTON, M.D., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Clarence J. SUNDRAM; Paul Stavis; Walter E. Saurack; John J. Rybaltowski; Bruce E. Feig; Francine Cournos; Paul Glickman; Louis J. Patack; Kathleen Sweeney and Ilene Margolin, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 91-7165. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Leon Friedman, New York City, for plaintiff-appellant.
Laurel W. Eisner, Asst. Atty. Gen., New York City (Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. of State of N.Y., of counsel), for defendants-appellees.
Before OAKES, Chief Judge, KAUFMAN and WALKER, Circuit Judges.
Dr. Karl Easton appeals from a judgment entered on July 18, 1990 pursuant to an opinion and order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Robert W. Sweet, Judge ) granting defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint for failure of pleading under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Easton, now represented by counsel, contends that the district court overlooked three well-pleaded constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in his pro se complaint: claims for first amendment retaliation, malicious prosecution, and a violation of a protected liberty right. He further contends that the district court erred in holding that certain of the defendants were entitled to prosecutorial and witness immunity. We find that Easton's complaint failed to state a claim on the first amendment retaliation and malicious prosecution causes of action and that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity on the violation of liberty cause of action, regardless of whether or not Easton stated a claim. We therefore affirm without reaching the issues of prosecutorial or witness immunity.
For the purposes of review of a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, we take the factual allegations of plaintiff's complaint as true. Easton, a psychiatrist, was the former executive director and ex-officio board member of the Brooklyn Psychosocial Rehabilitation Institute ("BPRI"), a not-for-profit mental health institution. His claims arise from a series of events that started with the suicide of a patient in July of 1984. The New York State Office of Mental Health ("OMH") subsequently initiated an inspection and ongoing investigation of Easton's facilities.
On August 24, 1984, OMH Regional Director Sarah Connell wrote a letter to BPRI's executive director, Irving Link, detailing a list of alleged shortcomings that had been uncovered in various inspections. These allegations included: lack of proper record-keeping and documentation of patient progress, failure to provide for regular medical and dental care, failure to properly report suicides, failure to document the implementation of a suicide prevention program, the presence of a serious roach infestation in patients' bedrooms, the possession by patients of outdated medications, improperly executed patient fee agreements, inadequate inventories of patients' possessions, and overcrowding.
On December 24, 1984, the New York City regional director of OMH suspended patient referrals to Boerum Hill, BPRI's residential and rehabilitative care facility in Brooklyn. In response, on February 5, 1985, BPRI filed a petition against OMH under Article 78 of the New York State Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) in state court, alleging that its due process rights were being violated since no hearing had been held before OMH blocked referrals. The Article 78 suit was concluded on April 17, 1985, with OMH ordered to afford a hearing within 30 days. The hearing was never held, but on May 30, 1985, the regional office of OMH rescinded its memorandum to stop referrals to BPRI. The investigation by OMH continued, with health and fiscal standards targeted for scrutiny.
At about the same time that BPRI brought its Article 78 suit against OMH, another state agency, the Commission on Quality of Care ("CQC"), started an investigation of BPRI at the request of Kathleen Sweeney, a supervisor in the OMH regional office. In October of 1986, CQC issued a report recommending the continuation "under new auspices" of BPRI programs, recovery of cash and other assets "unlawfully received" by Easton's family or closely held corporations, and criminal prosecution of those who had "engaged in systematic fraud against the State and Federal governments."
The New York State Attorney General, the OMH and the State Department of Social Services ("DSS") brought suit against BPRI, Easton and others under the caption People of the State of New York, New York State Office of Mental Health, New York State Department of Social Services v. Brooklyn Psychosocial Rehabilitation Institute, 3 Lafayette Avenue Corporation, Cobble Hill Center Corporation, Dr. Karl Easton, Jacqualine Easton, Irving Link, Theodore Rosten, Sup.Ct. Kings County, Index No. 29163/86 ("People v. BPRI" ). In People v. BPRI, the state charged the defendants with Medicaid fraud, endangering the health and safety of mentally disabled clients, and siphoning public funds through BPRI to members of Easton's family by way of improper leases with real estate corporations owned by Easton's children. At the same time, in an ex parte proceeding brought by the Attorney General pursuant to Article 31, Section 28 of the New York State Mental Health Law ("MHL"), the Supreme Court of the State of New York appointed Federation Employment Guidance Service ("FEGS"), a not-for-profit social welfare agency, as temporary receiver of the BPRI facilities pending determination of the State's charges. The receiver removed Easton from his post at BPRI. The complaint alleges that this firing took place in conjunction with the dissemination of highly defamatory charges against Easton. The court continued the receivership after a hearing, and it remained in effect for eighteen months, until The State Supreme Court referred People v. BPRI to Judicial Hearing Officer ("JHO") Carmine A. Ventiera for determination of all issues. On November 7, 1990, the JHO denied the State relief on all causes of action. Easton alleges that the investigation and all of the charges that stemmed from it were fraudulently concocted and presented in bad faith.
April of 1988. When the receivership terminated, OMH acquired the properties under the New York State Eminent Domain Procedure Law
On March 17, 1989, before the JHO had issued any decision, Easton and three corporate plaintiffs commenced this action pro se in the Southern District of New York, naming seven defendants: Clarence Sundram, Chairman and Commissioner of the CQC; Paul Stavis, Counsel to CQC; Walter E. Saurack, Chief of the Fiscal Bureau of CQC; John J. Rybaltowski, Program Cost Analyst of CQC; Bruce E. Feig, Executive Deputy Commissioner of OMH; Francine Cournos, M.D., Psychiatric Consultant, OMH; and Paul Glickman, former Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York. On May 3, 1989, the corporate plaintiffs were ordered dismissed for lack of counsel. On September 7, 1989, Easton filed an amended complaint naming three additional defendants: Louis J. Patack, Assistant Counsel, OMH; Kathleen Sweeney, Standards Compliance Analyst, OMH; and Ilene Margolin, former Special Assistant to the Governor of the State of New York. On November 20, 1989, Easton filed a second amended complaint, seeking $40 million in compensatory and exemplary damages.
The second amended complaint charged the defendants in their individual and official capacities with violating the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1988, and 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(c) and (d). The complaint set forth eight causes of action, including violation of Easton's civil rights; negligence, gross negligence, recklessness and misrepresentation; defamation, deceit and intentional infliction of emotional distress; abuse of process and malicious prosecution; wrongful receivership and wrongful condemnation; wrongful dismissal; racketeering and conspiracy to defraud under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"). It charged that the individual defendants secretly conspired to deprive him of his constitutionally protected rights in investigating and prosecuting the State's claims in People v. BPRI.
The defendants moved for dismissal pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), or, in the alternative, for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(b). On July 18, 1990, the district court granted the motion to dismiss, holding that all defendants were immune from suit in their official capacities under the Eleventh Amendment, and that Easton had failed to plead cognizable federal claims against the defendants in their individual capacities. It also held that Glickman was entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity and that Sweeney, Cournos and Patack were entitled to witness immunity. The court dismissed Easton's conspiracy claims for failure to state a claim, his RICO claim for failure to allege the necessary predicate offenses and the Section 1983 claim for failure to allege the deprivation of a protected property or liberty interest. Finally, the district court declined to retain jurisdiction over common law tort claims. On December 18, 1990, it granted plaintiff's motion for reconsideration and reaffirmed the dismissal of the complaint. It denied plaintiff's second motion for reargument on January 14, 1991. Appeal to this court followed.
Easton argues that the district court overlooked three well-pleaded constitutional claims in his complaint: claims for first amendment retaliation, malicious prosecution, and a violation of a protected liberty right.
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