Alsobrook v. Alvarado

• Decision Date: 03 December 2013
• Docket Number: Case No. 10–22183–CV.
• Parties: Christopher Uriah ALSOBROOK, Plaintiff, v. Sgt. ALVARADO, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

986 F.Supp.2d 1312

Christopher Uriah ALSOBROOK, Plaintiff,

v.Sgt. ALVARADO, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 10–22183–CV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Dec. 3, 2013.

John David Mallah, John D. Mallah, Michael O'Brien Colgan, Katzman Garfinkel & Berger, Maitland, FL, for Plaintiff.

Ginger Barry Boyd, Broad and Cassel, Destin, FL, Dean C. Kowalchyk, Lance Eric Neff, Cedell Ian Garland, Eric M. Neiberger, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, Daniel Sidney Liebowitz, Cruser & Mitchell, LLP, Orlando, FL, for Defendants.

ORDER ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS

JAMES LAWRENCE KING, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendants Fatu Kamara–Harris and MHM Solutions, Inc.'s Motion to Dismiss (DE 121), filed July 1, 2013, Defendants Alvarado, Medina, Clay, Crews, and Harris' Motion to Dismiss (DE 127), filed July 17, 2013, and Defendant Green's Motion to Dismiss (DE 154), filed November 4, 2013. In the Motions, Defendants argue that Counts I and II should be dismissed for failure to state a cause of action, or, alternatively, because they are barred by the Heck doctrine,¹ that Counts IV, VII, and VIII should be dismissed for failure to state a cause of action, that Counts IV and VII should be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and, finally, that upon dismissal of Counts I, II, and IV, that Counts V and VI must also fail, as they are dependent upon the existence of the constitutional torts complained of in Counts I, II and IV. The Court, being fully briefed on the matter,² finds that Defendants Harris and MHM Solutions, Inc's Motion should be denied, Defendants Alvarado, et al.'s Motion should be granted in part, and Defendant Green's Motion should be granted.

BACKGROUND³

On May 22, 2013, Plaintiff Christopher Uriah Alsobrook (“Alsobrook”) filed his eight-count Third Amended Complaint (the “Complaint”) (DE 105) against Defendants Sergeant Alvarado, Sergeant Medina, Officer Clay, Fatu Kamara–Harris (“Nurse Harris”), MHM Solutions, Inc. (“MHM Solutions”), Michael Crews, David Harris, and Captain Green, alleging causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 related to a violation of Alsobrook's constitutional rights on June 6, 2009, at which time Alsobrook was an inmate at the South Florida Reception Center, and which resulted in Alsobrook sustaining numerous serious injuries.Alsobrook is an inmate in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections; Captain Green, Sergeant Alvarado, Sergeant Medina, and Officer Clay are employees of the Florida Department of Corrections working at the South Florida Reception Center; ⁴ MHM Solutions is a foreign corporation, which was under contract with the Florida Department of Corrections to provide healthcare services to inmates at Department of Corrections facilities, including the South Florida Reception Center; Nurse Harris was an employee of MHM Solutions, assigned to work at the South Florida Reception Center as a nurse; ⁵ Michael Crews is the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections; ⁶ David Harris is the former warden of the South Florida Reception Center.⁷

On the morning of June 6, 2009, Sergeant Alvarado was on duty at the South Florida Reception Center. Alsobrook was in a cell with a cellmate at the South Florida Reception Center. Alsobrook's cellmate told Sergeant Alvarado that he did not want to be in a cell with Alsobrook, and that he would become violent if he was not separated from Alsobrook. Alsobrook also requested to be placed in a cell separate from his cellmate. Sergeant Alvarado did not separate Alsobrook from his cellmate. Shortly thereafter, Alsobrook's cellmate initiated a fight, which resulted in Alsobrook sustaining numerous serious injuries. Alsobrook admitted to fighting with his cellmate, and, accordingly, Alsobrook was cited in a disciplinary report for fighting and suffered the loss of thirty-days gain time. Based on these facts, Count I states a cause of action against Sergeant Alvarado for deliberate indifference to a risk of serious harm.

After several minutes, and while the attack was still ongoing, Sergeant Medina, Sergeant Alvarado, and Officer Clay (together, the “Corrections Officers”) came to Alsobrook's cell door, at which time his cellmate stopped attacking him. Alsobrook asked the Corrections Officers to separate him from his cellmate to stop the fight. The Corrections Officers did not move to intercede, and Alsobrook repeated his request, this time using profanity. ⁸ The Corrections Officers then stood by and watched as Alvarado's cellmate resumed attacking him and the fight began anew. Based on these facts, Count II states a cause of action against Sergeant Medina, Sergeant Alvarado, and Officer Clay for deliberate indifference to a risk of serious harm.

The fight eventually ended, leaving Alsobrook covered with blood and with visible wounds on his face and the back of his head. Sergeant Medina then ordered Alsobrook and his cellmate to allow themselves to be handcuffed through a flap in the cell door. Alsobrook agreed, but his cellmate refused to allow himself to be handcuffed. Sergeant Medina refused to remove Alsobrook from his cell until both inmates were handcuffed. As a result, Alsobrook remained in his cell, untreated, for another two hours. Based on these facts, Count III states a cause of action against Sergeant Medina for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

Alsobrook and his cellmate were then removed from their cell by Captain Green and escorted to the infirmary, where Nurse Harris was assigned to provide care to Alsobrook. While in the infirmary, Alsobrook vomited after being overcome with nausea and dizziness. Nonetheless, and despite being in the infirmary for two hours, Nurse Harris neither performed any diagnostic tests on Alsobrook to assess his head trauma nor did she clean, bandage, or suture any of Alsobrook's wounds. Nurse Harris provided Alsobrook with four ibuprofen and he was returned to his cell by Captain Green. Five days later, on June 11, 2009, Alsobrook vomited in his cell, suddenly lost consciousness, and struck his head against his bunk on his way to the floor, causing a new laceration on his forehead. Based on these facts, Count IV states a cause of action against Nurse Harris and MHM Solutions for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

Michael Crews, as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, had in place an official policy not to supervise or train healthcare personnel from private contracting firms such as MHM Solutions. Michael Crews has in place an official policy which forbids or discourages corrections officers from removing inmates from their cells unless all inmates in the cell agree to be, and are, handcuffed, even in the face of medical emergencies. David Harris, as Warden of the South Florida Reception Center, has in place an official policy which forbids or discourages corrections officers from removing inmates from their cells unless all inmates in the cell agree to be, and are, handcuffed, even in the face of medical emergencies.⁹ Based on these facts, Count V states a cause of action for policy liability against Michael Crews, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, and David Harris, in his individual capacity.

Count VI states a cause of action for supervisory liability against David Harris for an alleged failure to train Sergeant Medina, Sergeant Alvarado, and Officer Clay, which led to their deliberate indifference towards Alsobrook's constitutional rights.¹⁰ Additionally, Count VII states a cause of action against MHM Solutions for supervisory liability, based on an alleged MHM Solutions policy, which resulted in a failure to train and supervise employees, such as Nurse Harris, in proper medical care, or encouraging and/or directing employees not to conduct certain diagnostic tests which would reveal injuries that are expensive to treat, such as traumatic brain injuries. And, finally, Count VIII states a cause of action against Captain Green for deliberate indifference to a risk of serious harm for returning Plaintiff to his cell with his cellmate with whom he had just fought. ¹¹

LEGAL STANDARD ON MOTION TO DISMISS

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss alleges that Counts I, II, V, and VI of the Complaint fail to meet federal pleading standardsand should be dismissed, under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12. Rule 8 requires that a complaint include a “short and plain statement” demonstrating that the claimant is entitled to relief. Fed R. Civ. P. 8. To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a complaint must include “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 663, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). As a corollary, allegations absent supporting facts are not entitled to this presumption of veracity. Id. at 681, 129 S.Ct. 1937. When evaluating a motion to dismiss, the Court must take all of the well-pled factual allegations as true. Id. at 664, 129 S.Ct. 1937. However, “threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. at 663, 129 S.Ct. 1937. And, the Court's duty to accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true does not require it to ignore specific factual details “in favor of general or conclusory allegations.” Griffin Indus., Inc. v. Irvin, 496 F.3d 1189, 1205–06 (11th Cir.2007). The Court must dismiss a complaint that does not present a plausible claim demonstrating entitlement to relief.

DISCUSSION

As noted above, Defendants' Motions set forth...