Anderson v. City of Minneapolis
| Decision Date | 30 March 2018 |
| Docket Number | File No. 16-cv-04114 (SRN/FLN) |
| Parties | William Anderson, As Trustee for the Next-of-Kin of Jacob William Anderson (deceased) Plaintiff, v. City of Minneapolis; County of Hennepin; Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.; Dr. Brian Mahoney, M.D., as then-Medical Director of HCMC Ambulance Service; Shana D. York, Anthony J. Buda, Raul A. Ramos, and John Doe individuals to be determined, Individual Fire Department Personnel in Their Individual Capacities; Daniel F. Shively and John Doe individuals to be determined, Individual HCMC Ambulance Services Personnel in Their Individual Capacities; Mitchel Morey, M.D., Individual Medical Examiner's Personnel, in His Individual Capacity; Daniel J. Tyra, Shannon L. Miller, Dustin L. Anderson, Scott T. Sutherland, D. Blaurat, Emily Dunphy, Christopher Karakostas, Matthew George, Joseph McGinness, Calvin Pham, Arlene M. Johnson, Matthew T. Ryan, and John Doe individuals to be determined, Individual Police Officers in Their Individual Capacities, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota |
Robert R. Hopper, Robert R. Hopper & Associates, 333 South 7th Street, Suite 2450, Minneapolis, MN 55402, for Plaintiff.
Ivan M. Ludmer, Minneapolis City Attorney's Office, 350 South 5th Street, Room 210, Minneapolis, MN 55415, for Defendants City of Minneapolis; Individual Fire Department Personnel in Their Individual Capacities; Individual Police Officers in Their Individual Capacities: Daniel J. Tyra, Shannon L. Miller, Dustin L. Anderson, Scott T. Sutherland, D. Blaurat, Emily Dunphy, Christopher Karakostas, and Arlene M. Johnson.
Tracey N. Fussy, Minneapolis City Attorney's Office, 350 South 5th Street, Room 210, Minneapolis, MN 55415, for Defendant City of Minneapolis.
Michael B. Miller, Hennepin County Attorney's Office, 300 South 6th Street, Suite A-2000, Minneapolis, MN 55487, for Defendants County of Hennepin; Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.; Daniel F. Shively, Individual HCMC Ambulance Services Personnel in His Individual Capacity; Mitchel Morey, M.D., Individual Medical Examiner's Personnel, in His Individual Capacity; and Dr. Brian Mahoney, M.D., as then-Medical Director of HCMC Ambulance Service.
Ann E. Walther and Erik Bal, Rice, Michels & Walther, LLP, 10 South 2nd Street NE, Suite 206, Minneapolis, MN 55413, For Individual Police Officers in Their Individual Capacities Matthew George, Joseph McGinness, Calvin Pham, and Matthew T. Ryan.
This is a very tragic case. Jacob Anderson, 19 years old at the time and a student at the University of Minnesota, was found in the frigid early morning hours of December 15, 2013, lying face down, slumped over a metal rail in a remote location in Minneapolis. The first responders declared him dead on the scene. The autopsy report states that the cause of death was hypothermia. The Plaintiff, Mr. Anderson's father and trustee for Jacob's next-of-kin, brings this lawsuit against a number of authorities and first responders, arguing that their actions in failing to take immediate measures to provide medical treatment to his son for hypothermia, including warming him, in hope that he was still alive, is actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
This matter is before the Court on: (1) a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint filed by Defendants County of Hennepin ("the County"), HennepinHealthcare System, Inc. ("HHS"), Daniel Shively, Dr. Mitchel Morey, and Dr. Brian Mahoney (collectively, "County Defendants") (Cty. Defs.' Mot. [Doc. No. 96])1; (2) a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint filed by Defendants City of Minneapolis ("the City"), Shana D. York, Anthony J. Buda, Raul A. Ramos, Daniel J. Tyra, Shannon L. Miller, Dustin L. Anderson, Scott T. Sutherland, D. Blaurat, Emily Dunphy, Christopher Karakostas, and Arlene M. Johnson (collectively, "City Defendants") (City Defs.' Mot. [Doc. No. 103]); and (3) identical Motions to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint filed by Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ("MPRB") Defendants Joseph McGinness and Calvin Pham [Doc. No. 108], and Mathew Ryan and Mathew George [Doc. No. 123]. Although this Court has great sympathy for Jacob's family, for the reasons set forth below and as detailed herein, these motions must be granted.
This Court assumes—as it must when evaluating a facial attack to jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and when ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6)—that all facts pleaded in the complaint are true. See Aten v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 511 F.3d 818, 820 (8th Cir. 2008); Branson Label, Inc. v. City of Branson, 793 F.3d 910, 914 (8th Cir. 2015); see also infra, Sections II.A.1 and II.B.1.
In the early morning hours of December 15, 2013, a passerby found then 19-year-old Jacob Anderson ("Anderson") lying face down, slumped over a metal rail in a remote location near a bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (2 It was a very cold morning, with some reports indicating a wind chill temperature of -15° Fahrenheit. (Id. at 11, ¶ 34.) The circumstances of how Anderson arrived at this location are unknown. (Id. at 11, ¶ 37.) The night before, on December 14, he attended an "ugly sweater party" with his friends, fellow University of Minnesota students. (Id. at 10, ¶ 32.) Although Anderson was seen leaving the party at around 11:15 p.m., he did not return to his University of Minnesota dormitory that night. (Id. at 10-11, ¶¶ 32-33.)
After spotting Anderson, the passerby called 911. (Id. at 11, ¶ 38.) The 911 dispatcher sent to the scene the Minneapolis Fire Department ("MFD"), Hennepin County Medical Center ("HCMC") Ambulance Services/Emergency Medical Services, and the Minneapolis Police Department ("MPD"). (Id.) What followed was a succession of responses by emergency personnel from the County, the City, and the MPRB that form the basis of this suit.
MFD was the first to arrive on the scene at 8:54 a.m. (Id. at 16, ¶ 18.) Responders from the MFD included Defendants York, Buda, and Ramos (collectively, "Individual MFD Defendants"). (Id.) At least some of the Individual MFD Defendants were certified Emergency Medical Technicians who provide prehospital emergency medical care and transportation for patients who access emergency medical services. (Id. at 17, ¶ 19 & n. 6.)According to a witness on the scene, the Individual MFD Defendants assessed Anderson by conducting "a mere 30 second pulse check at his wrist, which was frostbitten and cold to the touch." (Id. at 17, ¶ 20.) After this assessment, MFD pronounced Anderson "dead on arrival." (Id.) The time was 8:57:24 a.m.—only three and a half minutes after MFD arrived on the scene. (Id. at 17, ¶ 21.)
The incident report that MFD prepared provides additional details. The report indicates that no "BLS," or basic life support, was provided. (Id. at 17, ¶ 24.) The report also states that Anderson "had no pulse and no breathing and was frozen indicating obvious death." (Id. at 17, ¶ 23.) It also indicates that the ambulance was "cancelled" at 8:57:24 a.m., and that police were called "per protocol." (Id. at 17, ¶¶ 22-23.)
At 8:56 a.m., about a minute and a half before MFD declared Anderson as "dead on arrival" and cancelled ambulance services, an HCMC ambulance unit arrived on the scene.3 (Id. ¶¶ 47, 53.) The HCMC responders included Defendant Shively and Anthony A. Van Beusekom (collectively "Individual HCMC Defendants").4 (Id. ¶ 48.) When they arrived, Shively and Van Beusekom walked from the ambulance to Anderson's location and back to the ambulance again, but did not medically examine or assess Anderson or provide him with medical treatment. (Id. ¶ 52.) These Defendants "did not conduct their own assessment of [Anderson's] condition, or check for vital signs or core body temperature," or check for"pulse, breath, or airway ice formation." (Id. ¶ 54.) The Individual HCMC Defendants remained on the scene for approximately two minutes. (Id. ¶ 51.) After the incident, Shively prepared a report, which states that the HCMC ambulance had been "cancelled by other units on the scene." (Id. ¶ 55.) The report further states that there was a "frozen body near [the] river." (Id.) The Individual HCMC Defendants are overseen by the HCMC ambulance service Medical Director, who at that time was Defendant Mahoney. (Id. ¶ 56.)
The last of the emergency responders to arrive were from the MPD and MPRB. (Id. ¶ 93.) These responders, who arrived at 8:57 a.m., included Defendants Tyra, Miller, Anderson, Sutherland, Blaurat, Dunphy, Karakostas, and Johnson (collectively "Individual MPD Defendants"), as well as MPRB Defendants George, McGinness, Pham, and Ryan.5 (Id. ¶ 95.) Shortly after these Defendants arrived, MFD "relinquished control of the scene" and left. (Id. ¶ 97.) MPD then called for a "Car 701," which must be requested to the scene when the incident involves a suspicious death or homicide. (Id. ¶ 98.) About an hour and a half later, at 10:30 a.m., MPD also notified the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office ("Medical Examiner's Office") of Anderson's death. (Id. ¶ 102.)
Upon being notified, the Medical Examiner's Office sent two death investigators to the scene. (Id. ¶ 109.) Once on the scene, these investigators called the Assistant Medical Examiner, Defendant Morey, to discuss the case. (Id. ¶ 112.) Morey is a medical doctor and a board-certified forensic pathologist. (Id.) On this call, Morey determined that a medicaldoctor's visit to the scene was not necessary, and the Medical Examiner's Office took no further action while the investigators were on the scene. (Id. ¶ 113.)
Eventually, the Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy on Anderson's body. (Id. ¶ 121.) The autopsy report, which was signed by Morey, indicates that Anderson's immediate cause of death was hypothermia. (Id.) The date and time of death are listed as December...
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