Anderson v. Larry

• Decision Date: 12 October 2021
• Docket Number: 21-cv-944
• Parties: MARK ANDERSON, Plaintiff, v. DR. CATHERINE LARRY et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

MARK ANDERSON, Plaintiff, v. DR. CATHERINE LARRY et al., Defendants.

No. 21-cv-944

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division

October 12, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MARVIN E. ASPEN, DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Mark Anderson, an inmate at Illinois River Correctional Center, has brought suit against a number of defendants including Defendant Tiffanie Clark, the day-to-day warden at Illinois River, alleging claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Presently before us is Anderson's motion for a preliminary injunction, as amended. (See Dkt. No 42, Pl.'s Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (“Mot.”); Dkt. No. 43, Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Supp. of Mot (“Mem.”); Dkt. No. 52-1, Pl.'s Am. Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (“Am. Mot.”).)^[1] Clark opposes Anderson's motion. (Dkt. No. 57, Clark's Resp. in Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (“Opp'n”).) We grant Anderson's motion for a preliminary injunction as stated herein.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

We take the following facts from the operative Second Amended Complaint, Anderson's and Clark's submissions in connection with the pending motion, and other relevant filings from this case's docket. See Martinez v. City of Chicago, __ F.Supp.3d __, 2021 WL 1402138, at *1 & n.2 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 14, 2021) (taking factual background from similar documents to rule on the plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction). We have made “factual determinations on the basis of a fair interpretation of the evidence before” us, but “these findings are preliminary and do not bind [us] as the case progresses.” Id. at *1 (quotation marks omitted).

Anderson is a prisoner in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”). (Dkt. No. 45, 7/31/21 Decl of Mark Anderson (“Anderson Decl.”), ¶ 2; Dkt. No. 61, Second Am. Compl. (“SAC”), ¶ 7.) He observes Judaism, including kosher dietary law, and has done so since he was a child. (Anderson Decl. ¶¶ 3, 4.) Since being incarcerated in 2003, Anderson has “sought and been admitted to the kosher meal program of each IDOC facility” where he has been housed. (Id. ¶¶ 2, 5.)

From 2003 to 2017, IDOC provided Anderson with various brands of pre-packaged kosher meals: Spring Valley, My Own Meal Inc., and Meal Mart “frozen” brands. (Id. ¶ 6.) Anderson ate these meals without incident. (Id.) But in mid-2017, Pinckneyville Correctional Center, where Anderson was housed at the time, began serving Meal Mart “shelf-stable” brand ready-to-eat meals as the entrée portion of its kosher lunch and dinner meals. (Id. ¶ 7; SAC ¶¶ 24, 25.) After eating one of these meals, Anderson experienced nausea and tingling in his throat and tongue. (Anderson Decl. ¶ 8.) Anderson suspected this was an allergic reaction to the Meal Mart shelf-stable meal, and he reported his symptoms to Pinckneyville's staff. (Id. ¶¶ 8, 9.) For some time thereafter, Anderson received a substitute prepared kosher meal, to which he did not suffer a similar reaction when eating. (Id. ¶ 9.) After supplies of the substitute meal were exhausted, however, Pinckneyville stopped providing it to Anderson. (Id. ¶ 10.) Anderson was subsequently forced to either eat the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals again-which he did a handful of times because he continued to experience physical reactions to the meals-or supplement his diet with purchases from Pinckneyville's commissary when he could. (Id.; SAC ¶¶ 28-30.)

In December 2017, IDOC transferred Anderson from Pinckneyville to Joliet Treatment Center (“JTC”). (Anderson Decl. ¶ 11.) Upon arriving at JTC, Anderson immediately requested to be put on the kosher meal plan, but he was erroneously informed that JTC did not offer such a plan. (SAC ¶ 32.) After Anderson discovered that JTC did offer a kosher meal program, he again requested admission. (Id.) He was admitted to the program, but not until October 2018. (Id. ¶¶ 32, 34.)

At this time, the kosher meals JTC regularly provided for lunch and dinner were the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals.^[2] (Id. ¶¶ 35, 45.) Over the course of October 2018, Anderson ate these meals on multiple occasions, hoping that he would not experience the same physical reactions he suffered at Pinckneyville when he ate the meals (nausea and tingling in his throat and tongue). (Id. ¶¶ 26, 36; Anderson Decl. ¶¶ 7, 8, 11, 12.) Each time, however, Anderson experienced similar physical reactions, as well as a reddened and swollen tongue and cheek, tightness in his throat, and difficulty swallowing. (SAC ¶¶ 36, 37; Anderson Decl. ¶ 13.) In each instance, Anderson requested medical assistance and was referred to JTC's infirmary, but by the time he was transferred to the infirmary-a process that often took at least 45 minutes-his symptoms had abated. (SAC ¶ 38; Anderson Decl. ¶¶ 14-17.) JTC's medical records reflect that at several visits to sick call or the health care unit in October 2018, Anderson reported experiencing physical reactions after eating the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals. (E.g., Dkt. No. 62-1 at 1-2 (10/4/18 note indicating that Anderson complained of nausea and abdominal pain two to three days after starting kosher diet); id. at 3-5 (10/8/18 notes indicating that Anderson complained of nausea, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing after eating kosher meals); id. at 4 (10/9/18 note indicating that Anderson complained of an upset stomach, tight throat, and difficulty swallowing after eating kosher meals); id. at 6-7 (10/24/18 note indicating that Anderson reported nausea when eating kosher meals); id. at 7-8 (10/25/18 notes indicating that Anderson reported that his throat swells and closes off when he eats kosher meals); id. at 9 (10/26/18 note indicating that Anderson reported it became hard to swallow after eating the kosher meal at lunch).)

In mid-October, Anderson filed a grievance in which he informed JTC of his suspected allergic reactions to the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals and his inability to eat these meals. (SAC ¶ 39.) He asserted that he was not receiving an adequately nutritional diet, and he requested an alternative meal. (Id.) Later that month, he relayed the same information to Defendant Kathryn Buckley, JTC's Food Service Program Manager, who was responsible for the operation of JTC's kosher meal program. (Id. ¶¶ 12, 40.) Nonetheless, JTC did not provide Anderson with another brand of kosher meal or additional food. (Id. ¶ 44.) To avoid the painful physical reactions that occurred when he ate the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals, which constituted most of the food provided for lunch and dinner, Anderson “subsist[ed] solely on the remaining food items provided to him as part of JTC's kosher diet”: dry cereal, lettuce, bread (or crackers), peanut butter, jelly, and fruit. (Id. ¶¶ 45, 47, 48.)

On December 5 and 6, Anderson again ate the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals. (Id. ¶ 51.) He experienced a swollen tongue and difficulty swallowing and breathing, and he was taken to JTC's infirmary, where his symptoms were recorded. (Id.) That month, Anderson was referred to Defendant Dr. Kul Sood. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 52.) Dr. Sood is a physician employed by Defendant Wexford Health Sources, Inc. (“Wexford”), which contracts with IDOC to provide medical care and treatment to IDOC's inmates. (Id. ¶¶ 14, 15.) Anderson informed Dr. Sood of his history of reactions to the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals. (Id. ¶ 53.) Dr. Sood responded by telling Anderson that if he felt he was allergic to these meals, he should stop eating them. (Id. ¶ 54.)

In February 2019, Anderson contacted a religious affinity organization asking for help in obtaining “a nutritionally sufficient and religiously compliant meal.” (Id. ¶ 55.) A rabbi affiliated with the organization subsequently wrote to JTC's warden, asking “whether Anderson was receiving adequate nutrition that was compliant with his religious beliefs.” (Id. ¶ 56.) Around the same time, JTC received a shipment of Meal Mart frozen kosher meals, which it provided to Anderson. (Anderson Decl. ¶ 23.) When eating these meals, Anderson did not suffer the same reactions as when he ate the shelf-stable meals, but once the shipment had been consumed, he did not receive any more Meal Mart frozen meals. (Id.)

Then, in April 2019, Anderson began receiving one serving of tuna fish with lunch. (Id. ¶ 24.) He was told that the tuna fish was provided to address his “apparent problem” with the shelf-stable meals. (SAC ¶ 59.) For the remainder of his time at JTC (approximately two years), Anderson's daily diet generally consisted of the following: dry cereal, bread (or crackers), peanut butter, jelly, and one piece of fruit for breakfast; lettuce, bread (or crackers), one serving of tuna fish, and one piece of fruit for lunch; and lettuce, bread (or crackers), and one piece of fruit for dinner. (Id. ¶ 60.) He supplemented his diet by purchasing commissary items with his personal funds, but “given the expense of these items, as well as the relative scarcity of kosher items at the prison's [c]ommissary, ” he could not “maintain his daily caloric intake at appropriate levels.” (Id. ¶¶ 97, 98.) As a result, Anderson lost significant weight and has experienced fatigue, numbness in his right leg, anger, and mood swings since mid-2019. (Id. ¶¶ 94-96.) Anderson also ate the Meal Mart shelf-stable meals again on two occasions in December 2020 and January 2021, hoping that his suspected allergy had abated and he could enjoy a fully nutritional meal. (Id. ¶ 87.) Both times, however, Anderson experienced a severe physical reaction that included wheezing, difficulty breathing, and a severely swollen tongue. (Id. ¶¶ 88-90.)

While at JTC, Anderson was informed that to receive an alternative kosher meal or other modifications to his...