Brown ex rel. Thomas v. Fletcher

• Decision Date: 07 January 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:07-CV-11-KKC.
• Citation: 624 F.Supp.2d 593
• Parties: Mark BROWN, by and through his guardian, Denise THOMAS, Plaintiff v. Ernie FLETCHER, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Kentucky

624 F.Supp.2d 593

Mark BROWN, by and through his guardian, Denise THOMAS, Plaintiff v. Ernie FLETCHER, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:07-CV-11-KKC.

United States District Court, E.D. Kentucky, Central Division, at Frankfort.

January 7, 2008.

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Christina R.L. Norris, Louisville, KY, David Ferleger, Bala Cynwood, PA, Elizabeth K. Broyles, Larry F. Sword, Sword & Broyles, Somerset, KY, for Plaintiff.

J. Guthrie True, Samuel Ryan Newcomb, Johnson, True & Guarnieri, LLP, Frankfort, KY, for Defendants.

Christy Mercer, Eubank, KY, pro se.

OPINION AND ORDER

KAREN K. CALDWELL, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendants Liberty Healthcare Corporation, Jacqueline Bouyea, Robert Ritz, and Casey Coffey. For the reasons stated below, the Defendants' Motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. Factual Background

Plaintiff Mark Brown, a minor, is a resident of Oakwood Community Center [hereinafter "Oakwood"], a state institution for the care of mentally retarded individuals. Brown is nonverbal, and his diagnoses include severe mental retardation, autistic disorder, behavior disorder, and other serious disabling conditions. Because of his conditions, Brown is dependent on others to care for and protect himself. Brown was involuntarily committed to Oakwood in November 2003 and remains there to this day. Brown alleges that he was severely, viciously, and repeatedly beaten and abused during his residency at Oakwood.

Oakwood is presently operated by Defendant Liberty Healthcare Corporation [hereinafter "Liberty"], pursuant to a contract with the Commonwealth of Kentucky entered into on November 1, 2005. Oakwood was turned over to private management under Liberty due to the State's determination that emergency conditions existed at Oakwood that threatened the health and safety of the residents. Under the contract, Liberty undertook the management, administration, and operation of the Oakwood facility, as well as its employees and staff. Liberty also assumed responsibility for the supervision, care, treatment, and habitation of Oakwood's residents, including Brown. Liberty claims to have delivered training to its care staff in conformity with state law, and to have worked with every client and each client's Interdisciplinary Teams on issues of past harm and to develop plans for the prevention of future harm. Pursuant to the contract, Liberty was to ensure that Oakwood complied with all applicable federal and state regulatory standards and requirements, and that each resident's federal and state rights were protected at all times. Defendants Jacqueline Bouyea and Robert Ritz are Liberty officials who were in charge of Oakwood's day-to-day operations at various times during Brown's residency there. Defendant Casey Coffey is a member of the direct care staff at Oakwood and is employed by Liberty.

In the Complaint, Brown describes several specific examples of the physical harm inflicted upon him at Oakwood. Brown states that after being beaten and kicked January 1, 2006, he was transferred by his Interdisciplinary Team to another residence on January 9, 2006. Brown asserts that he his Team knew that Brown would likely be in danger at the new residence because of the violent tendencies of the residents there. Brown further alleges that he was attacked by one of the residents shortly after his transfer. Brown also claims that he was repeatedly beaten with a broomstick by various Oakwood staff, including Defendant Coffey, from October 7, 2005 to June 6, 2006. Brown finally asserts that Liberty failed to protect him from this abuse despite having continuing knowledge of it, and that Liberty also failed to investigate these incidents of harm, failed to alert the proper authorities, failed to notify Brown's family of the situation or allow access to relevant records and reports, and failed to correct the abusive arrangement that Brown was enduring.

Brown has asserted numerous federal and state causes of action against the Defendants. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and/or separate statutory rights of action, Brown claims violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Medicaid Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Pursuant to supplemental and diversity jurisdiction, Brown also brings several state-law claims against the Defendants, and asks for punitive damages as well. The Defendants moved to dismiss all these claims.

II. Legal Standard

On a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), "a complaint should not be dismissed ... unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322, 92 S.Ct. 1079, 31 L.Ed.2d 263 (1972) (citation omitted). "The factual allegations in the complaint must be regarded as true. The claim should not be dismissed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Scheid v. Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 859 F.2d 434, 436 (6th Cir.1988) (quoting Windsor v. The Tennessean, 719 F.2d 155, 158 (6th Cir.1983)). Nevertheless, "a plaintiff's complaint will not survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) unless it contains `either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory.'" Uttilla v. City of Memphis, 40 F.Supp.2d 968, 970 (W.D.Tenn.1999) (quoting Scheid, 859 F.2d at 436).

III. Analysis

A. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Claims for Violations of Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments

Brown brings four Constitutional claims against the Defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. First, Brown claims that the Defendants' conduct violated the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by violating his right to be free from personal and emotional harm and from unjustified intrusions on his personal security. Second, Brown claims the Defendants violated his right under the Fourth Amendment to be free from seizure, harm, and unjustified intrusions on his personal security. Third, Brown claims that the Defendants violated the standard of care required of them under the Fourteenth Amendment relating to overseeing Brown's needs, including his bodily safety and protection from abuse, and relating to the need to provide adequate staff and reasonable training to secure these needs. Fourth, Brown claims that the Defendants also violated the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to provide Brown proper care, treatment and habilitation services, and to provide these in accordance with acceptable standards of professional judgment.

The Defendants moved to dismiss these claims on three grounds: first, that they are not state actors; second, that even if they are state actors, they cannot be held liable under theories of respondeat superior and vicarious liability; and third, that they are also entitled to qualified immunity.

1. State Action

Brown proceeds with these Constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. "To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law." West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988) (citations omitted). One acts under color of state law when one exercises power "possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law." United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299, 326, 61 S.Ct. 1031, 85 L.Ed. 1368 (1941). If a defendant's conduct satisfies the state-action requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment, then the defendant is considered to be acting under color of state law. West, 487 U.S. at 49, 108 S.Ct. 2250; Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922, 928, 102 S.Ct. 2744, 73 L.Ed.2d 482 (1982). Therefore, the Court must determine whether the Defendants, in managing the operations of Oakwood, performed state action.

The Defendants to this action are not government employees or officials. They are private parties. In certain circumstances, however, the actions of even private parties may be deemed to be state action "when the conduct causing the deprivation of a federal right may be fairly attributable to the state." Revis v. Meldrum, 489 F.3d 273, 289 (6th Cir.2007) (quoting Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922, 937, 102 S.Ct. 2744, 73 L.Ed.2d 482 (1982)). This determination involves a two-part inquiry. "`First, the deprivation in question must be caused by the exercise of some right or privilege created by the State or by a rule of conduct imposed by the state or by a person for whom the State is responsible.'" Id. (quoting Lugar, 457 U.S. at 937, 102 S.Ct. 2744). And second, "`the party charged with the deprivation must be a person who may fairly be said to be a state actor.'" Id. (quoting Lugar, 457 U.S. at 937, 102 S.Ct. 2744).

For a private actor-defendant's acts to be considered state action, "its actions [must] so approximate state action that they may be fairly attributed to the state." Lansing v. City of Memphis, 202 F.3d 821, 828 (6th Cir.2000). The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit uses three tests to determine if a private actor-defendant's conduct amounts to state action. These are commonly referred to as: 1) the public-function test; 2) the state-compulsion test; and 3) the symbiotic relationship or nexus test. Id.; Boykin v. Van Buren Twp., 479 F.3d 444, 452 (6th Cir.2007) (quoting Chapman v. Higbee Co., 319 F.3d 825, 833 (6th Cir. 2003)); Lansing, 202 F.3d at 828. Each of these tests must be examined to determine if the Defendants' acts constitute state action. Moreover, Brown places considerable emphasis on the Supreme Court case of West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101...