Charpentier v. Godsil
| Decision Date | 22 February 1985 |
| Citation | 937 F.2d 859 |
| Parties | Philip CHARPENTIER v. Mark GODSIL; James Sullivan; John Doe 1; John Doe 2; John Doe 3; John Doe 4; John Doe 5 (unknown corrections officers of the Monmouth County Correctional Facility); William M. Lanzaro (individually and in his official capacity as Monmouth County Sheriff); the City of Long Branch; Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders (individually and in their official capacities); all Freeholders (as of |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
Neil Mullin, Kevin Kiernan (argued), Smith, Mullin & Kiernan, West Orange, N.J., for Philip Charpentier.
Richard A. Amdur, P.C., John J. McDermott, III (argued), Oakhurst, N.J., for Jacob Lewis.
Before STAPLETON, ALITO and SEITZ, Circuit Judges.
Dr. Jacob Lewis, a physician employed by the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, appeals from a judgment awarding damages for malpractice under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. Philip Charpentier, who won this judgment, cross-appeals. Because we hold that the district court misinterpreted the scope of Dr. Lewis's immunity under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, we will reverse the judgment in favor of Charpentier. We reject the arguments raised in Charpentier's cross-appeal.
The following facts are not in dispute. Philip Charpentier has been diagnosed as suffering from a bipolar manic-depressive psychosis. In February 1985, while apparently in the throes of a manic episode, Charpentier was involved in an incident that resulted in his arrest by the Long Branch, New Jersey, Police Department. After detention for a few hours at police headquarters, Charpentier was transferred at approximately midnight to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution ("MCCI").
At the time of Charpentier's transfer to MCCI, Dr. Lewis was at home, and Charpentier was examined by Dorothy Loux, the nurse on duty. Observing Charpentier's agitated condition, Loux ordered that he be isolated in an observation cell under suicide watch and that he be stripped of all of his garments except his underwear.
During the ensuing hours, Charpentier's condition worsened. He began to cry hysterically, vomit, defecate uncontrollably, and beat the walls and doors of his cell. At approximately 5 a.m., Loux telephoned Dr. Lewis and apprised him of Charpentier's condition. Lewis did not go to MCCI, but instead prescribed an injection of Sparine, a tranquilizer. Loux followed Lewis's instructions and personally administered the injection. Despite the injection, Charpentier continued his frenzied activity. At about 8:30 a.m., two MCCI officers, Godsil and Sullivan, entered Charpentier's cell. A struggle ensued, and Charpentier sustained physical injuries. Charpentier subsequently filed this action in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, naming as defendants the City of Long Branch, the Long Branch Police Department, Officers Godsil and Sullivan, the Monmouth County Sheriff, MCCI, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Dr. Lewis, Dr. Frank Niemtzow (another MCCI physician), and nine unknown defendants. As eventually amended, Charpentier's complaint contained seven counts, five of which named Dr. Lewis. Count I asserted claims against all the defendants under the Fourteenth Amendment. This count alleged that Dr. Lewis "made no meaningful diagnosis" and "provided no meaningful treatment" for Charpentier and that Dr. Lewis provided consultation regarding the Sparine injection. This count asserted that Dr. Lewis "acted in reckless disregard" of Charpentier's constitutional rights. Count II asserted claims against Godsil, Sullivan, and unknown MCCI officers for assault and battery. Count III claimed that Dr. Lewis and other defendants violated the "standards governing the care of prisoners in the State of New Jersey." Count IV apparently asserted claims against Dr. Lewis and others under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. This count incorporated all of the previous counts, but did not otherwise specify the factual basis for the claim against Dr. Lewis. Count V claimed that Dr. Lewis and other defendants committed malpractice by "[fail]ing to provide ... proper medical care and diagnosis, although [Charpentier] was in obvious, severe medical and psychiatric distress." This count did not mention the New Jersey Tort Claims Act or specify any other legal basis for the claim. Count VI asserted claims under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act against MCCI and the Board of Chosen Freeholders based on the doctrine of respondeat superior. Finally, Count VII asserted claims against Dr. Lewis and others for failure to supervise the MCCI correctional staff to ensure that acts of violence were not committed against prisoners. The legal basis for this claim was not specified.
Before trial, most of Charpentier's claims were eliminated either by settlement or summary judgment. Dr. Lewis was left as the sole remaining defendant, and the only remaining claims against him were based on the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. Those claims were (1) that Dr. Lewis was responsible for a negligent policy at MCCI regarding the treatment of the mentally ill; (2) that Dr. Lewis committed an assault and battery upon Charpentier by prescribing the administration of an injection without consent; and (3) that Dr. Lewis committed malpractice in his treatment of Charpentier. Charpentier's request for damages was also narrowed before trial. The court ruled that Dr. Lewis's alleged conduct was not the proximate cause of the physical injuries allegedly inflicted by the guards and that punitive damages were not available under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act by virtue of N.J.S.A. 59:2-10.
At trial, Charpentier's medical expert, Dr. Donald F. Klein, testified that Dr. Lewis deviated from the standard of care in the medical profession by prescribing treatment without making a personal examination and diagnosis. Dr. Klein declined to state that the Sparine injection caused any harm, but Dr. Klein did testify that confining a person in the midst of a psychotic episode in an isolation cell would exacerbate his condition. Dr. Klein suggested that a personal examination and diagnosis of Charpentier would have shown that transfer to a psychiatric or medical facility was advisable. Dr. Klein testified that Charpentier's immediate condition might have been alleviated simply by the atmosphere in such a facility and that transfer to such a facility might have led to a better diagnosis or treatment with drugs. Charpentier also testified himself and described in detail the mental and emotional pain he suffered while confined in MCCI.
At the close of the trial, the district court dismissed Charpentier's claim that Dr. Lewis was responsible for the existence of a negligent policy at MCCI. In addition, the court specified that the period for which damages might be recovered was between 5:30 a.m. (when Dr. Lewis was called) and 8:30 a.m. (when Charpentier suffered the physical injuries). The jury returned a verdict for Charpentier on his malpractice claim and awarded $50,000 in damages for "mental and emotional pain and suffering." The jury, however, returned a verdict for Dr. Lewis on the assault and battery claim.
Dr. Lewis then moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b)) or, in the alternative, alteration or amendment of the judgment (Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e)), claiming that he was immune from liability under N.J.S.A. 59:6-5 and 6-6. 1 In response, Charpentier argued that Dr. Lewis was barred from raising the issue of immunity because he had failed to plead this affirmative defense in his answer, as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(c).
The district court declined to address Charpentier's argument under Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(c) but instead rejected Dr. Lewis's immunity defense on the merits. The court held that Dr. Lewis was not immune under N.J.S.A. 59:6-5 because he had undertaken to treat Charpentier and had not simply failed to make a diagnosis. The district court likewise held that Dr. Lewis was not immune under N.J.S.A. 59:6-6 because Charpentier's malpractice claim was not based on Dr. Lewis's failure to arrange for involuntary commitment or other confinement pursuant to statute, but was instead based on Dr. Lewis's failure "to provide adequate medical care by leaving [Charpentier] in an isolation cell without psychiatric treatment."
Dr. Lewis has appealed, contending among other things that the district court erred in denying his claim of immunity. Charpentier has cross-appealed and raises issues concerning his claim of assault and battery and the district court's ruling that Dr. Lewis's conduct was not the proximate cause of the physical injuries allegedly inflicted by the guards. We turn first to Dr. Lewis's arguments concerning immunity.
Before addressing the merits of Dr. Lewis's contentions regarding immunity, we must first consider Charpentier's argument that immunity under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act was an affirmative defense that Dr. Lewis was required to plead in his answer under Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(c).
Under federal law, the sovereign immunity of the federal government may not be waived by the failure to plead. United States v. United States Fidelity Company, 309 U.S. 506, 513, 60 S.Ct. 653, 656, 84 L.Ed. 894 (1940). Under New Jersey law, however, immunity under the State Tort Claims Act is regarded as an affirmative defense that must be pled...
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