Davidson v. Flynn

Decision Date02 August 1994
Docket NumberNo. 1822,D,1822
Citation32 F.3d 27
PartiesRonald DAVIDSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Thomas FLYNN, John Cunliffe, Gordon Melville, James Countryman, Howard Shaul, Gary Stevens, Dr. Albert Redmond, Ray Girdich, Thomas A. Coughlin, and Charles E. Connors, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 93-2571.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Philip B. Gerson, New York City (Arthur S. Linker, Rosenman & Colin, of counsel, on the brief), for plaintiff-appellant.

Joseph Koczaja, Asst. Atty. Gen., Albany, NY (G. Oliver Koppell, Attorney General, Peter H. Schiff, Deputy Sol. Gen., Peter G. Crary, Asst. Atty. Gen., on the brief), for defendants-appellees.

Before: NEWMAN, Chief Judge, VAN GRAAFEILAND and LEVAL, Circuit Judges.

JON O. NEWMAN, Chief Judge:

The primary question in this case, dismissed at the pleading stage, is the sufficiency under the Eighth Amendment of an allegation that correctional officers, who needed to handcuff an inmate being transported to another prison, deliberately applied the handcuffs too tightly in retaliation for his litigiousness. Ronald Davidson appeals from the July 29, 1993, judgment of the District Court for the Northern District of New York (Thomas J. McAvoy, Chief Judge) granting the motion of the defendant prison officials for judgment on the pleadings, pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Chief Judge McAvoy adopted the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Daniel Scanlon, Jr., recommending dismissal of Davidson's complaint. We hold that under the standards enunciated by the Supreme Court in Hudson v. McMillian, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 995, 117 L.Ed.2d 156 (1992), the allegations in the complaint state a cause of action for recovery based on a violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Facts

On February 13, 1989, Davidson was being transferred from the Specialized Housing Unit ("SHU") at Elmira to the SHU at the Midstate Correctional Facility ("Midstate"). Davidson's pro se complaint alleges that:

Sgt. [Gordon] Melville, the SHU sergeant, told officers [Thomas] Flynn [and John] Cunliffe to "put the chains and cuffs on this legal beagle tight. He likes to sue us".... As a result, Flynn [and] Cunliffe placed the handcuffs and leg irons and waist chain on me so tight as to cut into my flesh and reduce circulation and cause swelling. My right ankle now has a scar and numbness in the area. My wrists were numb for several months afterwards. The tight chain also hurt my spine, as the chain and padlock pressed into it.... I complained that the restraints were on too tight.

The complaint further alleges that Superintendent James Countryman and Sergeant Howard Shaul at Camp Georgetown refused to loosen the restraints and that those officials and others at Midstate denied Davidson medical care for his resulting injuries. Upon his return to Midstate, Davidson was subjected to a "Tier 3" disciplinary proceeding and subsequently sentenced to 20 more days in SHU. The complaint alleges that the disciplinary proceeding was "in violation of minimum DOCS [New York State Department of Correctional Services] standards and Wolf[f] v. McDonnell Rights," though there is no specific allegation as to how the proceeding violated those rights.

The Magistrate Judge recommended dismissal on the ground that Davidson presented an escape risk and that "mechanical restraints usage in this case does not demonstrate a violation of plaintiff's constitutional rights." Chief Judge McAvoy adopted the Magistrate Judge's recommendation.

Discussion

When reviewing the grant of a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, this Court must "view the pleadings in the light most favorable to, and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of, the nonmoving party." Madonna v. United States, 878 F.2d 62, 65 (2d Cir.1989); see also National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Inc. v. Ayerst Laboratories, 850 F.2d 904, 909 n. 2 (2d Cir.1988) (indicating that Court treats motion for judgment on pleadings as if it were motion to dismiss).

A. The Eighth Amendment Claims

In Hudson v. McMillian, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 995, 117 L.Ed.2d 156 (1992), the Supreme Court clarified the standards for determining whether Eighth Amendment violations have occurred:

[W]henever prison officials stand accused of using excessive physical force in violation of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, the core judicial inquiry is that set out in Whitley [v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 106 S.Ct. 1078, 89 L.Ed.2d 251 (1986) ]: whether force was applied in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, or maliciously and sadistically to cause harm.

Id. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 999; see also id. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 998-99 (indicating that the Whitley standard was derived from Johnson v. Glick, 481 F.2d 1028, 1033 (2d Cir.) (Friendly, J.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1033, 94 S.Ct. 462, 38 L.Ed.2d 324 (1973)).

More specifically, a court should consider both the "objective" and "subjective" components of an alleged violation when examining an Eighth Amendment claim. See Hudson, --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 999. The objective component relates to the seriousness of the injury; however, "the use of excessive physical force against a prisoner may constitute cruel and unusual punishment [even] when the inmate does not suffer serious injury." Id. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 997. 1 The subjective component relates to whether the defendants had a "wanton" state of mind when they were engaging in the alleged misconduct. 2 See id. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 999; Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 302-03, 111 S.Ct. 2321, 2326, 115 L.Ed.2d 271 (1991). The Court indicated in Hudson that where an inmate has alleged that an improper motive led to the use of excessive force by correctional officers, an examination of the particular circumstances surrounding the alleged misconduct may be warranted:

In determining whether the use of force was wanton and unnecessary, it may ... be proper to evaluate the need for application of force, the relationship between that need and the amount of force used, the threat "reasonably perceived by the responsible officials," and "any efforts made to temper the severity of a forceful response."

Hudson, --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 999 (quoting Whitley, 475 U.S. at 321, 106 S.Ct. at 1085); see also Johnson, 481 F.2d at 1033. The complaint in the pending case plainly alleges both the objective and subjective components of a cause of action for an Eighth Amendment violation: the handcuffs were allegedly placed on the plaintiff "too tight[ly]," leading to serious and permanent physical injury (the objective component), and such excessive force was applied to the plaintiff wantonly and maliciously in retaliation for being a litigious inmate (the subjective component). The Magistrate Judge erred in deeming the complaint limited to whether there was need for mechanical restraints. The claim is not based on the use of handcuffs, but on their deliberate and improperly motivated application so tightly as to injure.

The defendants argue that even if the plaintiff has sufficiently alleged a retaliatory (and hence wanton) motive, their conduct would be permissible under the "mixed motivation" test of Mt. Healthy City School Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S.Ct. 568, 576, 50 L.Ed.2d 471 (1977). They contend that because the plaintiff was an escape risk, tight mechanical restraints would have been placed on him even in the absence of an improper motive. But the essence of the plaintiff's complaint is not that the restraints were placed on him just "tightly," but that they were placed on him "too tight[ly]," i.e., in excess of what was necessary under the circumstances. The key inquiry under Hudson and its precedents is whether the alleged conduct involved "unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain." --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 1000 (quoting Whitley, 475 U.S. at 320, 106 S.Ct. at 1085). Even if it were undisputed that some restraint, beyond that normally used when transporting prisoners, was necessary because the plaintiff was an escape risk, 3 material questions of fact would still remain as to whether the risk of escape made it necessary for the defendants to shackle the plaintiff so tightly as to cause severe pain and permanent injury, and, if not, whether the officers used such excessive force in retaliation for Davidson's litigiousness.

The plaintiff's complaint also sufficiently alleges that he was "intentionally den[ied] or delay[ed] access to medical care." See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104-05, 97 S.Ct. 285, 291-92, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976). The complaint indicates the relevant dates and places of the alleged misconduct and the individuals involved, and alleges that in spite of Davidson's vociferous complaints of severe pain, he was "denied medical care" at Camp Georgetown and "thrown into an unheated van ... because [he] complained that the restraints were on too tight." Later, at Midstate, "officials refused to see to it that [his] wrists and ankles were properly treated." Hence, the complaint sets forth specific allegations that, if proved, "would allow a reasonable fact finder to conclude that [the plaintiff] had a serious medical need and that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to that need." Clemmons v. Bohannon, 956 F.2d 1523, 1526 (10th Cir.1992) (in banc) (emphasis in original).

We do not preclude the possibility that both of the claims that we hold sufficient at the pleading stage may later be dismissed on a summary judgment motion if, after discovery, there remains no genuine issue as to any material fact and the District Court determines that the defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.Proc. 56(c); cf. Robles v. Coughlin, 725...

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