Degrafinreid v. Ricks

• Decision Date: 23 February 2006
• Docket Number: No. 03 Civ. 6645(RWS).,03 Civ. 6645(RWS).
• Citation: 417 F.Supp.2d 403
• Parties: Terry DEGRAFINREID, Plaintiff, v. Thomas RICKS, Superintendent of the Upstate Correctional Facility of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

417 F.Supp.2d 403

Terry DEGRAFINREID, Plaintiff, v. Thomas RICKS, Superintendent of the Upstate Correctional Facility of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, et al., Defendants.

No. 03 Civ. 6645(RWS).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

February 23, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Koppell, Leavitt, Kerson & Duane, New York, NY (Ira R. Greenberg, of counsel) for Plaintiff.

Honorable Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, New York, NY (Neil Shevlin, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel), for Defendants.

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

The plaintiff class in Clarkson v. Coughlin (the "Clarkson Class"), certified by this Court at 145 F.R.D. 339 (S.D.N.Y.1993), seeks to intervene in this case pursuant to Rule 24(b)(2), Fed.R.Civ.P., to address the limited question of whether the Eleventh Amendment provides defendants with immunity from claims for monetary damages brought under Title II of the Americans with Disability Act (hereinafter, the "ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 et seq., and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (hereinafter, the "Rehabilitation Act"), 29 U.S.C. § 794.

The Clarkson Class further moves the Court pursuant to Rules 59(e), 60(b), Fed. R.Civ.P., and Local Rule 6.3 to reconsider, alter or amend its prior decision dated December 6, 2004, in Degrafinreid v Ricks, No. 03 Civ. 6645(RWS), 2004 WL 2793168 (S.D.N.Y. December 6, 2004) (hereinafter, "Degrafinreid I" or the "December 6 Opinion"). Specifically, the Clarkson Class requests the Court to reconsider its earlier, decision in light of the Supreme Court's holding in Tennessee v. Lane ("Lane"), 541 U.S. 509, 124 S.Ct. 1978, 158 L.Ed.2d 820 (2004).

Finally, Defendants Ralph Bebee ("Beebee"), Edmund Barr ("Barr"), Amy Tousignant ("Tousignant"), George Watersin ("Watersin") and Donna Masterson ("Masterson") (collectively, the "Defendants") move under Rule 12(c), Fed.R.Civ.P., to dismiss the state law negligence cause of action filed by plaintiff Terry Degrafinreid ("Degrafinreid") against the Defendants in their individual capacities, contending that the Court lacks the requisite subject matter jurisdiction as the Defendants are protected from suit by qualified immunity.

For the reasons set forth below, the motion to intervene is granted, the motion to reconsider is granted, and upon reconsideration the motion to dismiss the ADA claims seeking monetary damages is denied. The motion to dismiss the state law negligence claims also is denied.

The Parties

At the times relevant to the allegations of the complaint, Degrafinreid was a prisoner in the custody of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS"). (See Compl. at ¶ 1.)

At the times relevant to the allegations of the complaint, Masterson was the ADA Coordinator of DOCS. (See Compl. at ¶ 3.) Barr and Bebee were New York State Correction Officers in the employ of DOCS and assigned to Upstate. (See Compl. at ¶ 4.) Watersin was a nurse employed by DOCS assigned to Upstate. (See Compl. at ¶ 5.) Tousignant was a nurse administrator for DOCS assigned to Upstate. (See Compl. at ¶ 6.)

Prior Proceedings

This action was commenced on September 3, 2003 with the filing of a complaint (the "Complaint"), alleging that on September 10, 2002, Degrafinreid was "viciously attacked" by certain Correction Officers who destroyed his hearing aids. (Compl. at ¶ 12.) The case was referred to this Court as related to Clarkson v. Coughlin, No. 91 Civ. 1792, see generally Clarkson v. Coughlin, 898 F.Supp. 1019 (S.D.N.Y.1995).

The Complaint contained nine claims, each of which was asserted against all Defendants except as otherwise noted: (1) violations of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act (see Compl. at ¶¶ 22-25); (2) violations of the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act ("PLRA") (see Compl. at ¶¶ 26-28); (3) conspiracy to commit cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (see Compl. at ¶¶ 29-31); (4) conspiracy to violate Degrafinreid's civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 (see Compl. at ¶¶ 32-34); (5) assault (see Compl. at ¶¶ 35-37); (6) intentional infliction of emotional distress (see Compl. at ¶¶ 38-39); (7) respondeat superior liability of Ricks for the intentional torts of the other Defendants (see Compl. at ¶¶ 40-42); (8) negligence (see Compl. at ¶¶ 43-44); and (9) denial of medical treatment (see Compl. at ¶¶ 45-47). Degrafinreid seeks compensatory and exemplary damages with respect to each of the nine claims (see Compl. at ¶¶ 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 39, 42, 44, 47), prospective relief and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief under the PLRA and the ADA (see Compl. at ¶ 27; see also id. at 9-10), and an order finding Defendants in contempt of the Consent Judgment and Order of June 10, 1996 entered in Clarkson v. Coughlin, No. 91 Civ. 1792(RWS) (the "Clarkson Consent Judgment"). (See Compl. at 9.)

The December 6 Opinion held that the Defendants in their official capacity were immune under the Eleventh Amendment citing Davis v. New York, 316 F.3d 93, 101-02 (2d Cir.2002); that the ADA claim for monetary damage was dismissed citing Garcia v. S.U.N.Y. Health Services Ctr. of Brooklyn, 280 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir.2001); and that the ADA claim for injunctive relief and the negligence claim against the Defendants in their individual capacity remained.

The motions for intervention and reconsideration were filed and marked fully submitted on February 16, 2005, and the motion to dismiss was marked fully submitted on March 30, 2005.

Discussion

I. The Motion To Intervene Is Granted

A. The Intervenors

The Clarkson Class is the plaintiff class certified in Clarkson v. Goord, which is a class action lawsuit that was brought on behalf of prisoners who are deaf and hearing impaired concerning the scope of reasonable accommodations made available to them for the duration of their confinement. The Class and the Defendants (prison officials) agreed upon the Consent Judgment, which the Court ordered on June 6, 1996. In the Consent Judgment, the Court mandated DOCS to provide reasonable accommodations to deaf and hard of hearing prisoners in all of its prisons pursuant to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.

It is undisputed that Degrafinreid is a member of the Clarkson class.

B. The Standard For Intervention

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 24(b) provides, in relevant part, that intervention is permissible "[u]pon timely application ... (2) when an applicant's claim or defense and the main action have a question of law and fact in common." Fed. R.Civ.P. 24(b)(2). Another factor to be considered in determining whether to allow a party to intervene is "whether permitting intervention will assist in developing and resolving the factual and legal disputes in the litigation." In re Visa Check/Mastermoney Antitrust Litigation, 190 F.R.D. 309, 312 (E.D.N.Y.2000). The court must consider whether granting permissive intervention under Rule 24(b) "will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the rights" of the existing parties. In re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, 225 F.3d 191, 202 (2d Cir.2000).

Intervention under this rule is permitted in the discretion of the district court. See, e.g., H.L. Hayden Co. of N.Y. v. Siemens Med. Sys., Inc., 797 F.2d 85, 89 (2d Cir. 1986). Within this discretion, courts have held that Rule 24(b)(2) is to be liberally construed. See, e.g., McNeill v. New York City Hous. Auth., 719 F.Supp. 233, 250 (S.D.N.Y.1989) (citing Davis v. Smith, 431 F.Supp. 1206, 1209 (S.D.N.Y.), aff'd, 607 F.2d 535 (2d Cir.1978)).

C. Intervention Is Granted

The Clarkson Class moves to intervene for the limited purpose of addressing whether the Eleventh Amendment bars suit against states for monetary damages under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, as sought by Degrafinreid in this case. While the Clarkson Class did not assert claims for monetary damages arising under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act in its suit, the Class argues that it has more than a general interest as to whether claims for monetary damages under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act can proceed against the state.

Rule 24(b) "plainly dispenses with any requirement that the intervenor shall have a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the subject of the litigation." Diamond v. Charles, 476 U.S. 54, 77, 106 S.Ct. 1697, 90 L.Ed.2d 48 (1986). Although a putative intervenor need not have a direct interest in the subject of the litigation, more than a general interest is required. In deciding motions to intervene, federal courts have recognized that no two individuals will present identical facts and have refused to allow minor distinctions to preclude intervention. Even where factual distinctions exist, courts have permitted intervention where the same legal issue is presented. Brooks v. Flagg Bros., 63 F.R.D. 409, 414 (S.D.N.Y.1974).

Clarkson Class members, such as Degrafinreid, who bring claims seeking contempt of the Consent Judgment and interrelated claims for monetary damages under the disability statutes, have a substantial interest in the outcome of the legal question posed by the Class as to whether the Defendants are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity from claims seeking monetary damages under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. The sovereign immunity question at issue here can reasonably be expected to arise in other cases that could affect the interests of others in the Clarkson Class. As such, the Clarkson Class shares a common legal interest with Degrafinreid in the limited context of the proposed motion to intervene and for this purpose has adopted Degrafinreid's Complaint.

Furthermore, the motion to intervene was made in a timely manner, as is required by Rule 24(b). Although the Clarkson Class moved to intervene after the Court had issued its December 6 Opinion, the Class moved to intervene in order to further move the Court to reconsider its December 6, 2004 Opinion in light of ...