DePaola v. Clarke

• Decision Date: 05 August 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 7:15CV00403
• Citation: DePaola v. Clarke, 394 F.Supp.3d 573 (W.D. Va. 2019)
• Parties: Eric J. DEPAOLA, Plaintiff, v. Harold CLARKE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia

394 F.Supp.3d 573

Eric J. DEPAOLA, Plaintiff,

v.Harold CLARKE, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 7:15CV00403

United States District Court, W.D. Virginia, Roanoke Division.

Signed August 5, 2019

Charles C. Moore and Alyson M. Cox, White & Case LLP, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiff;

Margaret Hoehl O'Shea, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, for DefendantsFred Schilling, E. R. Barksdale, Stephanie Fletcher, Terrence Huff, Donnie Lee Trent, Denise Malone, Jessica Ketron, Kevin Mullins, Jeffrey Kiser, Randall Mathena, and Tracy Ray.

OPINION AND ORDER

James P. Jones, United States District JudgeEric J. DePaola, a Virginia inmate, asserts claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against several prison administrators and mental health professionals.He contends that they violated his Eighth Amendment rights by failing to adequately treat his serious mental health needs.Following discovery, the defendants have moved for summary judgment.I find that the motion should be granted as to certain of the defendants, either as time-barred, based on qualified immunity, or as factually insufficient as a matter of law.However, I will deny summary judgment as to defendants Fletcher, Huff, and Trent.

I.

This case has a lengthy procedural history.In 2015, DePaola, proceeding pro se, commenced this suit against defendants Schilling, Barksdale, Fletcher, Huff, Trent, and a number of other defendants who are no longer parties to the case.He asserted a claim related to treatment of his alleged physical ailments along with a claim that the defendants failed to diagnose or treat his mental health issues.The defendants filed motions to dismiss, which I granted.I held that "DePaola's complaints about prison life that accrued before July 19, 2013, are barred by the two-year limitations period."DePaola v. Clarke , No. 7:15CV00403, 2016 WL 5390930, at *3(W.D. Va.Sept. 27, 2016).Regarding his mental health-related claim, I held that DePaola had failed to allege facts sufficient to state a claim of deliberate indifference to his serious mental health needs.

DePaola appealed the dismissal of his claims, and the court of appeals appointed counsel to represent him on appeal.The court of appeals affirmed my dismissal of DePaola's physical health-related claims, but it reversed my dismissal of DePaola's mental health-related claims.

The court of appeals applied the continuing violation doctrine, holding that the statute of limitations on a prisoner's claim for a continuing violation of his Eighth Amendment rights would not begin to run "until the date, if any, on which adequate treatment was provided."DePaola v. Clarke , 884 F.3d 481, 487(4th Cir.2018).Moreover, "[a]plaintiff's claim of a continuing violation may extend back to the time at which the prison officials first learned of the serious medical need and unreasonably failed to act."Id.The court held that DePaola had alleged a continuing violation of his Eighth Amendment rights by the defendants named in the original Complaint that continued within the two years prior to his filing of the Complaint, and therefore his mental health-related claims against those defendants were not time-barred.¹

The court of appeals further held that "DePaola's allegations of deliberate indifference to his serious mental illnesses are sufficient to state a claim against defendants Barksdale, Schilling, Fletcher, McDuffie, Huff, and Trent, because he has alleged serious needs about which those defendants knew and failed to provide necessary treatment."Id. at 488.The court of appeals thus remanded DePaola's mental health-related claims to this court for further proceedings.

DePaola's appellate counsel has continued to represent him following the remand.With leave of court, DePaola filed an Amended Complaint on June 20, 2018, which added defendants Mathena, Ray, Kiser, Mullins, Malone, Ketron, and Everett McDuffie, M.D., a psychiatrist.Dr. McDuffie filed a Motion for Summary Judgment.DePaola then sought leave to file a Second Amended Complaint adding defendantSyed Zafar Ahsan, M.D., another psychiatrist, which I granted.Dr. Ahsan moved to dismiss with documents outside of the pleadings, and his motion was converted to a Motion for Summary Judgment.The motions by Drs. McDuffie and Ahsan were referred to a magistrate judge, who issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that I grant them.DePaola objected to that recommendation.

Defendants Schilling, Barksdale, Fletcher, Huff, Trent, Malone, Ketron, Mullins, Kiser, Mathena, and Ray (collectively, "remaining defendants") then moved for summary judgment.²The parties fully briefed and orally argued that motion, along with the objections to the Report and Recommendation.Following oral argument, I overruled DePaola's objections to the Report and Recommendation and granted summary judgment in favor of Drs. McDuffie and Ahsan.DePaola v. Clarke , No. 7:15CV00403, 2019 WL 2484295, at *4(W.D. Va.June 14, 2019).I also granted the parties leave to file supplemental briefs on the issue of qualified immunity.Those briefs have now been submitted, and the pending Motion for Summary Judgment by the remaining defendants is ripe for decision.

The Second Amended Complaint contains two counts.Count I asserts a claim against all defendants for their deliberate indifference to DePaola's serious mental health issues.It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief.Count II names only defendant Malone, a prison system administrator, and alleges that her failures to adequately train her subordinates and to create sufficient policies and procedures resulted in harm to DePaola's mental health.Count II also seeks compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief.

II.

The following facts taken from the summary judgment record are either undisputed or, where disputed, are stated in the light most favorable to DePaola, the nonmovant.

DePaola's incarceration with the Virginia Department of Corrections("VDOC") began in 2004 when he was a teenager.A court-ordered mental health evaluation performed when he entered the VDOC system indicated that he may have been in the early stages of bipolar disorder ; that he suffered from depression, impulsivity, suicidal thoughts, and hallucinations; and that he should receive ongoing mental health treatment.DePaola has been housed at Red Onion State Prison("Red Onion") since 2007 and was placed in restrictive housing immediately upon arrival there.He had received a disciplinary infraction at another state prison for possessing a weapon in his shoe.In December 2008, he was transferred to a progressive housing unit with the intention of moving him to a lower security level.However, in June 2009, while awaiting transfer to a lower security facility, DePaola stabbed a corrections officer.He was then moved back to segregation.

DePaola was criminally charged for the stabbing and evaluated to determine his competency to stand trial.A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Steward, conducted the examination at Red Onion.Dr. Steward issued a report on November 9, 2010, diagnosing DePaola with depression and anxiety and recommending that DePaola receive treatment for those and other mental health issues.

Most of DePaola's years at Red Onion have been spent in segregation, although he has been moved for brief periods to less restrictive housing.He received charges for possessing sharpened instruments as recently as 2018.At oral argument, counsel represented that DePaola is currently placed in a less restrictive unit that mimics general population, allowing him to have a job and to participate in recreational activities.

During his more than 15 years of incarceration with VDOC, DePaola has had approximately 72 documented interactions with Red Onion mental health staff, most of which took place at the door to his cell and lasted only a few minutes.Until February 2019, he had never spoken to a psychiatrist or psychologist while at Red Onion, nor has he ever been given any medication for his mental illness.The remaining defendants claim they never witnessed any behavior that revealed a need for mental health treatment.However, for purposes of their summary judgment motion, they concede that there is at least a genuine factual issue as to whether DePaola has an objectively serious mental health need.

In 2010, DePaola claimed to be suicidal.He was placed in five-point restraints.A mental health staff member reported that DePaola later told him that he had been joking and just wanted to be moved out of his segregation housing unit, but DePaola denies this.He received no treatment after this incident.

For 16 days thereafter, DePaola went on a hunger strike, allegedly attempting to kill himself by starvation.He ultimately missed at least 29 meals.He alleges that he began eating again after being informed that he would be able to speak with Dr. Ahsan, the prison's psychiatrist.He never actually saw or spoke with Dr. Ahsan or another psychiatrist.

DePaola filed several written grievances and complaints regarding his mental health treatment.On April 12, 2010, he filed a grievance stating that he was not classified as a mentally ill inmate and did not want to be housed with mentally ill inmates.He was upset that he had to listen to the constant shouting and banging from other inmates.

On April 23, 2010, DePaola submitted an informal complaint stating that he had asked to see a psychologist several times but had received no response.DefendantJessica Ketron, a Qualified Mental Health Professional ("QMHP"), indicated there was no record of those requests.She stated that she had attempted to meet with DePaola but he had been sleeping.He was advised to resubmit his request.On May 11, 2010, DePaola submitted a grievance stating he had not been seen by a QMHP.The grievance was deemed unfounded, and it was noted that he had been seen by Ketron on July 13, 2010.

For the...