Doe v. Division of Youth and Family Services
| Citation | 148 F.Supp.2d 462 |
| Decision Date | 25 June 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV 00-3205(GEB).,CIV 00-3205(GEB). |
| Parties | Jane DOE and Baby Doe, Plaintiffs, v. DIVISION OF YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, Andrea Young, Cathee Chichester, Peggy McHale, Keith Weinberg, Mary Ann St. John, Capital Health System, Inc., Evelyn Potako, Joanne Dix, Betty Bennett, Marietta Cahill, Paul Loeb, M.D., and Stephen Moffitt, M.D., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Cynthia M. Dennis, Women and AIDS Clinic, Rutgers University School of Law—Newark, Newark, NJ, Attorney for Plaintiffs, Jane Doe and Baby Doe.
Stephanie A. Brand, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, Newark, NJ, Attorney for Defendants, Division of Youth and Family Services, Andrea Young, Cathee Chichester, Peggy McHale, Keith Weinberg, and Mary Ann St. John.
Yves C. Veenstra, Parker, McCay, & Criscuolo, PC, Marlton, NJ, Attorney for Defendants, Capital Health System, Inc., Evelyn Potako, Joanne Dix, Betty Bennett and Marietta Cahill.
Joseph Goldberg, Margolis Edelstein, Westmont, NJ, Attorney for Defendants, Stephen Moffitt, M.D.
This matter comes before the Court upon the motion to dismiss of the defendants Division of Youth and Family Services ("DYFS"), Andrea Young, Cathee Chichester, Peggy McHale, Keith Weinberg and Mary Ann St. John (collectively, the " "); upon the motion for judgment on the pleadings of the defendants Capital Health System, Inc. ("Capital Health" or "Capital Health Systems"), Evelyn Potako, Joanne Dix, Betty Bennett and Marietta Cahill (collectively the "Capital Health Defendants"); upon the motion to dismiss of the defendant Stephen Moffitt, M.D.; and upon the motion of the plaintiffs for leave to file an amended complaint. The Court has jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' federal claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(a) and supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). For the reasons discussed below, the defendants' motions to dismiss and for judgment on the pleadings are granted in part and denied in part, and the plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend the complaint is denied.
The plaintiff, Jane Doe,1 alleges in her complaint that in February 1998 she began prenatal treatment at the Health Start Prenatal Program at Capital Health System. See Complaint at ¶ 20. On February 9, 1998, Jane Doe signed a written consent to random urine screening for drugs and HIV testing of her blood. See id. at ¶¶ 21-22. At no time during her pregnancy did the plaintiff's urine test positive for drugs. See id. at ¶ 23.
The plaintiff alleges that at some point after February 1998, she decided to withdraw her consent to be tested for HIV and further alleges that Capital Health personnel failed to record her withdrawal in her records. See id. at ¶¶ 24-25. Hospital staff periodically telephoned the plaintiff and asked her to submit to testing, which she refused. See id. at ¶¶ 26 and 28. The plaintiff alleges that notwithstanding her refusal to be tested for HIV, in July 1998 defendant "Betty Bennett caused Plaintiff Jane Doe's blood to be tested for HIV...." Id. at ¶ 35. Later, the plaintiff was advised that she tested positive for HIV. See id. at ¶ 36. The plaintiffs further allege that "[t]he AZT recommended protocol for HIV positive [pregnant] mothers include[s][one] AZT pill [five] times a day during pregnancy beginning in the [fourteenth] week, [administration of AZT] during labor and delivery, and [administration of AZT] to the newborn right after birth for [six] weeks." Id. at ¶ 40. The defendant Marietta Cahill prescribed AZT to Jane Doe to take during her pregnancy, which Doe began taking but later stopped because of adverse side effects. See id. at ¶¶ 39 and 41. At some point between July and October 1998, unnamed personnel at Capital Health contacted DYFS and advised DYFS personnel that the plaintiff tested positive for HIV, but were told by DYFS to call back after Baby Doe was born as the situation was not ripe for intervention by DYFS. See id. at ¶¶ 42-43.
On October 1, 1998, Jane Doe experienced labor pains and went to Capital Health, but was told to return home as she was not yet ready to deliver. See id. at ¶ 45. While at home, the plaintiff took Tylenol with codeine to ease her pain, but the pain persisted and the plaintiff returned to the hospital. See id. at ¶¶ 46-47. The plaintiff alleges that upon her return to the hospital, defendant Paul Loeb, M.D., "openly discussed her HIV status and the administering of AZT during labor and delivery in front of the plaintiff's family, who prior to that time had been unaware of her HIV status". See id. at ¶¶ 48 and 58. The plaintiff refused AZT, Loeb notified the plaintiff that he would not participate in the delivery, and the plaintiff again was sent home. See id. at ¶¶ 49-50. However, before the plaintiff left the hospital, her water broke and she was admitted to the hospital. See id. at ¶ 51. The plaintiff alleges that she repeatedly asked for pain medication, but refused intravenous medication, and was denied the medication my hospital staff. See id. at ¶¶ 52-54. According to the plaintiff, AZT must be administered intravenously to pregnant women during delivery. See id. at ¶ 55.
On October 2, 1998, Jane Doe gave birth to a baby girl, Baby Doe. See id. at ¶ 56. The plaintiff alleges that after the birth, defendant Stephen Moffitt, M.D., openly discussed Jane Doe's HIV status in front of her family, and notified the plaintiff of the recommended AZT protocol for Baby Doe. See id. at ¶¶ 57-59. Jane Doe refused to permit the hospital staff to administer the recommended protocol to Baby Doe. See id. at ¶ 59.
The plaintiffs allege that defendants Evelyn Potako and Joanne Dix contacted DYFS and reported that Jane Doe had tested HIV-positive and had refused the recommended AZT protocol. See id. at ¶¶ 60-63. Thereafter, the hospital placed Baby Doe in protective custody and defendant Keith Weinberg served the plaintiff with a "hospital hold." See id. at ¶ 65. DYFS later obtained a court order that granted emergent medical guardianship over Baby Doe to Capital Health. See id. at ¶ 66. Later that day, Jane Doe signed herself out of the hospital and was prevented from taking Baby Doe home with her by hospital security and the Trenton Police Department. See id. at ¶¶ 67-69. Capital Health personnel performed laboratory tests on Baby Doe and administered the AZT protocol while she was in their custody. See id. at ¶¶ 70 and 72. On October 7, 1998, the hospital notified Jane Doe that the meconium screening performed on Baby Doe tested positive for opiates. See id. at ¶ 73. On October 8, 1998, a laboratory test indicated that Baby Doe tested positive for HIV exposure. See id. at ¶ 77. On October 12, 1998, Jane Doe consented to a urine test, which tested negative for drugs. See id. at ¶ 79. A subsequent confirmatory test of Baby Doe's meconium tested negative for opiates. See id. at ¶ 96.
On October 16, 1998, pursuant to a court order, Baby Doe was returned to the care and custody of Jane Doe with mandatory in-home visitation by DYFS. See id. at ¶ 81. Jane Doe was instructed by DYFS that she was to administer AZT to Baby Doe. See id. at ¶ 82. On or about February 22, 1999, Jane Doe notified defendant Andrea Young that she had stopped administering AZT to Baby Doe because the medication was making the child ill. See id. at ¶ 86. DYFS filed a motion for temporary custody and accused Jane Doe of abuse and neglect. See id. at ¶ 87. On February 24, 1999, the Honorable Gerald J. Council, J.S.C., ordered that Baby Doe submit to medical treatment at the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. See id. at ¶ 88.
On March 18, 1999, a diagnostic HIV DNA PCR test was performed on Baby Doe at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, which indicated that Baby Doe was negative for HIV infection. See id. at ¶ 89. Accordingly, medical personnel decided that further treatment was unnecessary and Jane Doe was advised that there was no need to bring Baby Doe for additional scheduled AZT treatments. See id. at ¶¶ 90-91.
On April 21, 1999, Young filed an affidavit with a court accusing the plaintiff of being drug involved at the time of Baby Doe's birth based on Baby Doe's meconium testing positive for opiates. See id. at ¶ 92. At an August 4, 1999 hearing, Jane Doe presented evidence that she was not drug involved and that the meconium screening test was inaccurate. See id. at ¶¶ 94-96. The Honorable Laurence Lerner, J.S.C., dismissed the DYFS complaint against the plaintiff. See id. at ¶ 97. There is no allegation in the complaint that Jane Doe and Baby Doe ever had any further involvement with either the State Defendants or the Capital Health Defendants.
On June 28, 2000, the plaintiffs filed an eleven-count complaint in this Court against the defendants. The plaintiffs assert various statutory and common law claims against non-state actors in Counts I-IV of their complaint. In Count I, the plaintiffs assert a cause of action against Capital Health Systems, Potako and Loeb under Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181, et seq. (the "ADA"). In Count II, the plaintiffs assert a cause of action against Capital Health Systems, Potako and Loeb under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-1, et seq. ("NJLAD"). In Count III, the plaintiffs assert a cause of action against Capital Health System, Bennett, Potako, Dix and Moffitt under the New Jersey Aids Assistance Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 26:5C-1, et seq. ("NJAAA"). The plaintiffs assert a cause of action for common law tortious interference with...
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