Doe v. Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Ctr. Comm'n

• Citation: 355 F.Supp.3d 454
• Decision Date: 13 December 2018
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 5:17-cv-97
• Parties: John DOE, BY AND THROUGH His Next Friend, Nelson LOPEZ, on Behalf of Himself and All Persons Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, v. SHENANDOAH VALLEY JUVENILE CENTER COMMISSION, Defendant.
• Court: United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Western District of Virginia)

355 F.Supp.3d 454

John DOE, BY AND THROUGH His Next Friend, Nelson LOPEZ, on Behalf of Himself and All Persons Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs,

v.SHENANDOAH VALLEY JUVENILE CENTER COMMISSION, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 5:17-cv-97

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

Signed December 13, 2018

Benjamin Cairns Eggert, Wiley Rein, LLP, Hannah E.M. Lieberman, Mirela Missova, Tiffany S. Yang, Pro Hac Vice, for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, James Ryan Frazee, Theodore Augustus Howard, Pro Hac Vice, Bradley Clark Tobias, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Harold Edward Johnson, Meredith M. Haynes, Richmond, VA, Jason Botkins, Melisa G. Michelsen, Litten & Sipe, L.L.P., Harrisonburg, VA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Elizabeth K. Dillon, United States District Judge

Pending before the court and addressed herein is defendant's motion for summary judgment, in which defendant seeks summary judgment on all of John Doe 4's (Doe 4) claims and consequently—according to defendant—summary judgment as to the entirety of plaintiffs' case. (D.'s Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. No. 100.) The motion was briefed, argued before the court, and supplemental briefs were filed as required by the court. (Pls.' Suppl. Mem. Opp'n Def.'s Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. No. 164; Def.'s Sup. Br., Dkt. No. 165.) For the reasons discussed below, the court concludes summary judgment in defendant's favor is appropriate as to Doe 4's claim regarding inadequate mental health treatment. It further concludes that there are disputed issues of fact precluding summary judgment with regard to Doe 4's excessive force claim (including use of restraints) and his claim based on the use of room confinement, which the court construes as a conditions-of-confinement claim. These disputes exist both as to whether Doe has suffered an underlying constitutional violation and to the remaining elements of his Monell claims.¹ If Doe 4 is able to prevail at trial on his underlying constitutional claim alleging excessive force or his conditions-of-confinement claim, then he and plaintiffs will be permitted to proceed in presenting proof on the other prongs of their Monell claims. Accordingly, the court will grant defendant's motion for summary judgment in part and deny it in part.

I. BACKGROUND

On October 4, 2017, plaintiff John Doe 1 filed suit for declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking to protect the rights and interests of himself and a putative class of unaccompanied alien children (UACs)² detained at the juvenile detention center (Center) operated by defendant Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Detention Center Commission (Commission). Initially, the named plaintiffs consisted of John Does 1, 2, and 3. On August 8, 2018, Doe 4 became the only named plaintiff and class representative. Without objection, the class was certified on June 27, 2018, and is composed of Latino UACs who are currently detained or will be detained in the future at the Center who either: (i) have been, are, or will be subject to the disciplinary policies and practices used by the Center's staff; or (ii) have needed, currently need, or will in the future need care and treatment for mental health problems while detained at the Center (hereinafter Detainees). The second amended complaint, filed July 1, 2018, alleges the Commission violated and violates these Detainees' rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments through a pattern and practice at the Center of 1) excessive force and restraints, including use of the restraint chair, 2) inadequate mental health care based under both the deliberate indifference standard and, alternatively, the professional judgment standard, and 3) national origin and race discrimination.³ Plaintiffs also include excessive use of solitary or room confinement as part of their excessive force claim, but it is properly analyzed as a separate conditions-of-confinement claim.⁴

UACs are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The Commission provides secure housing and other services at the Center to the UACs pursuant to a cooperative agreement with ORR. The purported objective for the UACs' placement at the Center is to provide a safe and appropriate placement "taking into consideration the risk of harm to the [UAC] or others, the community and the risk of flight." (Cooperative Agreement 1–2, Ex. B-1, Dkt. No. 100-2.)⁵ The Center serves as a secure detention facility and provides secure placement "until [the UACs] are released to a sponsor, obtain immigration legal relief, age out, or are discharged by the Department of Homeland Security." Id.

It is clear from plaintiffs' complaint, briefing, and expert witness reports, that plaintiffs are frustrated with a system that greets immigrant children fleeing oftentimes violent and traumatic backgrounds by housing them, sometimes for long periods of time, in detention facilities that are designed to house—and do house—juveniles who have been adjudged delinquent and charged juveniles awaiting trial. These circumstances sometimes lead to the immigrant children acting out, that then results in continued or additional restrictions on them. Not surprisingly, plaintiffs desire and advocate for a best practices approach, but the law does not require best practices. Rather, it requires constitutional practices, and that is the issue before the court. So, the court must determine on summary judgment whether the case may proceed to trial with regard to the alleged excessive force and inadequate mental health care claims based on constitutional requirements.

A. Use of Force and Doe 4

Doe 4 is a 17-year-old citizen of Honduras who arrived in the United States on or about May 15, 2017, and was transferred to the Center on or about December 1, 2017. The Center uses a program approved by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice called Handle with Care. This program allows the use of force as a last resort and requires use of the least amount of force reasonably necessary. Restraints may be used, not as punishment, but if necessary after less restrictive measures are unsuccessful. A Detainee is not to be left unsupervised while in mechanical restraints, such as handcuffs, and the use of restraints is to be discontinued as soon as safely possible. The Center also notes that use of excessive force is grounds for dismissal and the filing of a child abuse complaint with Child Protective Services. Indeed, the Center has terminated employees for use of force—even in circumstances where the employee was being assaulted and returned punches.

Doe 4 sets forth three instances of alleged excessive use of force while detained at the Center. While the parties' briefing lacked detail about the record evidence regarding the incidents, the court has endeavored to provide a more fulsome account. First, in his response to defendant's interrogatories, Doe 4 recounts an incident where he "got mad at staff," and staff members grabbed him, fell on top of him, and hurt him. Doe 4 states that they put him in handcuffs and placed him in his cell, and he was forced to stay in handcuffs inside his room and lie on the floor without a mattress. Doe 4 stated that the handcuffs left marks and bruises and hurt him.

He does not provide a date for this incident. (Doe 4 Resp. to Interrog. 5, 17, Ex. F, Dkt. No. 100-6.)

Defendant highlights that, despite the grievance procedure available to Detainees, it has no reports from Doe 4 regarding his allegations from this particular incident. And, although Doe 4 does not remember the date of this incident, defendant believes that he is describing the events that occurred on February 4, 2018, because that is the only incident in the Center's records during which Doe 4 was placed in mechanical restraints. (Def.'s Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 5; Ropp Aff. ¶¶ 10–11, Dkt. No. 100-8.) In the Center's "Significant Incident Report" (SIR) describing this incident,⁶ it states: Doe 4 became frustrated with staff when he was instructed to trim his fingernails and told that he would fail to earn a behavioral point if he did not; when he requested to speak with a supervisor and the supervisor told him he could earn the point back if he trimmed his fingernails, Doe 4 refused and continued arguing; Doe 4 then threatened to assault a staff member and punched a table; Doe 4 was instructed to return to his room to cool down, and when staff members spoke to him to attempt to deescalate his behavior, he continued to argue with them; Doe 4 began punching a staff member in the face and was consequently placed in a two-man physical restraint, which he resisted, and he would not let go of the staff member he had punched; Doe 4 was then lowered to the floor while physically restrained, where he continued to struggle against them; mechanical restraints were put on his wrists and he continued to struggle and was escorted to his room; the restraints were taken off after six minutes and he was secured in his room. (SIR 1–2, Ex. H-4, Dkt. No. 100-8; Ropp Aff. ¶ 9(f).)

In the second incident, Doe 4 recounts that he had reported issues with a staff member, specifically, that on one occasion the staff member hit him "[i]n the ribcage and the face and on the arm" when Doe 4 was outside and in his room. Doe 4 stated that when he and other UACs were talking to a staff member about problems they had, staff said they were being disrespectful, and one staff member said he was going to take away a behavioral point. Another staff member then pushed Doe 4 against the wall and said he wanted to put him in restraints, to which Doe 4 replied by asking if they could keep "talking calmly." The staff member then told Doe 4 to go to his room for a time-out. In his deposition testimony, Doe 4 agreed that he stood against the wall and refused to take a time-out at this point because he was angry, but this contradicts his response to interrogatories in which he...