Floyd v. Ada Cnty.
| Decision Date | 27 April 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:17-cv-00150-DCN |
| Parties | JAMES ALLEN FLOYD, Plaintiff, v. ADA COUNTY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
Pending before the Court are: Plaintiff James Allen Floyd's Motion for Extension of Time (Dkt. 58); Defendants Ada County, Ada County Jail, Nurse Dean, Nurse Woodcook, Nurse Rankin, and Mr. Farwell's (collectively hereinafter "Defendants") Motion for Leave to File Overlength Brief (Dkt. 59); Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 60); Defendants' Motion to Seal (Dkt. 61); Floyd's Motion to file Amended Pleading (Dkt. 64); Floyd's Motion to Stay Summary Judgment (Dkt. 66); Floyd's Motion to Withdraw Motion for Extension of Time (Dkt. 67); Floyd's Motion to Appoint Counsel (Dkt. 68); and Floyd's Motion to file Overlength Statement of Disputed Facts (Dkt. 70).
The motions have been fully briefed and are ripe for decision. Having reviewed the record and briefs, the Court finds that the parties have adequately presented the facts and legal arguments. Accordingly, in the interest of avoiding further delay, and because the Court finds that the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument, the Court will decide the motions without a hearing. Dist. Idaho Loc. Civ. R. 7.1(D)(1)(b).
On August 25, 2014, officers arrested Floyd and placed him in the Ada County Jail ("ACJ") located in Boise, Idaho. Floyd remained at the ACJ until he was transported to the Idaho Department of Corrections ("IDOC") on October 1, 2015. Floyd alleges he had a number of medical problems that Defendants failed to adequately address during his time at the ACJ.
Floyd filed this suit on April 7, 2017, against Defendants and others who have since been dismissed from the case. See, infra notes 4-5. On May 23, 2017, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. A little over a week later, Floyd filed an Amended Complaint, rendering the First Motion to Dismiss moot. Floyd's Amended Complaint asserted six claims of relief, all but one of which alleged Defendants were deliberately indifferent to Floyd's medical needs in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.1 Specifically, Floyd alleged Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his sleep apnea (Claim One); Hepatitis C (Claim Two); mental health (Claim Three); foot pain (Claim Five); and shoulder pain (Claim Six).
On June 16, 2017, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss Floyd's AmendedComplaint. The Court scheduled oral argument on the Motion for December 5, 2017. When Floyd failed to appear at oral argument,2 Defense counsel agreed to submit the pending motions on the briefing. On December 21, 2017, the Court granted Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, but granted Floyd leave to amend Claims Three, Five, and Six.3
Floyd thereafter filed a Second Amended Complaint. Dkt. 29. Floyd's Second Amended Complaint reasserted his claims based on Defendants' alleged inadequate medical treatment of his mental health, foot pain, and shoulder injury. Defendants filed a third Motion to Dismiss. Defendants first asked the Court to dismiss the individual defendants against whom Floyd did not make any allegations. Floyd did not respond to this argument and the Court dismissed such defendants without further analysis.4 Defendants also sought dismissal of Floyd's three remaining claims for failure to state a claim against any remaining individual defendant or government entity.
The Court granted the Motion in part and denied the Motion in part. The Court dismissed Claim Six—involving Defendants' alleged inadequate treatment of Floyd's shoulder injury—with prejudice because Floyd could not establish Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his shoulder injury.5 As further discussed below, the Courtallowed Floyd to proceed on two Eighth Amendment claims: Claim Three, alleging inadequate medical treatment of his mental health, and Claim Five, alleging failure to treat Floyd's foot pain and restricting his access to pain medication.
The Court thereafter ordered the parties to submit joint litigation and discovery plans by September 13, 2018. Defense counsel attempted to contact Floyd by phone and mail several times prior to the deadline, but notified the Court on September 13, 2018, that they had been unable to do so. After waiting several months for Floyd to respond, the Court ultimately adopted Defendants' proposed dates and entered a Scheduling Order on January 8, 2019.
On February 13, 2019, Floyd filed a motion asking the Court to set aside its Scheduling Order.6 In his motion, Floyd alleged he needed relief from the Scheduling Order because he had been suffering from various health problems and was again incarcerated in the ACJ, and thus no longer had access to his legal materials.7 The Court extended the remaining deadlines in its Scheduling Order by sixty days, but clarified this extension did not apply to "the long-expired deadline for joinder of parties or to amend pleadings[.]" Dkt. 55, at 5. The Court also noted that no further extensions would be granted.
Floyd thereafter filed another Motion for Extension of Time (Dkt. 58), but subsequently filed a Motion to Withdraw his Motion for Extension of Time (Dkt. 67). Defendants filed the instant motion for summary judgment on August 20, 2019. Dkt. 60. Floyd responded with a Motion to File an Amended Complaint (Dkt. 64), a Motion to Stay Summary Judgment (Dkt. 66), and a third Motion to Appoint Counsel (Dkt. 68). The Motions are now all ripe for review.
In Claim Three, Floyd alleges that individual defendants Nurse Dean, Nurse Woodcook, and "Jane Doe 2," as well as municipal defendants Ada County and the ACJ, provided him with inadequate mental health care. According to Floyd, he was placed in a medical unit upon his arrival at the ACJ because he had suffered two seizures shortly before being transported there. Floyd was released from the medical unit after a few days. However, when a high bail was set at his video arraignment, Floyd attempted suicide by repeatedly running his head into a brick wall. Floyd was placed on suicide watch in the medical unit, where he wore a "turtle suit" for three days.8 Dkt. 29, at 3.
On September 9, 2014, Floyd alleges he had a jail health assessment with Jane Doe 2, during which Floyd alleges he informed her that he suffered from depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, and that he had been taking "Depakote and Seroquel 300 mg for over two years" to treat these conditions. Id. Floyd alleges neither Jane Doe 2, nor any otherACJ employee, confirmed his prescriptions by obtaining Floyd's medical records, or otherwise supplied Floyd with his prescribed medication during his stay at the ACJ.
On November 17, 2014, Floyd submitted a health request informing the medical staff that he was experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety because he was "being locked down" for so many hours each day. Id. On November 21, 2014, Floyd was seen by Physician Assistant Eric Wells. However, Floyd alleges P.A. Wells only treated him for sleep apnea, and did not address his mental health complaints, Floyd submitted a grievance on December 12, 2014, indicating that he had not seen anyone for his depression or anxiety.
Nurse Dean9 responded to the grievance on December 15, 2014, by stating, Id. Nevertheless, Nurse Dean informed Floyd that he was scheduled to meet with a social worker. Floyd "filed an appeal because it had been almost thirty days" since he had requested mental health care. Id.
On December 16, 2014, Nurse Woodcook10 responded to Floyd's grievance appeal and told him again that "he was scheduled to see a social worker." Id. Despite this assurance, Floyd claims he "was never scheduled to see a social worker," and that Nurses Dean and Woodcook only told him he was "to pacify [him] until he was released from the Ada county jail." Id. at 4. Floyd also alleges Nurse Dean treated him as a "nuisance" andfalsely told him he was scheduled to see a social worker to appease him. Id.
Floyd claims Defendants' failure to treat his mental health problems caused him to "live[] inside a mental prison" for the duration of his stay at the ACJ." Id. Floyd also alleges the failure to treat his mental health conditions was "based upon a custom and policy of the Ada County Jail, and or the private medical provider to understaff mental health providers in the jail to deal with the amount of mentally ill inmates in order to save money [b]ecause they believe most inmates will be released soon or transferred out." Id. The Court allowed Floyd to proceed with Claim Three as a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against individual Defendants Nurse Dean, Nurse Woodcook, and "Jane Doe 2," and as a Monell claim against Ada County and the ACJ.11
On summary judgment, Defendants paint a different picture of Floyd's mental health treatment during his stay at the ACJ. Defendants first note Floyd underwent a screening which included a mental health screening and evaluation at the time of his booking into the ACJ. During that screening, Floyd answered "no" when asked whether he took any prescription medication. Dkt. 62-5, Ex. D, at 37. Floyd was also asked: (1) whether he had been treated for mental health issues in the past; (2) whether he had ever been in a hospital for emotional or mental health problems; (3) whether he had ever attempted suicide; (4) whether he had ever been in a hospital for emotional or mental health problems; (5) whether he was contemplating suicide or having thoughts of hurting himself; (6) whether there was any additional information regarding past or current healthconditions that Heath Services needed to be aware of; and (7) whether he needed to be seen in Health Services prior to...
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