Gravelle v. Kiander
| Decision Date | 31 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. C13-1911JLR |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington |
| Parties | PERRY GRAVELLE, Plaintiff, v. JUDY KIANDER, et al., Defendants. |
Before the court are two motions: (1) Defendants Special Agents Judy Kiander and Samuel Huynh's motion for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment (Def. Mot. (Dkt. # 30)); and (2) Defendant United States of America's motion for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment (US Mot. (Dkt. # 31)). The court has considered the motions, all submissions filed in support of or opposition to the motions, the balance of the record, and the applicable law. In addition, the court heard the argument of counsel on March 30, 2016. Being fully advised, the court GRANTS both motions.
On October 27, 2011, a federal grand jury indicted Mr. Gravelle for two counts of Mail Fraud, one count of Social Security Fraud, one count of Social Security Number Misuse, and two counts of Unlawful Production of Identification Documents. See United States v. Gravelle, CR11-0355RSM (Dkt. # 1). On the same day, United States Magistrate Judge James P. Donohue issued a bench warrant for Mr. Gravelle's arrest. See id. (Dkt. # 3).
On October 28, 2011, Special Agents Kiander and Huynh arrested Mr. Gravelle at his home. (Kiander Decl. (Dkt. # 39) ¶ 5.) According to Special Agents Kiander and Huynh, they arrested Mr. Gravelle without incident and without the use of force. (Id. ¶¶ 6-7; Huynh Decl. (Dkt. # 38) ¶¶ 2-4; see also Beck Decl. (Dkt. # 33) ¶¶ 4-9, Ex. A.) They then transported Mr. Gravelle to the office of the United States Marshals Service at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle, Washington for his initial appearance. (Kiander Decl. ¶ 9; Huynh Decl. ¶ 5.)
Mr. Gravelle's account of his arrest differs sharply from the account of the Special Agents, and on October 23, 2013, Mr. Gravelle initiated a lawsuit alleging a variety of claims arising out of his arrest and detention. On May 1, 2014, he filed an amended complaint. Mr. Gravelle contends that when he was arrested, Special Agent Huynh, at the direction ofSpecial Agent Kiander, forced shackles onto Mr. Gravelle's ankles and repeatedly pushed his feet into the Agents' car, breaking his right foot and causing other damage to his right foot and ankle. (Id. ¶¶ 10-20.) Mr. Gravelle testified that Special Agent Huynh "forced [his] feet and ankles under the seat in front of [him]," and he "felt a 'snap' and great pain which [he] immediately complained of to the [Special] [A]gents." (Gravelle Decl. (Dkt. # 43-2) at 2.) Mr. Gravelle alleges that he takes "four medications to deal with normal swelling in [his] ankles and legs as a consequence of diabetes and a heart condition." (Am. Compl. ¶ 11.) He asserts that "[a]lmost immediately after the shackles were closed" his feet and ankles "began to swell noticeably," and he "began to lose feeling in the feet and ankles." (Id. ¶ 12.) He alleges that by the time he arrived at the Federal Courthouse to make his initial appearance he was suffering from broken bones and pulled ligaments in his right foot and ankle, swelling in both feet, and the first stages of insulin shock because he had not eaten since taking his insulin injection. (Id. ¶¶ 20-21; see also Gravelle Decl. at 1.)
Later that same day, Special Agent Kiander received a call from the United States Marshals Service indicating that Mr. Gravelle was ill and needed to be taken to the hospital. (Huynh Decl. ¶ 6; Kiander Decl. ¶ 10.) Mr. Gravelle alleges that by this time his feet had swelled to "4 times their normal size." (Am. Compl. ¶ 23.) He also alleges that while he was at the Federal Courthouse a guard forced a shoe onto his right foot "and in the process tore the toenail off the big toe and the toe next to it, filling [his] shoe with blood." (Id. ¶ 23.) Special Agents Huynh and Kiander returned to the United States courthouse and transported Mr. Gravelle to the hospital where he received treatment forhis diabetes. (Huynh Decl. ¶¶ 6-7; Kiander Decl. ¶¶ 10-11.) Mr. Gravelle testified that by the time he reached the hospital, he was suffering from confusion due to his diabetes and was unable to discuss all of his problems with his medical service providers. (See Gravelle Decl. at 1.)
At the hospital, Mr. Gravelle was examined by an emergency room physician who concluded that Mr. Gravelle's blood glucose levels were such that he was no longer hypoglycemic.1 (Gugin Decl. (Dkt. # 45) ¶ 2, Ex. A at 21:1-25.) Mr. Gravelle never told the emergency room physician that he was in pain or that he thought he had injured his feet or ankles. (Morehead Decl. (Dkt. # 32) ¶ 3, Ex. B ("Doten Dep. I") at 19:8-18; 23:3-13.) The emergency room physician reported that Mr. Gravelle was "in no distress" and "looked comfortable." (Id.) The physician examined Mr. Gravelle's bare feet and saw no sign of a broken foot, other injury, or swelling. (Id. at 23:14-25:25.) When the physician touched Mr. Gravelle's feet, Mr. Gravelle did not grimace or indicate that it hurt for the doctor to touch his feet. (Id. at 23:3-13, 25:17-25.) The physician noted the Mr. Gravelle's gait was normal and there were no signs of bruising. (Id. 25:10-16.) Mr. Gravelle, however, testified that his ankles were swollen from his diabetes which obscured his foot and ankle problems. (Gravelle Decl. at 1-2.)
After Mr. Gravelle was examined at the hospital, it was too late in the day for him to make his first appearance in court, so the Special Agents transported Mr. Gravelle to the federal detention center ("FDC") in SeaTac, Washington. (Kiander Decl. ¶ 12;Huynh Decl. ¶ 8.) At the FDC, Mr. Gravelle was subject to a detailed intake process, which included meeting with a member of the medical staff in a private room. (See Morehead Decl. ¶ 6, Ex. E ("Gravelle Dep.") at 198:6-199:12.) The records of this appointment indicate that Mr. Gravelle denied having any current painful condition. (Id. at 204:17-23; Dy Decl. (Dkt. # 35) ¶ 3 ( ).) Mr. Gravelle testified that he told a member of the FDC medical staff that he was in pain and he chalks up the inconsistency between his testimony and the written record of his intake meeting to "[s]loppy work." (Gravelle Dep. at 204:17-23.) Mr. Gravelle made his initial appearance in court on Monday, October 31, 2011, but neither he nor his attorney indicated that he had been mistreated or his foot had been injured. (Id. at 111:6-10); United States v. Gravelle, No. CR11-0355RSM (Dkt. # 5).
On November 8, 2011, Mr. Gravelle spoke with a medical assistant at his primary care clinic about a diabetes checkup. (Morehead Decl. ¶ 10, Ex. H ("Wolin Dep.") at 15:6-17.) Mr. Gravelle said nothing about needing urgent medical care; nor did he make any complaint about his feet or ankles during that phone call. (Id. at 15:23-16:13.) On December 9, 2011, Mr. Gravelle had an appointment with his primary care physician, Dr. Melissa Wolin of the HealthPoint Clinic in Redmond, Washington, concerning his diabetes. (Id. at 21:6-22:16, Ex. 5.) At the time he made the appointment, he did not indicate any urgent medical need or mention his feet or ankles. (Id.) During theappointment, Mr. Gravelle did not complain of pain or any injury to his feet or ankles. (Id. at 28:13-30:16.) He did not complain of atypical pain when his doctor touched his feet. (Id. at 35:3-23.) Mr. Gravelle complained of swelling in his lower extremities, stating that the swelling "got worse after he fell on both of his knees." (Id. at 26:16-27:5, Ex. 5 at 1.) At the appointment, Mr. Gravelle's treating physician observed equal swelling in both of his feet, which is inconsistent with a break in only one foot. (Id. at 33:2-22.) Mr. Gravelle's doctor concluded that the equal swelling in both of Mr. Gravelle's feet was due to Mr. Gravelle's congestive heart failure. (Id.) Mr. Gravelle's treating physician saw no evidence that any of his toenails had been pulled off, and she would have documented it if she had seen it. (Id. at 35:24-36:5, Ex. 5.) Mr. Gravelle's doctor saw no indication of a broken bone or other injury to Mr. Gravelle's feet. (Id. at 35:3-36:14, Ex. 5.)
Mr. Gravelle did not seek medical care for his right foot until January 5, 2012, more than two months after his arrest. (Gravelle Dep. at 68:1-7; Morehead Decl. ¶ 7, Ex. F ("Munoz Dep.") at 22:1-21, Ex. 8.) At that time, Mr. Gravelle saw another treating physician, Dr. Xiomara Munoz at the HealthPoint Clinic in Bothell, Washington. (Munoz Dep. at 22:1-21, Ex. 8.) Mr. Gravelle's medical records from that appointment indicate that he told Dr. Munoz that he had injured his foot when he slipped on a rainy day while picking a friend up coming out of prison about two months earlier. (Munoz Dep. at 23:2-19, Ex. 8 at 1.)
Mr. Gravelle visited the HealthPoint Clinic again on March 15, 2012, but this time saw Dr. Jeff W. Brown. (Id. at 36:12-37:9. Ex. 15.) Mr. Gravelle asked Dr. Brown for aletter supporting his allegation that his right foot was broken on October 28, 2011, at the time he was arrested and allegedly shackled. (Id. at 37:10-23.) Although Dr. Brown wrote a letter for Mr. Gravelle, the letter does not give an opinion concerning the cause of Mr. Gravelle's foot injury and does not provide the factual support Mr. Gravelle requested. (See id. & Ex. 15.) Instead, Dr. Brown states that "[e]xamination shows that he does have a Charcot deformity of the right foot consistent with an old fracture," and that "[r]eview of his medical record...
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