Harris v. James, CV-94-A-1422-N.

Citation883 F. Supp. 1511
Decision Date26 April 1995
Docket NumberNo. CV-94-A-1422-N.,CV-94-A-1422-N.
PartiesWillie Mae HARRIS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Governor Fob JAMES, et al., Defendants.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Middle District of Alabama

J. Richard Cohen, Southern Poverty Law Center, Lawrence F. Gardella, Legal Services Corp. of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, for Willie Mae Harris, Linda Patton, Taenika Patton, John Patton, Tommy Gordon and Bertha J.

Henry Clay Barnett, Jr., Herman H. Hamilton, Jr., Capell, Howard, Knabe & Cobbs, P.A., James H. Evans, Office of Atty. Gen., Charles H. Durham, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Alabama Medicaid Agency, Montgomery, AL, for Fob James and David Toney.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ALBRITTON, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This cause is now before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss filed by the Defendants1 on November 28, 1994. For reasons that follow, the Court finds that Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is due to be DENIED.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 2, 1994, Plaintiffs2 filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking to enforce their rights under the Social Security Act. Plaintiffs, who are Medicaid recipients, seek injunctive relief that requires the State of Alabama to ensure necessary medical transportation to them and to all Medicaid recipients, as Plaintiffs allege is mandated by federal law.

Plaintiffs allege that Alabama's failure to offer non-emergency transportation to and from Medicaid providers and its failure to ensure that such transportation is available has forced the Plaintiffs to delay or forgo needed medical services and has subjected the Plaintiffs to a deterioration of their medical conditions. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants have failed to develop, implement, and maintain an adequate state plan that ensures non-emergency transportation for recipients and offers such transportation. Plaintiffs contend that 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396, 1396a-u, the Medicaid subchapter of the Social Security Act, and regulations issued thereunder, require such transportation and that the state's failure to provide it violates their rights.

Specifically, Plaintiffs point to 42 C.F.R. § 431.53, which provides:

Assurance of transportation.
A State plan must
(a) Specify that the Medicaid agency will ensure necessary transportation for recipients to and from providers; and
(b) Describe the methods that the agency will use to meet this requirement.

Plaintiffs ask this Court to (1) certify the suit as a 23(b)(2) class action, (2) declare that the Alabama state plan for administering Medicaid violates rights guaranteed to the Plaintiffs by 42 U.S.C. § 1396a and the regulations adopted thereunder, (3) order Defendants to develop, implement, and maintain a state plan for transportation that will protect Plaintiffs' rights as guaranteed by 42 U.S.C. § 1396a and the regulations adopted thereunder, (4) award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, and (5) order any other relief as the Court deems necessary and just.

On November 28, 1994, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss in which they stated numerous grounds for dismissal. The motion was not supported by a brief nor did it sufficiently explain the purported bases for dismissal. After Plaintiffs objected to Defendants' failure to explain the grounds for their motion, this Court set a briefing schedule for the motion. In response, the parties have submitted numerous briefs and letters in support of and in opposition to the Motion to Dismiss.

Since this case involves an interpretation of Medicaid statutes and regulations administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), the court entered an order on December 22, 1994 inviting HHS to lend its expertise to the court by participating amicus curiae. See, Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U.S. 397, 407 fn. 9, 90 S.Ct. 1207, 1215 fn. 9, 25 L.Ed.2d 442 (1970). On February 15, 1995, the Department declined the invitation to do so.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court may dismiss a complaint only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proven consistent with the allegations. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 2232, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984); see also Wright v. Newsome, 795 F.2d 964, 967 (11th Cir.1986) (citation omitted) ("We may not ... dismiss unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of the claims in the complaint that would entitle him or her to relief.") The court will accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations and view them in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Hishon, 467 U.S. at 73, 104 S.Ct. at 2232. Moreover, the court is aware that the threshold that a complaint must meet to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is "exceedingly low." Ancata v. Prison Health Services, Inc., 769 F.2d 700, 703 (11th Cir.1985) (citation omitted).

IV. DISCUSSION

Defendants base their Motion to Dismiss on many arguments. The most important of these is Defendants' contention that no specific non-emergency transportation benefits are mandated by federal statute. They argue that the statute itself does not require transportation, so that the regulation referring to transportation goes beyond the congressional mandate. Therefore, Defendants contend, the regulation does not create a right which is enforceable under § 1983. They argue further that although the Medicaid regulations that implement the statute recognize the need for transportation, those regulations fail to spell out any specific parameters or requirements regarding transportation. Defendants contend that the issue has been left non-specific so that each state may best deal with this issue as it sees fit. Consequently, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have not asserted a valid cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Plaintiffs contend that the Motion to Dismiss is due to be denied. They argue that this court is bound by the holding in Smith v. Vowell, 379 F.Supp. 139 (W.D. Tex.1974), aff'd, 504 F.2d 759 (5th Cir.1974) and that this holding disposes of many of the arguments that Defendants have made. Plaintiffs assert that any state participating in the Medicaid program must provide a state plan for compliance with federal law and that as part of this plan the state Medicaid agency must specify that it will ensure necessary transportation to recipients to and from health care providers and describe how the state will meet the requirement. Plaintiffs acknowledge that states retain flexibility in designing their state plans, but they contend that specific, binding federal regulations require states to ensure non-emergency medical transportation.

The issue before the court is whether the complaint, accepting its factual allegations as true, states a claim for which relief may be obtained under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

A. Medicaid

By enacting Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., Congress established a federal program called Medicaid which "provides financial assistance to States so that they may furnish medical care to needy individuals." Wilder v. Virginia Hosp. Ass'n, 496 U.S. 498, 502, 110 S.Ct. 2510, 2513, 110 L.Ed.2d 455 (1990). The Eleventh Circuit has explained that

Medicaid is a cooperative venture of the state and federal governments. A state which chooses to participate in Medicaid submits a state plan for the funding of medical services for the needy which is approved by the federal government. The federal government then subsidizes a certain portion of the financial obligations which the state has agreed to bear. A state participating in Medicaid must comply with the applicable statute, Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1965, as amended 42 U.S.C. § 1396, et seq., and the applicable regulations.

Silver v. Baggiano, 804 F.2d 1211, 1215 (11th Cir.1986) (emphasis added).

B. 42 U.S.C. § 1983

Plaintiffs assert correctly that this court has original jurisdiction over this case because it arises under federal law. See, 42 U.S.C. § 1331. Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants, acting in their official capacities as state actors, have violated federal law and caused Plaintiffs to be deprived of rights secured to them by 42 U.S.C. § 1396a and 42 C.F.R. §§ 431.53 and 441.62. Plaintiffs seek redress for this violation of their rights by bringing suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

1. Enforcing a Statutory Right Under Section 1983

By its terms, Section 1983 establishes a cause of action for "the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws" of the United States. The full text of Section 1983 provides that:

every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.

42 U.S.C. § 1983. As the plain language of Section 1983 indicates, the remedy encompasses violations of federal laws as well as violations of rights secured by the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court has held on numerous occasions that the coverage of Section 1983 must be construed broadly. Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles, Ca., 493 U.S. 103, 105, 110 S.Ct. 444, 447, 107 L.Ed.2d 420 (1989).

The Eleventh Circuit has noted that, "Section 1983 is the exclusive statutory cause of action available to a plaintiff seeking compliance with the Social Security Act on the part of a participating state." Silver, 804 F.2d at 1215.

Defendants argue, however, that the regulation regarding transportation does not create a right which may be enforced under this statute.

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  • Harris v. James
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • 6 Noviembre 1997
    ...it sees fit. Consequently, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have not asserted a valid cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 883 F.Supp. 1511, 1513 (M.D.Ala.1995). In a thorough opinion, the district court reviewed the relevant case law and rejected the defendants' arguments. Id. at 1514-2......
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    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • 18 Junio 1996
    ...mechanism for the protection of the federal right" with which plaintiffs' § 1983 action would be inconsistent. Harris v. James, 883 F.Supp. 1511, 1518 (M.D.Ala. 1995). A showing of the availability of administrative protection is insufficient to meet this burden. See id. The Supreme Court h......
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    ...926 (1994) (italics added). Two district courts have considered Sec. 1320a-2 and have so read the provision. See Harris v. James, 883 F.Supp. 1511, 1519 (M.D.Ala.1995) (explaining that in Sec. 1320a-2, Congress "mandated that courts continue to apply a pre-Suter approach"); Jeanine B. ex re......
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