Hill v. Lapolt
| Decision Date | 10 March 2014 |
| Docket Number | 9:12-CV-202 (LEK/ATB) |
| Parties | MICHAEL HILL, Plaintiff, v. KAREN LAPOLT, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
MICHAEL HILL, Plaintiff pro se
CHRISTOPHER W. HALL, Asst. Attorney General for Defendants
This matter has been referred to me for Report and Recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and N.D.N.Y. Local Rule 72.3(c). Presently before the court are plaintiff's motion and defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. (Dkt. Nos. 61 and 64). Plaintiff has filed a reply. (Dkt. No. 67). For the following reasons, this court agrees with the defendants and will recommend denying plaintiff's summary judgment motion and granting defendants' motion.
Plaintiff brings this pro se civil rights complaint under § 1983 based on events arising out of his confinement at Great Meadow Correctional Facility ("Great Meadow C.F."). In April 2011, plaintiff communicated with defendant Lapolt, Deputy Superintendent of Programs, regarding the restoration of good time. (Dkt. No. 61-8 at 37, Dkt. No. 1-1 at 7). Plaintiff complained that he was not being placed in the programs that he needed to complete to have his good time restored. Plaintiff received a number of responses stating that he would not be placed in those particular programs until six to eight months before his earliest release date, and additionally that he could not be placed in these programs while on keeplock. Plaintiff filed grievances regarding these program issues in June and July of 2011. (Dkt. No. 1-1 at 19, 22).
A few months later, in September, plaintiff received a package of 50 cigars with an invoice dated September 13, 2011 that indicated a balance due of $5.00. (Dkt. No. 1-1 at 56). On September 14, 2011, plaintiff was told that he needed to return the package of cigars to the company and completed a disbursement form for $3.50 for the return shipping. (Dkt. No. 61-6 at 54). The amount was changed by defendant Weatherby1 to $5.95-the amount needed to return the package. (See Dkt. No. 61-6 at 61). After plaintiff filed a grievance regarding this issue, on appeal the Central Office Review Committee ("CORC") found that the disbursement form should have been returned to plaintiff to change, noted that appropriate corrective action had been taken, and that plaintiff was reimbursed the $2.45 difference. (Dkt. No. 61-6 at 55). Plaintiff had an issue with a second package of cigars, which arrived indicating a $2.00 balance. Plaintiff did not complete the required form regarding disposal of the package because he believed that the company made a mistake by stating that he owed $2.00. Accordingly, the package was destroyed in accordance with Directive 4911. (See Dkt. No. 61-6 at 37).
On September 20, 2011, plaintiff received a misbehavior report from a facility correctional teacher, defendant Spada. Defendant Spada found a note on one of plaintiff's assignments stating "check my folder, note there for you."2 (Dkt. No. 61-6 at 79). As a result, defendant Spada filed a misbehavior report, charging plaintiff with harassment, stalking, and a correspondence violation. At the resulting hearing, over which defendant Lapolt presided, plaintiff was found guilty of harassment and stalking, but defendant Lapolt dismissed the correspondence violation.
During this same time period, plaintiff was having chest pains, and was seen on sick call a number of times. An EKG and a stress test were performed, he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal disease, and he was prescribed medication. He was seen by defendant Silverberg, the doctor at the facility at the end of September 2011 and in early February 2012.
Finally, plaintiff claims that he should have been receiving interest on funds in his inmate account, including "gate money." (See Dkt. No. 61-6 at 2). In response to plaintiff's questions, defendant Forbes, institutional steward, explained that interest is earned on all of an inmate's money, including "gate money," and that interest earnedis provided to inmates who qualify for interest, by having an average balance of $100 or more for a given quarter. (Dkt. No. 61-6 at 3, 6).
Liberally construed, plaintiff alleges that his constitutional rights under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were violated because: 1) he was denied adequate medical care; 2) he was denied due process at his disciplinary hearing; 3) defendants interfered with his mail; 4) he was denied access to the courts; 5) defendants retaliated against him for filing grievances; 6) defendants conspired to violate his constitutional rights; 7) interest he should have earned was not credited to him.3
Summary judgment is appropriate where there exists no genuine issue of material fact and, based on the undisputed facts, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56; Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d 263, 272-73 (2d Cir. 2006). "Only disputes over ["material"] facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). It must be apparent that no rational finder of fact could find in favor of the non-moving party for a court to grant a motion for summary judgment. Gallo v. Prudential Residential Servs., 22 F.3d 1219, 1224 (2d Cir. 1994).
The moving party has the burden to show the absence of disputed material factsby informing the court of portions of pleadings, depositions, and affidavits which support the motion. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). If the moving party satisfies its burden, the nonmoving party must move forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d at 273. In that context, the nonmoving party must do more than "simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 (1986). However, in determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, a court must resolve all ambiguities, and draw all inferences, against the movant. See United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655 (1962); Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d at 272.
Where, as here, cross motions for summary judgment are filed, "the standard is the same as that for individual motions for summary judgment." Natural Res. Def. Council v. Evans, 254 F. Supp. 2d 434, 438 (S.D.N.Y. 2003). "The court must consider each motion independently of the other and, when evaluating each, the court must consider the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party." Id. (citation omitted). Moreover, "[t]he district court considering a summary judgment motion . . . must . . . be 'mindful of the underlying standards and burdens of proof . . .'" U.S. S.E.C. v. Meltzer, 440 F. Supp. 2d 179, 187 (E.D.N.Y. 2006) (citations omitted). Accordingly, with respect to plaintiff's motion, he bears a much greater initial burden; he "must show that the evidence supporting [his] claims is so compelling that no reasonable jury could return a verdict for the defendant." Id. Accord, McCarthy v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., 759 F. Supp. 2d 265, 273 (E.D.N.Y.2011).
In order to state an Eighth Amendment claim based on constitutionally inadequate medical treatment, the plaintiff must allege "acts or omissions sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference to serious medical needs." Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). There are two elements to the deliberate indifference standard. Smith v. Carpenter, 316 F.3d 178, 183-84 (2d Cir. 2003). The first element is objective and measures the severity of the deprivation, while the second element is subjective and ensures that the defendant acted with a sufficiently culpable state of mind. Id. at 184 (citing, inter alia, Chance v. Armstrong, 143 F.3d 698, 702 (2d Cir. 1998)).
The objective prong of the standard is satisfied "when (a) the prisoner was 'actually deprived of adequate medical care,' meaning prison officials acted unreasonably in response to an inmate health risk under the circumstances, and (b) 'the inadequacy in medical care is sufficiently serious.'" Bellotto v. County of Orange, 248 F. App'x 232, 236 (2d Cir. 2007) (quoting Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d 263, 279-80 (2d Cir. 2006)). If the "unreasonable care" consists of a failure to provide any treatment, then the court examines whether the inmate's condition itself is "sufficiently serious." Smith v. Carpenter, 316 F.3d 178, 185-86 (2d Cir. 2003). When a prisoner alleges "a temporary delay or interruption in the provision of otherwise adequate medical treatment," the court must focus on the seriousness of theparticular risk of harm that resulted from the challenged delay or interruption, rather than the prisoner's underlying medical condition alone." Id. at 185. The standard for determining when a deprivation or delay in a prisoner's medical need is sufficiently serious contemplates a condition of urgency that may result in degeneration of the patient's condition or extreme pain. Bellotto, 248 F. App'x at 236 (citing, inter alia, Chance v. Armstrong 143 F.3d at 702).
The subjective prong of the deliberate indifference test is satisfied when an official "knows that inmates face a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to abate it." Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 847 (1994). A plaintiff is not required to show that a defendant acted or failed to act "for the very purpose of causing harm or with knowledge that harm will result," but must show that the official was aware of facts from which one could infer that "a substantial risk of serious harm" exists, and that the official drew that inference. Id. at 835, 837. The defendant must be subjectively...
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