Kolpak v. Bell

• Decision Date: 14 August 1985
• Docket Number: No. 82 C 4705.,82 C 4705.
• Citation: 619 F. Supp. 359
• Parties: Joseph KOLPAK and Theresa Kolpak, Administrators of the Estate of John Kolpak, Plaintiffs, v. Richard BELL, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

619 F. Supp. 359

Joseph KOLPAK and Theresa Kolpak, Administrators of the Estate of John Kolpak, Plaintiffs, v. Richard BELL, et al., Defendants.

No. 82 C 4705.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, E.D.

August 14, 1985.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Thomas J. Esler, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs.

Robert John Connor, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Illinois Dept. of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GETZENDANNER, District Judge:

This civil rights action was brought by Theresa and John Kolpak, administrators of the estate of their son, John Kolpak. The case is now before the court on the motion for summary judgment of nine of the eleven named defendants. (An order of default was entered on March 8, 1983 against defendant Larry Sims. Fed.R. Civ.P. 55(a). Defendant Jesse Johnson has not yet been served and is not a party to the present motion.) The motion is granted in part and denied in part.

Introduction

In the first count of their three-count amended complaint, plaintiffs claim that the treatment their son received while in defendants' custody deprived him of his rights under the first, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments of the federal constitution. As a result, plaintiffs allege that defendants violated 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1986. In the second and third counts, plaintiffs allege that this treatment violated their son's rights under Illinois statutory and common law principles. As administrators of John Kolpak's estate, they seek declaratory relief, compensatory damages of seven million dollars, and attorney's fees and costs.

The events leading up to John Kolpak's tragic death and the filing of the present action began when he was admitted to the Waukegan Developmental Center ("WDC") in Waukegan, Illinois. The WDC, run by the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities ("IDMHDD"), is a state institution equipped to provide care for severely mentally retarded adults. Built in 1975, the WDC consists of five Units, a main administration building, and a schoolhouse arranged around a circular grass field. Each Unit consists of ten Homes, each containing a kitchen, two bathrooms, living and dining areas, a day room off the kitchen, an outdoor patio, a utility room, and four bedrooms. From six to nine persons reside in a Home.

On March 31, 1981, John was admitted to Unit 1, Home 9 of the WDC, where he shared a bedroom with two other residents. By July 18, 1981, after numerous, less serious reported injuries, John Kolpak had died of a severe beating sustained while in the custody of IDMHDD employees. Plaintiffs filed this action on July 29, 1982 against various named and unnamed employees and agents of the IDMHDD. All of the defendants are sued both in their individual and official capacities.

Factual Discussion

A. General Background

The parties do not dispute the events leading up to John's institutionalization. John was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1953. At the age of seven years, he was diagnosed as severely retarded. Also at that age, as a result of disease and other physical disorders, John lost the ability to speak a recognizable language. John was thereafter characterized as "nonverbal," which means he could understand and respond to verbal instructions in English and Polish, but could communicate his needs only through sounds and hand and body movements. Because of John's disabilities, he was denied admission to the Chicago Public Schools, and attended special schools between ages 12 and 25.

At the age of 25, John underwent testing directed to determining a suitable living situation for him. Theresa and John Kolpak, entering their mid-fifties, were concerned about their future ability to care for their son and sought an appropriate residential facility. After testing was concluded on March 30, 1981, plaintiffs concluded that the WDC was a readily available, suitable institution for John. Neither party asserts that John himself knowingly or voluntarily chose to enter WDC. On March 31, 1981, John was transported to the WDC by ambulance. He was assigned to Unit 1, Home 9, which was characterized by defendant James McKinley as a home for "problem residents." Several defendants admit that John did not pose disciplinary problems. (Amended Answer ¶ 17.)

John's treatment while at the WDC is the subject of this action. The present factual record of the course and professional adequacy of that treatment is spotty at best. Thus, it is important to keep in mind the procedural posture of the case. As defendants have moved for summary judgment, they have the burden of showing that there is an absence of any genuine issue of material fact and that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Adickes v. S.H. Kress and Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). This is so even though plaintiffs will eventually have the burden at trial of showing their entitlement to relief by a preponderance of the evidence.

In scrutinizing a motion for summary judgment, a court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant. Hermes v. Hein, 742 F.2d 350, 353 (7th Cir.1984); Korf v. Ball State University, 726 F.2d 1222, 1226 (7th Cir.1984). In addition, a movant may not simply question the factual accuracy of the non-movant's pleadings. If the movant does not adduce evidence tending to controvert those pleadings and to establish entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, the non-movant is not obligated to produce evidence in order to defeat the motion for summary judgment. Herman v. National Broadcasting Co., Inc., 744 F.2d 604, 607 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 105 S.Ct. 1393, 84 L.Ed.2d 782 (1985). These principles concerning the burden of proof are especially important in a case such as this where the factual record is replete with omissions relevant to crucial elements of defendants' arguments. See, e.g., Adickes, 398 U.S. at 157-158, 90 S.Ct. at 1608-1609.

B. Defendants' Duties at WDC

The parties have provided the court with portions of several defendants' deposition testimony. That evidence and the pleadings illuminate the roles and responsibilities of the defendants. At the relevant times, defendant Richard Bell was a Service Area Coordinator of the IDMHDD. In this position, Bell supervised the Unit Administrators of Units 1 and 2 of the WDC. (Bell Dep. at 10-11.) It appears from Bell's deposition that his supervisory responsibilities did not include direct review of every event occurring in the various Homes. Rather, Bell would have regular sessions with the Unit Administrators. (Id. at 28.) In addition, Program Coordinators and Home Managers would occasionally meet with Bell. (Id. at 10-11, 28.) Reports from the Unit Administrators would include any indication "of any problems or major difficulties." (Id. at 11.) Bell explains, "I would get general reports about how programs were functioning but not in detail unless there was a problem, and then I would get significant detail." (Id. at 27-28.) In addition to holding direct meetings with subordinates, Bell would review Home records as part of his supervisory tasks. Such records include so-called Special Injury Reports and Special Incident Reports. (Id. at 62.) (The court will refer to these reports simply as injury reports and incident reports. A description of the reports will be provided below.) According to Bell, after such a report had been completed, "either I would review them or my administrative assistant would review them and bring those to my attention that he felt were even vaguely questionable." (Id.)

Defendant Robert Day was the Unit Administrator for Unit 1 at the times relevant to the complaint. Day testified that his responsibilities included protection of the health and safety of from 80 to 120 mentally retarded adults and the supervision of from 120 to 126 employees. (Day Dep. at 6.) Bell testified that Unit Administrators supervised Home Managers (Bell Dep. at 10-11), and this is consistent with Day's description of his duties (Day Dep. at 51). Day indicated that he reviewed injury reports as a matter of course. (Id. at 50.) It is also clear that he reviewed incident reports (which were kept in the Home for the Home Manager's use), talking to the Home Manager about a specific report "if it required it." (Id. at 51.) Finally, Day could and likely did make specific decisions about Home routines. For example, Home Manager Larry Hudson testified that Day probably was responsible for the decision to do extra "body checks" on John as a way of locating the source of his injuries. (Hudson Dep. at 30.)

Defendant Larry Hudson was the Home Manager for Unit 1, Home 9 while John resided there. (Hudson Dep. 28-29.) Hudson's deposition reveals that his duties included supervision of the technicians. (Id. at 54-55, 60-61.) It is also clear that, perhaps unlike Day and Bell, Hudson's job brought him in frequent contact with the Home residents, since Hudson often made entries in the Home logs and observed John in person. (See, e.g., id. at 40, 42.) Thus, Hudson's supervision of the daily Home activities was close. When asked whether he read the special chart directed to determining the source of Kolpak's injuries, Hudson said he probably did, noting, "I wanted to be aware of everything that was happening." (Id. at 38.)

Defendant John Miller was a Program Coordinator during the relevant period. Plaintiffs provide no other description of his duties. Miller states that he served primarily as Home Manager for Home 7, and was Program Coordinator for Unit 1, Home 9 on July 18, 1981 solely because of the rotating weekend schedule for Program Coordinators. Miller stated that as Program Coordinator, he does not come into contact with residents' records. Defendant Arnold Wolochak was a Social Worker for John's Home. His tasks included pre-admission...