Quintana v. Santa Fe Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs

• Decision Date: 05 February 2019
• Docket Number: No. CIV 18-0043 JB\LF,CIV 18-0043 JB\LF
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico
• Parties: ROSE QUINTANA and CORY HICKERSON, Individually, and as the Personal Representatives of the ESTATE OF RICARDO JOSE ORTIZ, deceased, Plaintiff, v. SANTA FE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS; ANNE ROBINSON, in her individual capacity; DYLAN CHAVEZ, in his individual capacity; ANTHONY VALDO, in his individual capacity; TYLER LOPEZ, in his individual capacity; LEONARD GARCIA, in his individual capacity, and CRISTOBAL GALLEGOS, in his individual capacity, Defendants.

ROSE QUINTANA and CORY HICKERSON, Individually,and as the Personal Representatives of the ESTATE OF RICARDO JOSE ORTIZ, deceased, Plaintiff, v. SANTA FE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS; ANNE ROBINSON,in her individual capacity; DYLAN CHAVEZ, in his individual capacity;ANTHONY VALDO, in his individual capacity; TYLER LOPEZ,in his individual capacity; LEONARD GARCIA, in his individual capacity,and CRISTOBAL GALLEGOS, in his individual capacity, Defendants.

No. CIV 18-0043 JB\LF

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

February 5, 2019

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on: (i) the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, filed April 27, 2018 (Doc. 13)("MTD"); and (ii) the Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend the Complaint, filed September 12, 2018 (Doc. 30)("MTA"). The primary issues are: (i) whether qualified immunity bars the Plaintiffs' claims against Defendant Santa Fe County Board of Commissioners in Santa Fe, New Mexico ("Santa Fe County") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for its customs or practices of not providing appropriate medical attention to inmates in withdrawal, of not training its nurses to intake inmates suffering withdrawal, and of not training its employees to provide medical attention to inmates suffering withdrawal; (ii) whether the N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41-4-6 negligent-operation-of- a-building immunity waiver in the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 41-4-1 through 41-4-27 ("NMTCA"), applies where the Plaintiffs' claims relate to negligent supervision and medical treatment of inmates in a building, so that Plaintiffs Rosa Quintana, Ricardo Jose Ortiz' partner and his children's mother, see First Amended Complaint for Violations of the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act, the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, and the Federal Civil Rights Statute ¶ 1, at 2, filed April 11, 2018 (Doc. 10)("First Amended Complaint"), and Cory Hickerson, Ortiz' brother, see First Amended Complaint ¶ 2, at 2, have stated a claim upon which relief can be granted against Santa Fe County for failure to provide proper medical attention to inmates suffering heroin withdrawal or to train its employees to provide such attention; (iii) whether the NMTCA's § 41-4-9 medical-facility waiver applies to Santa Fe County when the Plaintiffs allege facts related to Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility ("ADF")'s Medical Unit, so that the Plaintiffs have stated a claim upon which relief can be granted; and (iv) whether the Court should grant the Plaintiffs leave to amend the First Amended Complaint to add new factual allegations. The Court concludes that: (i) Defendants Dylan Chavez, Anthony Valdo, Tyler Lopez, Leonard Garcia, and Cristobal Gallegos (the "individual Defendants") are entitled to qualified immunity, so the Court dismisses the § 1983 claims against them; (ii) with no federal claims remaining in the case, the Court remands the case to state court for determination of the NMTCA claims against Santa Fe County; and (iii) the Second Amended Complaint for Violations of the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act, the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, and the Federal Civil Rights Statute, filed September 12, 2018 (Doc. 30-1)("Proposed Second Amended Complaint") cannot survive a motion to dismiss, so the Court denies the MTA, because the amendment is futile.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court takes its facts from the First Amended Complaint. The Court provides these facts for background. It does not adopt them as the truth, and it recognizes that these facts are largely the Plaintiffs' version of events.

The lawsuit arises from Ortiz' January 7, 2016, death while in the ADF's custody. See First Amended Complaint at 1-2. Quintana, a resident of Santa Fe County, New Mexico, was Ortiz' partner before his death, and is his children's mother. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 1, at 2. Hickerson, a resident of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, is Ortiz' brother. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 2, at 2. Ortiz was a resident of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico at the time of his death. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 3, at 2. Santa Fe County "owned, operated, and maintained" the ADF, and the ADF employed Defendants Anne Robinson, a medical intake nurse; Anthony Valdo, a Classification Officer, responsible for classifying inmates into housing units; Dylan Chavez, Tyler Lopez, and Leonard Garcia, Corrections Officers; and Cristobal Gallegos, a Corporal¹. First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 4-10, 119, 136, 155, 164, at 2-4, 18, 20, 22-23.

In 2010, Ortiz sustained a severe back injury requiring surgery and developed a dependency on his prescription opiates. See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 25, 27, at 6-7. From 2010 onwards, Ortiz struggled with substance, particularly opiate, abuse and with mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety. See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 24-44, at 6-9. In 2013, doctors at Christus St. Vincent's Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico, diagnosed Ortiz with"depression, anxiety, a history of polysubstance abuse, and Hepatitis C." First Amended Complaint ¶ 38, at 8.

Between June, 2013, and February, 2015, Ortiz entered the ADF at least seven times, in connection with his substance abuse. See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 36, 46, at 8-9. On June 6, 2013, the ADF first booked Ortiz, and, after completing a "Medical Intake History and Screening Form," which notes Ortiz' daily use of 2 grams of heroin and assigns Ortiz a COWS Score² of 3, the ADF's Medical Unit recommended housing Ortiz "in the general inmate population." First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 49-50, at 10. On July 3, 2013, the ADF partially completed a "Medical Services Form," which indicates that Ortiz has no medical restrictions but leaves blank the "'intake housing recommendation' section," and completed a "'History and Physical' form not[ing] a history of substance abuse." First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 55-56, at 10-11. The First Amended Complaint states that "[i]t is unclear whether Mr. Ortiz was offered withdrawal medications in connection with this incarceration." First Amended Complaint ¶ 57, at 11.

On November 5, 2013, ADF booked Ortiz again, and completed a "History and Physical" form noting Ortiz' history of substance abuse and checking a box for "Follow-up PRN."³ FirstAmended Complaint ¶ 59, at 11. At intake, the ADF's Medical Unit also completed a "Medical Intake History and Screening" form noting Ortiz' "history of heroin abuse" and "recent treatment for anxiety, depression, and PTSD," but leaving blank a portion of the form asking whether the inmate "get[s] sick when [the inmate] stop[s] using drugs." See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 58-60, at 11. Ortiz requested "housing in Safekeeping" but "[t]he Medical Unit instead recommended him for placement into general population." First Amended Complaint ¶ 58, at 11.

On December 20, 2013, Ortiz "was booked back into ADF after violating his conditions of release by leaving the Hoy Recovery center⁴ before his treatment was complete, after the center concluded it could not meet his health needs." First Amended Complaint ¶ 61, at 11. After completing another "Medical Intake History and Screening" form, which documented no drug use or history despite Ortiz' transfer to the ADF directly from a detoxification facility, and despite his request for "housing in Safekeeping," the Medical Unit recommended housing him in generalpopulation. First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 61-63, at 11. The ADF placed Ortiz on suicide watch. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 63, at 11.

On September 3, 2014, the ADF booked Ortiz again. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 64, at 12. The Medical Unit prepared a "History and Physical" form upon intake, describing Ortiz as a heroin user who last used two months before the intake. First Amended Complaint ¶ 64, at 12. On September 5, 2014, the ADF placed Ortiz on an "opiate protocol." First Amended Complaint ¶ 65, at 12. On September 12, 2014, the Medical Unit completed a "Medical Intake History and Screening" form for Ortiz, which "is left mostly blank." First Amended Complaint ¶ 66, at 12. On September 25, 2014, the ADF booked Ortiz again, completing a "Medical Intake History and Screening" form which asserts that Ortiz "does not take drugs, and does not note any history of substance abuse." First Amended Complaint ¶ 67, at 12. The Medical Unit recommended housing Ortiz in the ADF's general population. First Amended Complaint ¶ 67, at 12. At the time, Ortiz "had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C." First Amended Complaint ¶ 68, at 12. On February 11, 2015, the ADF booked Ortiz again, and the Medical Unit recommended housing him in general population despite his request for placement in "Safekeeping." First Amended Complaint ¶ 69, at 12. No records reflect Ortiz receiving treatment for his substance abuse during this incarceration. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 70, at 12.

On January 4, 2016, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office ("Sheriff's Office") arrested Ortiz "on charges including larceny." First Amended Complaint ¶ 71, at 12. On the Plaintiffs' information and belief, "Ortiz had been heavily using heroin and other opiates" at the time of his arrest. First Amended Complaint ¶ 72, at 13. Upon Ortiz' arrival at the ADF, Robinsoninterviewed Ortiz. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 74, at 13. Robinson later told the Sheriff's Office that she "completed paperwork related to Mr. Ortiz' intake." First Amended Complaint ¶ 75, at 13.

The ADF's Intake Guidelines include "Guidelines governing the proper performance of an 'Initial Poly-Substance Abuse Assessment' and a subsequent 'Poly-Substance Abuse Withdrawal Assessment.'" First Amended Complaint ¶ 76, at 13. The ADF's Intake Guidelines also require intake nurses to "fully complete and sign a 'Medical Intake History and Screening' form for each inmate." First Amended Complaint ¶ 77, at 13. Regarding inmate substance abusers, the Intake Guidelines provide that most inmate substance abusers are still intoxicated during their intake assessments and that, because the individuals are not in...