Soliday v. Miami County, Ohio, 94-3281
| Decision Date | 02 June 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-3281,94-3281 |
| Parties | Susan SOLIDAY, As Administratrix and Personal Representative of the Estate of Harry Perkins, deceased; Jeanmarie I. Couchot, As Administratrix and Personal Representative of the Estate of Harry Perkins, deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MIAMI COUNTY, OHIO; Robert Clauson, Miami County Commissioner; Don Hart, Miami County Commissioner; Wade Westfall, Miami County Commissioner; Joseph A. Mahan, Miami County Sheriff's Deputy; Sharon D. Colvin, M.D.; Charles Cox, Jr., Miami County Sheriff; Walter B. Meeker, M.D., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Scott A. Liberman, Altick & Corwin, Dennis M. Hanaghan (briefed), Edward C. Utacht, II (briefed), Stephen M. McHugh (briefed), Altick & Corwin, Dayton, OH, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Neil Freund (briefed), Lisa A. Hesse, Freund, Freeze & Arnold, Janice M. Paulus, Coolidge, Wall, Womsley & Lombard, Dayton, OH, for Miami County, Ohio, Robert Clauson, Don Hart, Wade Westfall.
Robert P. Bartlett, Jr. (briefed), Janice M. Paulus, Coolidge, Wall, Womsley & Lombard, Dayton, OH, for Joseph A. Mahan, Charles Cox, Jr.
Patrick Kevin Adkinson, John B. Welch (briefed), Jacobson, Maynard, Tuschman & Kalur, Dayton, OH, for Sharon D. Colvin, M.D.
Thomas E. Jenks (briefed), Jenks, Surdyk & Cowdrey, Dayton, OH, for Walter B. Meeker, M.D.
Before: KENNEDY and NORRIS, Circuit Judges; TAYLOR, District Judge. *
On April 4, 1990, Harry Perkins was arrested for breaking and entering and was incarcerated in the Miami County Jail pending trial. Perkins died on April 13, while still in custody. Perkins' representative filed the present action against Miami County, several of its officials, and its sheriff, among others. The suit alleges, inter alia, violations of Perkins' constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Defendants filed motions for summary judgment, which the District Court granted in part, and plaintiff appeals from that decision. We are without jurisdiction to hear the appeal regarding the District Court's decision to grant partial summary judgment on the deliberate indifference to serious medical needs claim, as that is not an appealable order. We do, however, have jurisdiction over the other assignments of error and affirm the District Court on those issues.
Perkins was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1988. On March 29, 1990, he was released from the Miami Valley Hospital and given prescriptions for various drugs, including AZT and insulin. 1 On April 4, 1990, police officers arrested Perkins for breaking and entering and took him to the Miami County Jail.
As part of the booking procedures, corrections officers ("COs") asked Perkins about his medical condition. He informed them that he had AIDS, but told them he was not taking any medication. The COs who processed Perkins described him as looking "weak" and "ill". Perkins lost control of his bowels twice during the booking procedure.
The jail housed Perkins in an isolation cell because he was so frail. COs take roll call of the isolation cells at meal time, and they note whether a prisoner refuses any meal. Perkins did not refuse any of his meals during his stay at the Miami County Jail. COs also observe prisoners in the isolation cells once every hour. According to deposition testimony, Perkins followed a predictable routine while in jail. He mostly slept or smoked, and his conversations with the COs consisted primarily of requests for cigarettes and to have cigarettes lighted.
Perkins did occasionally complain about a sore throat, for which he requested throat lozenges. COs also gave Perkins aspirin or Tylenol. After giving Perkins throat lozenges for several days, CO Kay Stepp suggested that Perkins see the doctor for treatment. With Stepp's assistance, Perkins filled out the appropriate request form. For reasons not indicated in the record, that request form was never passed on to the doctor.
COs had a difficult time awakening Perkins on the morning of April 13. Stepp reported to work at approximately 7:00 a.m. and was informed of that fact. Stepp went to Perkins' cell and tried to rouse him. When she was not able to get a response, she entered his cell. Perkins did not open his eyes and look at Stepp until after she had called him four or five times. After speaking briefly to Stepp, Perkins laid his head back down. Stepp then left the cell.
Shortly thereafter, Joseph Mahan, a deputy sheriff, came to the second floor of the jail, where the isolation cells were located. Stepp informed him of Perkins' condition, and the two decided to move Perkins to the jail's clinic, which is located on the third floor. Perkins was not able to move on his own and had to be carried to the clinic.
After Perkins was moved, someone informed Sheriff Charles Cox of Perkins' condition and told him that Perkins might need to be sent to the hospital. Cox was also told that, if Perkins did go to the hospital, it might be for a long stay. After receiving this information, Cox commenced proceedings to have Perkins released from custody. At about 9:45 a.m., Cox went to the clinic to observe Perkins, whose condition was deteriorating. Shortly after 10:15 a.m., CO Scott Niesley checked on Perkins and could not get a response. Niesley then summoned another CO, who checked for Perkins' pulse, but was not able to find one. The two COs reported their observations to the jail administration, and the paramedics were summoned. The paramedics arrived at approximately 10:50 a.m. and concluded that Perkins was dead.
Perkins' body was transported to the morgue at Stouder Hospital, where Dr. Walter Meeker conducted a visual examination without removing any of Perkins' clothing. Meeker concluded that Perkins died of multiple systems failure caused by the AIDS virus. Within a few hours of Perkins' death, and before any relatives were contacted, Meeker ordered the cremation of Perkins' body. Meeker did not want any employees handling Perkins' body, and he also feared that burial would spread the AIDS virus through the ground.
Perkins' personal representative filed the present action, alleging violations of Perkins' constitutional rights, as well as of several Ohio state laws. Plaintiff named a number of defendants, including Miami County, its commissioners, its sheriff, numerous corrections officers, Meeker, and Dr. Sharon Colvin, who provided medical services to the jail. All defendants filed motions for summary judgment. The District Court granted several of the motions in their entirety, including those of Meeker, Colvin, and the county commissioners. The lower court, however, granted only partial summary judgment in favor of the remaining defendants. The District Court directed the entry of final judgment under Rule 54(b), and plaintiff now appeals.
Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, summary judgment is to be entered if the moving party demonstrates there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. The moving party has "the burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact." Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). In resolving a summary judgment motion, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Duchon v. Cajon Co., 791 F.2d 43, 46 (6th Cir.1986). We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment.
The heart of plaintiff's action are her claims against Miami County and its employees for being deliberately indifferent to Perkins' serious medical needs. In reviewing defendants' motions for summary judgment, the District Court divided Perkins' stay in jail into two time periods: April 4-12 and April 13. The District Court concluded that, as a matter of law, no deliberate indifference occurred during the first time period, but that plaintiff had presented a triable issue of fact as to defendants' conduct on the day Perkins died. Plaintiff now appeals the grant of summary judgment as to the first time period.
Because the District Court granted only partial summary judgment, we must first determine whether we have jurisdiction before we begin a review of the merits. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that
[w]hen more than one claim for relief is presented in an action, ... or when multiple parties are involved, the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment....
Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). In the present case, the District Court paved the way for an appeal by entering a final judgment as to defendants Colvin, Meeker, Clauson, Hart, and Westfall, as well as to all defendants involved in the deliberate indifference claim for the period of April 4-12. The District Court, however, retained jurisdiction over the defendants involved with the April 13 activities.
This court has reviewed the purpose behind Rule 54(b) on several occasions:
Rule 54(b) was designed to facilitate the entry of an order of final judgment in a multi-claim/multi-party action where the parties demonstrated a need for making review available on some of the claims or parties before entry of final judgment as to all.... The advent of the relaxed joinder provisions in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure made necessary a revision of what could be considered a "judicial unit" for purposes of appellate jurisdiction. Sound judicial administration warrants allowing appeal on some claims or parties before the entire case is finally adjudicated, but it does not warrant blurring the concept of finality as to a single claim or as to one party.... Rule 54(b) therefore does not countenance piecemeal review of a claim. Nor is Rule 54(b) to be...
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