U.S. v. Tennessee

• Decision Date: 08 July 2009
• Docket Number: No. 92-2062.,92-2062.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. State of TENNESSEE, et al., Defendants, and People First of Tennessee and Parent-Guardian Association of Arlington Developmental Center, Intervenors.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Tennessee

632 F.Supp.2d 795

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. State of TENNESSEE, et al., Defendants, and People First of Tennessee and Parent-Guardian Association of Arlington Developmental Center, Intervenors.

No. 92-2062.

United States District Court, W.D. Tennessee, Western Division.

July 8, 2009.

Amie S. Murphy, Amin Aminfar, R. Jonas Geissler, Robert A. Koch, Corey M. Sanders, Matthew Donnelly, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Joe A. Dycus, U.S. Attorney's Office, Memphis, TN, for Plaintiff.

Dianne Stamey Dycus, Attorney General and Reporter, Nashville, TN, David Lehn, Derek L. Shaffer, Jesse Panuccio, Cooper & Kirk PLLC, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

Earle J. Schwarz, The Offices of Earle J. Schwarz, Kimbrough Brown Mullins, Mullins Gardner, PLC, Memphis, TN, Edward G. Connette, Essex Richards, P.A., Charlotte, NC, Frank J. Laski, Judith A. Gran, Philadelphia, PA, Jack W. Derryberry, Jr., Ward Derryberry & Thompson, Marcella G. Derryberry, Law Offices of Marcella G. Derryberry, Nashville, TN, William F. Sherman, Law Offices of William F. Sherman, Little Rock, AR, for Intervenors.

ORDER GRANTING INTERVENOR PEOPLE FIRST'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING DEFENDANTS STATE OF TENNESSEE ET AL'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDMENT

BERNICE BOUIE DONALD, District Judge.

Before the Court are Intervenor People First of Tennessee's ("People First") motion for partial summary judgment (D.E. # 2400) and Defendants State of Tennessee et al.'s ("Defendants" or "State") motion for summary judgment (D.E. # 2404). On Thursday, July 2, 2009, the Court entered a summary order GRANTING People First's motion and DENYING Defendants' motion. This order hereby sets forth the reasons for the Court's ruling.

I. BACKGROUND¹

This case began in 1992 when the United States of America filed suit against Defendants because of conditions at Arlington Developmental Center ("ADC"), a state-run intermediate care facility for mentally retarded persons ("ICF/MR"). See United States v. Tennessee, 925 F.Supp. 1292, 1296 (W.D.Tenn.1995). Since the Court's 1993 holding that conditions at ADC violated the constitutional rights of its residents, litigation in this case has focused on finding and implementing an appropriate remedy. Eventually, the parties reached a settlement which provided that ADC should be closed and replaced with alternative means of delivering necessary care and services to mentally retarded individuals in West Tennessee. Further, the Court's orders directed Defendants to improve conditions at ADC pending its scheduled closure.

In 1995, the Court certified a plaintiff class in the related action of People First of Tennessee v. Arlington Development Center, Case No. 92-2213 (W.D.Tenn.), allowed People First to join the instant suit, and extended the relief in this case to the plaintiff class in People First. In the process, the Court expanded the scope of this litigation to concern more than merely the specific living conditions at ADC. The parties subsequently began to develop a plan to provide services to members of the Arlington class.² Discussions continued from 1999 into 2000, and the parties eventually drafted a plan for the creation of the Community Services Network of West Tennessee, Inc., a nonprofit organization with which the State would contract to provide a host of services. (D.E. # 2400-3 (Ex. J): Prewitt Decl. at 3.) Disagreement among the parties persisted, however, as a result of a dispute over which individuals would be eligible for CSN services. (Id.) Judge McCalla, before whom this case was then pending, held a status conference on March 9, 2000 to discuss the parties' inability to reach an agreement. (Id.) During this conference, counsel for Defendants (Assistant Attorney General Dianne Dycus) unambiguously stated to Judge McCalla that the residents of ICF/MRs—who then numbered 30—would have the option of enrolling in CSN, though the State did not concede that certain other class members would likewise be eligible. (See D.E. # 2400-3 (Ex. W): Tr. of March 9, 2000 Hr'g.)

Upon learning of the State's opposition to covering all persons within the Arlington class, Judge McCalla found that the State had never before expressed this position and set a deadline for it to inform the Court whether it would accept an agreement to provide services to the entire class. (See Prewitt Decl. at 3-4.) The State eventually consented to cover the entire class as defined by the Court. (See D.E. # 1226: Order of March 20, 2000.) The Court ordered the State to execute a grant contract with CSN by April 15, 2000. (See D.E. # 1248: Order of April 5, 2000.) On April 12, 2000, the State complied, executing the grant contract with CSN that it has thereafter consistently renewed. (See Prewitt Decl. at 4.)

Following execution of the CSN contract in 2000, at least some class members who were residents of ICF/MRs enrolled in CSN. (See Prewitt Decl. at 6; see also D.E. # 2400-3 (Ex. N): Hanson Decl. at 2.) In fact, the evidence shows that somewhere from 20% to 25% of the original group of class members who `enrolled in CSN resided in ICF/MRs. (See Prewitt Decl. at 6; Hanson Decl. at 2.) The parties dispute whether these individuals have received CSN services continuously since 2000 or if they were instead later removed from CSN enrollment. It is clear, however, that officials acting on behalf of the State have used the term "community" to describe ICF/MRs and have, at least at times, considered ICF/MR residents eligible to participate in CSN. For instance, the State's Closure Plan for ADC states that all class members, including those who "live in a community-based ICF/MR home," will have access to CSN services. (See D.E. # 2400-3 (Ex. P): Closure Plan.) In 2006, the State began efforts to enroll in CSN all class members residing in ICF/MRs as part of a process to tailor CSN services to these individuals' particular needs. (See Hanson Decl. at 3-7.) Additionally, in early 2008 the State issued letters to class members, including those residing at ICF/MRs, informing them of their eligibility to enroll in CSN. (See D.E. # 2400-3 (Ex. Q): Norris Letter.)

In December 2008, the State notified CSN that it was not authorized to provide services to individuals residing in institutions (viz., ICF/MRs), only those residing in home and community-based waiver services. (See Prewitt Decl. at Ex. A: Letter of D. Dycus of Dec. 17, 2008.) This ignited the controversy that is the subject of the cross-motions before the Court. People First filed a motion seeking a declaration from the Court that CSN services are available to all Arlington class members, regardless of where they reside, so long as they do not reside at ADC. (D.E. # 2332: People First's Emergency Motion for Declaratory Relief.) Defendants oppose this request for declaratory relief. People First later filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the question of eligibility for CSN services,³ and Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment raising the same issue.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Although hearsay evidence may not be considered on a motion for summary judgment, Jacklyn v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Prods. Sales Corp., 176 F.3d 921, 927 (6th Cir.1999), evidentiary materials presented to avoid summary judgment otherwise need not be in a form that would be admissible at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Thaddeus-X v. Blatter, 175 F.3d 378, 400 (6th Cir.1999). The evidence and justifiable inferences based on facts must be viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Wade v. Knoxville Utilities Bd., 259 F.3d 452, 460 (6th Cir.2001).

Summary judgment is proper "against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The moving party can prove the absence of a genuine issue of material fact by showing that there is a lack of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case. Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. This may be accomplished by submitting affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim, or by attacking the nonmoving party's evidence to show why it does not support a judgment for the nonmoving party. 10A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2727 (3d ed. 1998).

Once a properly supported motion for summary judgment has been made, "an opposing party may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must—by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule—set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2). A genuine issue for trial exists if the evidence would permit a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). To avoid summary judgment, the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348.

III. ANALYSIS

The cross-motions filed by People First and Defendants raise the same issue— whether CSN services are available under the grant contract to individuals residing in ICF/MRs. The parties agree that the relevant language of the grant contract reads as follows:

The services that will be provided by the Community Services Network of West Tennessee (CSN) must provide...