United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT CORRECT CARE
SOLUTIONS’ MOTION TO DISMISS
TANYA
WALTON PRATT, JUDGE
This
matter is before the Court on a second Motion to Dismiss
Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint filed pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) by Defendant Correct
Care Solutions (“CCS”) (Filing No. 53).
Plaintiff Yonel Maxis (“Maxis”) initiated this
action, seeking monetary damages for violations of his Fourth
and Fourteenth Amendment rights while he was incarcerated in
the Marion County Jail. CCS successfully moved to dismiss
Maxis’ Monell claim against it, and Maxis
filed an Amended Complaint, realleging the Monell
claim. CCS again has moved to dismiss Maxis’ sole claim
against it, arguing that the allegations in the Amended
Complaint fail to not support a Monell claim against
CCS. For the reasons stated below, the Court
grants CCS’s second Motion to Dismiss.
I.
BACKGROUND
The
following facts are not necessarily objectively true, but as
required when reviewing a motion to dismiss, the Court
accepts as true all factual allegations in the complaint and
draws all inferences in favor of Maxis as the non-moving
party. See Bielanski v. County of Kane, 550 F.3d
632, 633 (7th Cir. 2008). The facts of this case are set
forth in detail in the Court’s Order on CCS’s
first motion to dismiss at Filing No. 43 at
2–4 and will thus are only summarized, with the
exception of additional facts based on the allegations in the
Amended Complaint.
Maxis,
a native of Haiti, speaks Haitian Creole and knows only a few
words in English. When he tried to board an IndyGo bus on
July 20, 2017, he encountered a language barrier and was
prevented from boarding the bus. Indianapolis Metropolitan
Police Department officers arrived, noted a language barrier,
and tried to communicate with Maxis using hand signals. They
eventually handcuffed Maxis and pulled him away from the
scene. Maxis was suffering from a mental impairment at the
time of his arrest. He was taken to the Arrestee Processing
Center. Thereafter, in the early morning hours of July 21,
2017, Maxis was transported to the Marion County Jail. Upon
arrival at the Marion County Jail, he was placed in a cell
(Filing No. 47 at 4– 6).
CCS
contracts with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to
provide medical care and treatment to inmates at the Marion
County Jail. Id. at 4. CCS Registered Nurse Erica
Morris (“RN Morris”) completed an initial
screening of Maxis. RN Morris used the “language
line” and Google to translate when communicating with
Maxis. She marked answers for each question, but no signature
was captured from Maxis. RN Morris found that Maxis had no
lesions or abrasions and determined that he could be placed
in general population. RN Morris also noted that Maxis
answered “no” to all questions concerning the use
of narcotic drugs and that she did not observe any physical
marks indicative of drug abuse. Id. at 6.
Licensed
Practical Nurse Jhervon Gunn (“LPN Gunn”)
interacted with Maxis at approximately 6:40 a.m. on July 21,
2017. In his notes, LPN Gunn explained that Maxis spoke very
little English but was able to make gestures and followed
commands. LPN Gunn had access to the language line and a
translator but failed to utilize either of those services.
Because of the language barrier, LPN Gunn could not directly
communicate with Maxis regarding his condition. Id.
During
his first day at the Marion County Jail, RN Abimbola
Modupe-Fry (“RN Modupe-Fry”) noted that Maxis was
offered Gatorade at approximately 1:30 p.m. RN Modupe-Fry did
not use the language line or a translator for this
interaction. As a result of the language barrier, she could
not directly communicate with Maxis regarding his condition.
Id. at 7. At approximately 3:57 p.m., LPN Tracy
Roberts (“LPN Roberts”) completed a
“Pre-Segregation Health Assessment” form. LPN
Roberts noted that Maxis spoke no English. LPN Roberts did
not use the language line or a translator for the assessment.
LPN Roberts could not directly communicate with Maxis
regarding his condition. She took some but not all of
Maxis’ vital signs; she took his pulse but not his
blood pressure. He noted that Maxis was anxious, but his
speech was normal, and Maxis did not have any lesions or
abrasions. LPN Roberts cleared Maxis for segregation. Maxis
had not ingested any narcotics nor did any of the CCS medical
staff with whom Maxis interacted note that he exhibited any
signs of narcotic ingestion. Id. at 7–8.
On July
22, 2017, Michael Schrettenbrunner
(“Schrettenbrunner”), a CCS employee, evaluated
Maxis and completed a “Suicide Watch Daily Follow Up /
Discharge” form. Schrettenbrunner indicated that Maxis
was on suicide watch because of suicidal ideation or threat.
Schrettenbrunner noted that Maxis was sleeping and would not
wake up, but he was breathing. He determined that
Maxis’ risk of suicide was high and that he should
continue on suicide watch. However, Schrettenbrunner did not
use the language line or a translator for this evaluation
(Filing No. 47 at 9).
On July
23, 2017, Schrettenbrunner again evaluated Maxis and
completed a “Suicide Watch Daily Follow Up /
Discharge” form. During the evaluation,
Schrettenbrunner noted that he could not understand Maxis
because he was speaking a foreign language, and he appeared
to be African. Maxis was anxious and had pressed speech.
Schrettenbrunner did not use the language line or a
translator to evaluate Maxis or to determine that he had
suicidal ideation or threats. Because of the language
barrier, Schrettenbrunner could not directly communicate with
Maxis regarding his condition. However, Schrettenbrunner
still determined that Maxis had a high risk of suicide and
that he should continue on suicide watch. Id. at
9–10.
On July
24, 2017, prior to Maxis being taken to court, Megan Andrews
(“Ms. Andrews”), a CCS employee, evaluated Maxis
and completed a “Suicide Watch Daily Follow Up /
Discharge” form at approximately 12:32 p.m. Ms. Andrews
noted that Maxis was nude because of flooding in his cell.
She noted that Maxis did not appear to speak English and that
she intended to use the language line to assist with his
assessment after he returned from court. Ms. Andrews did not
use the language line or a translator to evaluate Maxis, so
she could not directly communicate with him about his
condition. She concluded that Maxis had a low risk of
suicide, but he should continue on suicide watch with his
property allowed. Id. at 10.
During
the evening of July 24, 2017, jail staff entered Maxis’
cell and forcibly pushed him into the bunk and wall. They
issued three strikes to his forearm, three strikes to his
peroneal nerve, utilized a pain point located behind his ear
and jaw, deployed the cartridge function of a taser, and
deployed two drive stuns with the taser. The jail staff
called CCS staff to remove the taser prongs from Maxis. CCS
staff members LPN Marsha Williams (“LPN
Williams”), Nikia, Shelby, and Rachel were present. An
“Emergency Response Worksheet” was completed by a
nurse employed by CCS. LPN Williams noted that she could not
take Maxis’ blood pressure because his handcuffs were
so tight. Throughout this encounter, the language line and a
translator were not used by the medical staff. Thus, the CCS
staff could not directly communicate with Maxis about his
condition. Id. at 10–11.
On July
25, 2017, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Ms. Andrews again
evaluated Maxis and completed a “Suicide Watch Daily
Follow Up / Discharge” form. During the evaluation, Ms.
Andrews observed that Maxis was laying on the floor of his
cell block. When he attempted to move, Maxis appeared to have
difficultly lifting himself up to his bunk. Ms. Andrews noted
that Maxis was of average intelligence, had intact but poor
insight, and intact but poor judgment. It also was noted that
he was withdrawn. A translator was called to assist with this
evaluation. Maxis indicated that he could not get up, that he
was weak, that he had been refusing food, and that he was
scared and did not understand what was happening over the
last few days. LPN Rachel Allen also interacted with Maxis
during this time and noted that he was shaky and looked like
he was not feeling well. She shared this information with the
night shift staff. Id. at 12.
Also on
July 25, 2017, LPN Tamnil Hill, (“LPN Hill”),
interacted with Maxis and noted that other inmates indicated
that Maxis was not eating his meals and was giving away his
food. LPN Hill indicated that Maxis appeared fatigued and
weakened, and he appeared to have no sensation in his left
leg, which was swollen. LPN Hill noted ...