MARGO K. BRODIE, District Judge:
Plaintiff James Hunter, proceeding pro se, commenced this action on or about December 12, 2012 against Defendants City of New York, Officer Giuca, Shield #9511 and Detective King, Shield #4607, alleging deprivation of due process, breach of oath of office, deprivation of equal protection of the law and abuse of authority by individual Defendants Giuca and King and a claim of municipal liability against the City of New York, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Compl. 1-2.) Defendants moved for a more definite statement of the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, (Docket Entry No. 11), and Plaintiff filed a more definite statement on April 26, 2013, with additional factual allegations, (Docket Entry No. 21). Defendants now move for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Oral argument was held on August 1, 2014. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings is granted in part and denied in part.
According to Plaintiff's Complaint, as amended by the more definite statement, on April 25, 2011, an Rodwell Jones, a non-party, struck Plaintiff with a metal
"The standard for addressing a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings is the same as that for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim." Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 520 (2d Cir.2006); see also Hayden v. Paterson, 594 F.3d 150, 160 (2d Cir.2010). In reviewing a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court must "accept[] the complaint's factual allegations as true and draw[] all
Plaintiff's claim of deprivation of due process against Giuca and King is not entirely clear as set forth in the Complaint or Statement, but in his memorandum in opposition to Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings, Plaintiff discusses the failure by the arresting officers to properly memorialize details of the investigation, the failure to provide prosecutors with their memo books containing notes from the arrest, and the failure to timely provide prosecutors with the surveillance tape of the incident, as a result of which delay the tape was damaged and a backup copy could not be found in time for trial.
Plaintiff cites California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 480, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984), which recognized that "[t]he Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires the State to disclose to criminal defendants favorable evidence that is material either to guilt or to punishment." (See Pl. Opp'n Mem. 11.) In Trombetta, the Supreme Court addressed several habeas corpus petitions brought by incarcerated individuals seeking to invalidate their convictions on the grounds that the convictions were obtained as a result of allegedly unconstitutional failures by the State to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence. See Trombetta, 467 U.S. at 483, 104 S.Ct. 2528. Here, unlike the cases addressed in Trombetta, Plaintiff is not bringing a habeas corpus challenge to his conviction. Because Plaintiff was convicted, his only recourse to challenge his conviction is through direct appeal, post-conviction review or a petition for habeas corpus. See Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 392, 127 S.Ct. 1091, 166 L.Ed.2d 973 (2007) ("Congress ... has determined that habeas corpus is the appropriate remedy for state prisoners attacking the validity of the fact or length of their confinement, and that specific determination must override the general terms of § 1983." (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)); Hayden v. Pataki, 449 F.3d 305, 341 (2d Cir.2006) ("The law recognizes habeas corpus as `the exclusive remedy for a state prisoner who challenges the fact or duration of his confinement and seeks immediate or speedier release.'" (quoting Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 481, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994))).
To the extent that Plaintiff asserts that his constitutional rights were violated by the arresting officers' failure to hand over the surveillance tape to the district attorney in a timely fashion, contributing to his inability to present the tape as exculpatory evidence during trial, and by the officers' failure to keep proper notes or provide the prosecution with his memo books — claims that the Court does not opine on — Plaintiff is challenging the constitutionality and
Plaintiff claims that the individual Defendants' refusal to permit him to seek medical attention during the arrest process is an Eight Amendment violation. (Pl. Opp'n Mem. 2-4.) However, because Plaintiff was a pre-trial detainee at the time of the alleged violation, the source of his constitutional rights for a claim of deliberate indifference to serious medical need is the Due Process Clause rather than the Eight Amendment. Caiozzo v. Koreman, 581 F.3d 63, 69 (2d Cir.2009) ("[A] person detained prior to conviction receives protection against mistreatment at the hands of prison officials under ... the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment if held in state custody."); Cuoco v. Moritsugu, 222 F.3d 99, 106 (2d Cir.2000) ("Because as a pre-trial detainee she was not being `punished,' the `cruel and unusual punishment' proscription of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution does not apply.... [Plaintiff's] claims arise under the Due Process Clause ... instead."). Nevertheless, regardless of whether Plaintiff's claim is an Eight Amendment or Due Process claim, the applicable standard is the same. See Caiozzo, 581 F.3d at 69 ("Claims for deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition or other serious threat to the health or safety of a person in custody should be analyzed under the same standard irrespective of whether they are brought under the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendment."); see also Nielsen v. Rabin, 746 F.3d 58, 63 (2d Cir.2014) (same); Liggins v. Griffo, 356 Fed.Appx. 537, 539 (2d Cir. 2009) (same).
To establish a claim of deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition, a plaintiff must satisfy both an objective and a subjective element. The plaintiff must show (1) that he had an objectively "serious medical condition," and (2) that this condition was met with subjective "deliberate indifference" on the part of the defendants. Caiozzo, 581 F.3d at 72 (quoting Cuoco, 222 F.3d at 106). Defendants argue that Plaintiff did not suffer from an objectively serious medical condition, and that even if he had, Plaintiff cannot show that Defendants' conduct rose to the level of deliberate indifference. (Def. Mem. 8-10.)
To establish a serious medical condition, "the alleged deprivation must be sufficiently serious, in the sense that a
Plaintiff alleges that he suffered a fractured rib (Am. Compl. ¶ 1), and attaches to his opposition papers a report from Correctional Health Services, dated May 2, 2011, documenting "Left ribs X ray — slightly displaced fracture of left sixth rib," providing an assessment of "Fracture NOS-Closed," and prescribing narcotic pain medication of Acetominophen-Codeine. (NYC Correctional Health Services report dated May 2, 2011, annexed to Pl. Opp'n Mem. at ECF 22.) Plaintiff also attaches additional reports dated May 4, May 13, and June 13, 2011, documenting continued pain medication and "Lt. rib tenderness," (NYC Correctional Health Services report dated May 4, 2011, annexed to Pl. Opp'n Mem. at ECF 24), "no gross rib deformity, minimal rib tenderness," (NYC Correctional Health Services report dated May 13, 2011, annexed to Pl. Opp'n Mem. at ECF 26), and "rib tenderness, normal, no gross rib deformity, tender lt. chest wall," (NYC Correctional Health Services report dated June 13, 2011, annexed to Pl. Opp'n Mem. at ECF 27).
Defendants argue that the reports from Correctional Health Services indicate that Plaintiff "was not suffering from a condition producing either death, degeneration, or extreme pain." (Def. Mem. 9.) Defendants assert that "[P]laintiff's mere allegation that he injured his left elbow and rib area," is insufficient to be a "serious medical condition." Defendants concede that
The Second Circuit has noted that, "the seriousness of a delay in medical treatment may be decided `by reference to the effect of delay in treatment. Consequently, delay in medical treatment must be interpreted in the context of the seriousness of the medical need, deciding whether the delay worsened the medical condition, and considering the reason for delay.'" Smith v. Carpenter, 316 F.3d 178, 186 (2d Cir. 2003) (alteration omitted) (quoting Hill v. Dekalb Reg'l Youth Det. Ctr., 40 F.3d 1176, 1188 (11th Cir.1994)). Defendants argue that, in light of the fact that Plaintiff's condition did not worsen between the day of his arrest and later clinic visits, his medical condition was not objectively serious. (Def. Mem. 8) (citing Gaudreault v. Municipality of Salem, Mass., 923 F.2d 203, 208 (1st Cir.1990).) Defendants assert that the April 30 and May 1, 2011 clinic reports from Correctional Health Services, documenting only "general tenderness to posterior left rib cage," "tenderness over left side ribs," and "no gross rib deformity," indicate that any delay in obtaining treatment did not exacerbate Plaintiff's medical condition, and asserted at oral argument that the fact that Plaintiff could wait for several days before visiting the jail clinic suggested that his medical condition did not rise to the level of objective seriousness. (Def. Mem. 8-9.) Defendants also argue that Plaintiff was prescribed one tablet of Ibuprofen on May 1, 2011, and Acetominophen-Codeine on May 2, 2011, for seven days, and that the five-day delay between the incident and this initial provision of pain medication is insufficient to establish a constitutional violation. (Def. Reply 6-7.)
Defendants' argument, which suggests that the seriousness of a medical condition and the associated pain must be evaluated in terms of the effect of delay of treatment, is without merit, particularly where the basis for Plaintiff's claim is the failure to provide any medical assistance for several days. See Smith, 316 F.3d at 185-86 ("When the basis for a [deliberate indifferent to serious medical need] claim is a temporary delay or interruption in the provision of otherwise adequate medical treatment, it is appropriate to focus on the challenged delay or interruption in treatment rather than the prisoner's underlying medical condition alone in analyzing whether the alleged deprivation is, in `objective terms, sufficiently serious,' to support an Eighth Amendment claim." (emphasis omitted)).
In addition, Defendants fail to address the fact that Plaintiff's fractured rib was not diagnosed until May 2, 2011, seven days after his arrest, which, from the clinic reports, appears to be the first date that an X-ray was conducted. The earlier clinic reports do not contradict Plaintiff's allegation that he suffered a fractured rib as no X-rays were taken on those days. Furthermore, the clinic report dated May 1, 2011, documenting that Plaintiff was carried to the clinic on a stretcher, also supports Plaintiff's contention that he was in serious pain as a result of being assaulted with a metal pipe. As a result, the delay in providing him with medical care weighs in favor of finding that Plaintiff had an objectively serious medical condition, in light of the evidence that Plaintiff experienced persistent pain between the date of his arrest and the date the fractured rib was initially diagnosed. See Harrison v. Barkley, 219 F.3d 132, 136 (2d Cir.2000) ("A serious medical condition exists where
Under the circumstances — where Plaintiff was ultimately diagnosed with a fractured rib, complained of pain at the time of his arrest and at each subsequent clinic visit, did not receive any medical treatment until five days after his arrest and was prescribed narcotic pain medication when he was eventually diagnosed with a fractured rib — Plaintiff's pain resulting from the fractured rib rises to the level of a serious medical condition.
In sum, Plaintiff's fractured rib, the associated pain and the delay in obtaining medical treatment are sufficient to comprise an objectively serious medical need, which was diagnosed one week after he surrendered.
Plaintiff argues that Giuca's taking photographs of Plaintiff's injuries, and Giuca's admission that he was "informed of the injuries Plaintiff sustained from being assaulted by Rodwell Jones with the metal pipe on April 25, 2011," establish that Giuca's conduct rises to the level of deliberate indifference. (Pl. Opp'n Mem. 5.) Plaintiff also cites to Giuca's statement to Plaintiff that "if [Plaintiff] were to go to the hospital, [Giuca] would make sure it would take much longer for me to get to court." (Statement ¶ 4; Pl. Opp'n Mem. 5.) According to the transcript labeled "suppression" attached to Plaintiff's Statement, Giuca testified that Plaintiff "told us at the scene and ... back at the interview room that he was struck with the pipe."
To show that a defendant was "deliberately indifferent" to a detainee's serious medical condition, a plaintiff must show that the defendant "knew of and
Plaintiff's allegations that Giuca was aware that Plaintiff had been assaulted with a metal pipe and Giuca's acknowledgment that he was aware of the assault to Plaintiff and the fact that Plaintiff said he was in pain, are sufficient to show that Giuca was "aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm existed." See Caiozzo, 581 F.3d at 72. While these allegations alone do not show that Giuca drew the inference that a substantial risk of serious harm existed, Giuca's testimony at the suppression hearing that "[w]e asked do you want EMS to take a look at you," (Suppression Hearing Tr. 50:23), supports an inference that Giuca more likely than not drew this inference.
Defendants point to Giuca's testimony that Plaintiff did not seem to have trouble lifting his shirt and arm when Giuca asked him to do so, "which gave [Giuca] the indication that there was no injury there." (Def. Mem. 9-10 (citing Suppression
Unlike his allegations regarding Giuca, Plaintiff fails to provide sufficient factual allegations regarding the actions of King, and discusses only Giuca in his opposition papers. A plaintiff "must establish a given defendant's personal involvement in the claimed violation in order to hold that defendant liable in [her] individual capacity under § 1983." Patterson v. County of Oneida, N.Y., 375 F.3d 206, 229 (2d Cir. 2004). Here, Plaintiff alleges only that he informed King of his "sustained injuries and pain," (Statement ¶ 4), and requested to go to the hospital, but provides no other relevant factual allegations regarding King's participation in the alleged deprivation. Because Plaintiff has alleged insufficient facts showing that King was personally involved in Plaintiff's deprivation of medical treatment, the deliberate indifference to serious medical need claim as to King is dismissed without prejudice to amend within 30 days of this Memorandum and Order, to provide factual allegations to support a claim against King.
Plaintiff alleges that the City of New York, through "its employees['] direct actions, intentionally, maliciously, and with reckless disregard for and deliberate indifference to [P]laintiff's rights, created or allowed the policy or custom to continue under which unconstitutional practices occurred." (Compl. 2.) Plaintiff also alleges that an unspecified "supervisor was grossly negligent in managing subordinates who caused the act," and "[i]n addition to or in the alternative, defendant City of New York under color of law created and maintained an official practice and/or custom of [f]ailing to adequately train, monitor and supervise the employees regarding their constitutional duty...." (Id. at 2-3.)
In order to sustain a claim for relief pursuant to § 1983 against a municipal defendant, a plaintiff must show the existence of an official policy or custom that caused injury and a direct causal connection between that policy or custom and the deprivation of a constitutional right. Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 694-95, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) ("[A] local government may not be sued under § 1983 for an injury inflicted solely by its employees or agents. Instead, it is when execution of a
Plaintiff's Complaint alleges that, during the booking process, Giuca told him, in response to Plaintiff's request for medical attention, that if Plaintiff "were to go to the hospital, [Giuca] would make sure it took much longer for [Plaintiff] to get to court." (Statement ¶ 4.) Plaintiff argues that Giuca's deliberate indifference to Plaintiff's medical needs "led him to pursue the `unspoken and widely accepted policy' of denying much needed medical attention, so as not to delay the booking process." (Pl. Opp'n Mem. 7 (quoting New York Daily News article).) Plaintiff also alleges that the City of New York "was aware of members of the police department['s] flagrant abuse of constitutional rights, ... due to the numerous alleged violations and charges brought against its police officers and lawsuits in the past that the City paid in response to such abuse." (Compl. 3.) Plaintiff cites to a New York Daily News article, which cites attorneys as stating that "NYPD Officers threaten people they arrest with extra time in custody, to keep them from getting the treatment they need," and that "cops take a dim view of interrupting the booking process to take a prisoner to the hospital." (Pl. Opp'n Mem. 16 (quoting New York Daily News article).) The Court construes Plaintiff's claim of municipal liability as alleging (1) an unconstitutional practice of municipal officials that "was so persistent or widespread as to constitute a custom or usage with the force of law," Patterson, 375 F.3d at 226, and (2) a failure to supervise or train.
The Second Circuit has recognized that, in the context of municipal liability, the "policy or custom requirement is satisfied where a local government is faced with a pattern of misconduct and does nothing, compelling the conclusion that the local government has acquiesced in or tacitly authorized its subordinates' unlawful actions." Reynolds v. Giuliani, 506 F.3d 183, 192 (2d Cir.2007). Courts in this circuit have found allegations of municipal inaction in the face of government-documented misconduct through investigations
Some courts have found that evidence of misconduct with strong similarities to a plaintiff's individual claim may suffice to allege a plausible claim of municipal liability. See Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 122 (2d Cir.1991) (reversing denial of summary judgment on municipal liability claim where plaintiffs cited three reports related to the arrest practices of the defendants, "citations to newspaper articles," descriptions of "a dozen or more instances of alleged, conceded, or adjudicated improper arrests" in their complaint); Castilla v. City of New York, No. 09-CV-5446, 2012 WL 3871517, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 6, 2012) (finding plaintiff stated a plausible claim of municipal liability where she "alleges various other instances of male police officers taking sexual advantage of females under their custody or control"); Michael v. County of Nassau, No. 09-CV-5200, 2010 WL 3237143, at *4 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2010) (finding that plaintiff stated a claim of municipal liability where "the Complaint pleads sufficient facts to infer that Nassau County had ... an informal policy, or a custom, of at least tolerating police misconduct" and the plaintiff had alleged "not ... one isolated incident of police misconduct ... [but rather] multiple incidents over a long, continuous time period").
Other courts have found that a plaintiff can state a plausible claim of municipal liability by citing to cases or complaints in state or federal court alleging similar misconduct against the same set of defendants. See Bertuglia v. City of New York, 839 F.Supp.2d 703, 738 (S.D.N.Y.2012) (denying defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claim of municipal liability where "[t]he Amended Complaint points to over fifteen cases where City prosecutors allegedly committed misconduct, and alleges the existence of many more such cases," as evidenced by unpublished judicial decisions), appeal dismissed, 509 Fed.Appx. 43 (2d Cir.2013); Osterhoudt v. City of New York, No. 10-CV-3173, 2012 WL 4481927, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 27, 2012) (finding that the plaintiff stated a plausible claim of municipal liability where he "cites a number
Here, Plaintiff relies on a New York Daily News newspaper article describing lawsuits filed on behalf of individuals with diabetes who were denied access to their insulin during the arrest and booking process. (See New York Daily News article). The article appears to summarize "nearly a dozen such court cases," that settled, and includes quotes from two of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in some of those cases. Plaintiff focuses on the assertion by "several lawyers" who filed these suits "who say cops take a dim view of interrupting the booking process to take a prisoner to the hospital," an observation that resonates with the facts of Plaintiff's arrest.
Accepting the allegations in the Complaint — that "Defendant City of New York was aware of members of the police department['s] flagrant abuse of constitutional rights.... due to the numerous alleged violations and charges brought against its police officers and lawsuits in the past that the City paid in response to such abuse" — as true, Plaintiff's allegations are sufficient, perhaps just barely, to plausibly state a claim of municipal liability based on Plaintiff's allegation that the City has an alleged policy of permitting officers to deny medical treatment to pre-trial detainees, so as not to delay the booking process, by threatening arrestees with additional time in custody prior to arraignment.
The Complaint does not state a claim of municipal liability based on Plaintiff's allegation that the City of New York "fail[ed] to adequately train, monitor, and supervise the employees regarding their constitutional duty to [P]laintiff's constitutional rights." (See Compl. 3.) "The failure to train or supervise city employees may constitute an official policy or custom if the failure amounts to `deliberate indifference' to the rights of those with whom the city employees interact." Wray v. City of New York, 490 F.3d 189, 195-96 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 388, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989)). In order to establish a claim of municipal liability based on failure to adequately train and supervise, a plaintiff must establish that "defendants knew to a moral certainty that the City would confront a given situation; the situation presented the City with a difficult choice or there was a history of its mishandling the situation; and the wrong choice by the City would frequently cause the deprivation of plaintiffs' rights." Reynolds, 506 F.3d at 192. "Deliberate indifference may be inferred where the need for more or better supervision to protect against constitutional violations was obvious, but the policymaker failed to make meaningful efforts to address the risk of harm to plaintiffs." Cash v. County of Erie, 654 F.3d 324, 334 (2d Cir.2011) (alteration, citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Where the City "has a training program, a plaintiff must ... identify a specific deficiency in the city's training program and
Plaintiff offers no evidence concerning the City of New York's training of officers, or lack thereof, with respect to providing for the medical needs of pre-trial detainees. Plaintiff's general allegation that the City "was aware of member of the police department['s] flagrant abuse of constitutional right[s] ... due to the numerous alleged violations and charges brought against its police officers and lawsuits in the past," is insufficient to plausibly state a claim that there is "a specific deficiency in the city's training program and that the deficiency is closely related to [Plaintiff's] ultimate injury, such that it actually caused" Plaintiff's constitutional deprivation. Plaintiff's claim of municipal liability based on the City's failure to train its agents is dismissed. Plaintiff is granted 30 days leave to amend the Complaint to provide additional factual allegations supporting this claim.
In his opposition papers, Plaintiff discusses his denial of medical care together with a "deprivation of equal protection" claim.
The Equal Protection Clause also has been construed to allow for a "class of one" claim, where a plaintiff "alleges that he has been intentionally treated differently from others similarly situated and that there is no rational basis for the difference in treatment.'" Martine's Serv. Ctr., Inc. v. Town of Wallkill, 554 Fed.Appx. 32 (2d Cir.2014) (alterations omitted) (quoting Harlen Assocs. v. Inc. Vill. of Mineola, 273 F.3d 494, 499 (2d Cir.2001)); see also Fortress Bible Church v. Feiner, 694 F.3d 208, 222 (2d Cir.2012) (same) (quoting Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000)).
In addition, the Second Circuit has also "recognized that the Equal Protection Clause may be violated by selective enforcement or selective adverse treatment." Bush v. City of Utica, N.Y., 558 Fed.Appx. 131, 134 (2d Cir.2014). A plaintiff who asserts such a claim "must allege (1) that he or she was treated differently from other similarly situated individuals, and (2) that the `treatment was based on impermissible considerations such as race, religion, intent to inhibit or punish the exercise of constitutional rights, or malicious or bad faith intent to injure a person.'" Id. (quoting LeClair v. Saunders, 627 F.2d 606, 609-10 (2d Cir.1980)); see also DePrima v. City of New York Dep't of Educ., No. 12-CV-3626, 2014 WL 1155282, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2014) (discussing selective enforcement equal protection claims).
At oral argument Plaintiff clarified that his equal protection claim was based on the differential treatment provided by Defendants to Rodwell Jones, the individual who allegedly assaulted Plaintiff with a metal pipe, and against whom Plaintiff was allegedly defending himself in the incident resulting in Plaintiff's arrest.
Plaintiff's Complaint provides insufficient factual allegations to state an equal protection claim under either theory. Plaintiff alleges that Jones struck him with a metal pipe, and that Plaintiff was arrested and was not "allowed" to bring a criminal complaint against Jones. It is unclear if Plaintiff is alleging that they were treated differently because Plaintiff was arrested while Jones was not, or because Plaintiff was not permitted to make an assault complaint against Jones, but Jones was permitted to file a complaint against Plaintiff.
The Court grants Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's equal protection claim, but grants Plaintiff 30 days leave to amend the Complaint to provide factual allegations that would sufficiently state an equal protection claim.
For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants in part and denies in part Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Court denies Defendants' motion as to Plaintiff's claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical need against Giuca, and Plaintiff's claim of municipal liability based on the City's "widespread or persistent" custom of permitting officers to deny medical treatment to pre-trial detainees by threatening arrestees with additional time in custody. The Court grants Defendants' motion as to Plaintiff's claims of due process violations against all Defendants.
SO ORDERED.