VINCENT L. BRICCETTI, District Judge.
Plaintiff Angel Rivera, proceeding
Before the Court is defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). (Doc. #18).
For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is GRANTED, although plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint.
The Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
In deciding the pending motion, the Court accepts as true all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint and draws all reasonable inferences in plaintiff's favor, as set forth below.
At all times relevant to the complaint, plaintiff was an inmate at Westchester County Jail.
Plaintiff alleges that from March 28 through November 3, 2017, Correct Care's medical staff prescribed and administered medications to him to manage medical conditions for which he was never diagnosed or tested. (Compl. at 4). According to plaintiff, he was prescribed medication for high blood pressure when he did not have high blood pressure; Flomax for prostate problems when he had never received a prostate exam; and medication for tuberculosis when he had never contracted tuberculosis. In support, plaintiff attached two documents he asserts list various medications he was prescribed during his incarceration.
Plaintiff alleges taking these unnecessary prescriptions caused various physical and mental health issues. He alleges the medication made him feel "weak and dizzy" and lose consciousness, and twice, he lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, including once on October 7, 2017. (Compl. at 4). According to plaintiff, Correct Care's improper medical treatment also caused plaintiff stress and anxiety.
In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court evaluates the sufficiency of the operative complaint under the "two-pronged approach" articulated by the Supreme Court in
To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the allegations in the complaint must meet a standard of "plausibility."
The Court must liberally construe submissions of
Liberally construed, plaintiff asserts a claim for deliberate indifference to his medical needs against the individual defendants, and a claim against the County and Correct Care pursuant to
Defendants argue the Court should dismiss plaintiff's claims because plaintiff fails to allege the individual defendants' personal involvement in the alleged constitutional violation and fails to allege a custom or policy pursuant to
The Court agrees.
Plaintiff must allege defendants' personal involvement in the claimed constitutional violation.
Here, plaintiff fails to allege any facts to suggest the individual defendants were personally involved in his medical care, much less that they were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs. Indeed, the only information plaintiff provides about the individual defendants is their names and titles listed under "Defendant Information" in plaintiff's complaint. In the body of the complaint, plaintiff vaguely alleges Correct Care "employees, agents, nurses, doctors, [and] medical assistants" harmed him through inadequate care. (Compl. at 5). There are no allegations any individual defendants examined plaintiff, prescribed plaintiff medicine, knew of plaintiff's dissatisfaction with his treatment, or made any decision regarding plaintiff's care.
Accordingly, plaintiff's claims against the individual defendants Dr. Ulloa, Dr. Park, and Peschiera must be dismissed.
A municipality is liable under Section 1983 only "when execution of a government's policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the [plaintiff's] injury."
A plaintiff may satisfy the "policy or custom" requirement by alleging one of the following: (i) "a formal policy officially endorsed by the municipality"; (ii) "actions taken by government officials responsible for establishing the municipal policies that caused the particular deprivation in question"; (iii) "a practice so consistent and widespread that, although not expressly authorized, constitutes a custom or usage of which a supervising policy-maker must have been aware"; or (iv) "a failure by policymakers to provide adequate training or supervision to subordinates to such an extent that it amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of those who come into contact with the municipal employees."
Here, plaintiff fails to allege any facts to suggest the County or Correct Care had a policy or custom that caused a constitutional injury or that they failed to provide adequate training or supervision to subordinates.
Accordingly, plaintiff's claim against the County and Correct Care must be dismissed.
Having dismissed plaintiff's federal claims, there are no longer any claims remaining over which the Court has original jurisdiction. In an exercise of its discretion, the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff's state law claims.
A district court ordinarily should not dismiss a
Here, because there is a possibility an amended complaint could succeed in stating a claim, and because plaintiff has not previously amended his complaint, the Court grants plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint and replead his deliberate indifference claims to the extent he can do so clearly, concisely, truthfully, and plausibly.
To the greatest extent possible, plaintiff's amended complaint must address the deficiencies identified in this Opinion and Order and must:
1. describe all relevant events, stating the facts that support plaintiff's case, including
2. include a clear explanation of what health issues he attributes to the medication he was prescribed while incarcerated and the basis for that conclusion;
3. include any details regarding why he believes defendants gave him medication he should not have been prescribed;
4. give the dates and times of each relevant event or, if not known, the approximate date and time of each relevant event; and
5. describe how each defendant's acts or omissions violated plaintiff's rights and describe the injuries plaintiff suffered
Essentially, the body of plaintiff's amended complaint must tell the Court: who violated his federally protected rights; what facts show his federally protected rights were violated; when such violation occurred; where such violation occurred; and why plaintiff is entitled to relief.
The motion to dismiss is GRANTED.
Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint, utilizing the form attached hereto, by January 7, 2019.
The Clerk is directed to (i) terminate the pending motion (Doc. #18), and (ii) mail a copy of this Order and the amended complaint form attached hereto to plaintiff at the address on the docket.
The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore
SO ORDERED.