CLAIRE V. EAGAN, District Judge.
Now before the Court are Plaintiff's Partial Motion for Declaratory Judgment (Dkt. # 99), plaintiff's Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 100), Defendant Sooter's Motion for Summary Judgment and Brief in Support (Dkt. # 121), and Defendant Williams's Motion and Brief for Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 122). Plaintiff John Doe
On June 18, 2009, plaintiff was arrested in Craig County, Oklahoma, and transported to the CCJ for booking. Plaintiff remained incarcerated at the CCJ until his release on February 26, 2010. Plaintiff is HIV positive. It is undisputed that, prior to his incarceration, plaintiff's viral count was undetectable and that, at the time of his incarceration, plaintiff was taking the medication Atripla for HIV.
Sooter, as the Sheriff of Craig County, is ultimately responsible for the development of policies and practices at the CCJ regarding the administration of prescription medication to inmates and the procurement of refill prescriptions. The general policy and practice of the CCJ with regard to administering prescription medication and procuring refills is as follows.
When an individual arrives at the CCJ for booking and has his medication with him, that medication is taken by the deputies and put in a medical cart. The deputies then notify the jail's nurse, defendant Williams, that an inmate with medication has been booked. Williams, either by telephone or in person, verifies that the prescription is current and that the pills are actually the medication prescribed. Once Williams has verified the prescription, the medication is listed on a medication log and is distributed to the inmate as required during medication disbursement, which occurs three times per day. If an inmate does not have his medication with him when he is booked, his family may bring it to the CCJ, at which time Williams will verify it pursuant to the above process.
When an inmate is running low on medication, the jailer dispensing the medication is required to inform the inmate of this fact. In cases where the medication has previously been refilled by the inmate's family and provided to the CCJ, the inmate is expected to notify his family that he will need a refill, and the family is expected to arrange to have the refill brought or sent to the jail. If the inmate is unable to obtain a refill from his family, he may submit a request to see the nurse. The nurse will then either order the medication, see the inmate, or arrange an appointment with the doctor, as necessary. In cases where the jail has previously directly ordered a prescription for an inmate and the inmate is running low, the jail will automatically have the prescription refilled as long as the prescription remains valid. If the prescription is no longer valid and the inmate believes he still needs the medication, the inmate is required to request to see the nurse.
Prior to his incarceration, plaintiff was receiving Atripla through the HIV Drug Assistance Program (HDAP), which is a federally funded program that provides HIV medication to persons who are HIV positive and have demonstrated a financial need. HDAP requires that a participant periodically re-enroll in the program. In order to re-enroll in the program, the participant is required to have blood work done. At the time of his arrest, plaintiff was required to re-enroll in HDAP every three months. Plaintiff had his re-enrollment paperwork and blood work done shortly prior to his arrest on June 18, 2009, and he was officially re-enrolled in HDAP on July 13, 2009. From the time of his arrest until November 13, 2009, plaintiff had a valid prescription for Atripla through the HDAP program and the medication was provided to the CCJ, or arranged to be delivered to the CCJ, by plaintiff's girlfriend. Between June 18, 2009 and November 13, 2009, there were seventeen days on which plaintiff did not receive Atripla for unknown reasons. Plaintiff's enrollment in HDAP lapsed on October 31, 2009 and he ran out of Atripla on November 13, 2009.
Plaintiff submitted a note, dated November 7, 2009, to the nurse stating that he needed Atripla and reciting the name and phone numbers of the social worker who handled his HDAP enrollment. The note was stamped received by the jailer on December 7, 2009. Williams sent a response to plaintiff, dated December 10, 2009, stating that she was "checking on meds." There is some discrepancy in the record regarding the specific actions taken after this note was received. However, it is undisputed that jail personnel, including Williams and Sooter, were aware at some point that plaintiff was not receiving medication. It is not evident from the record whether Williams and Sooter were aware that plaintiff was unable to receive medication due to his lapsed enrollment in the HDAP program or whether Williams and Sooter believed that plaintiff's family had simply failed to deliver his refill. Regardless, it is undisputed that, on February 4, 2010, plaintiff was transported to Tulsa to get his blood work done and was subsequently re-enrolled in the HDAP program. It appears from the record that the CCJ received plaintiff's Atripla by February 23, 2010, as it was administered to him on that date and each day thereafter until his release.
It is undisputed that plaintiff was not given Atripla for approximately 115 days of his incarceration. It is further undisputed that, when he had blood work done on February 4, 2010, plaintiff's viral load had increased to 148,000. Finally, it is undisputed that, since his incarceration, plaintiff has been taking Atripla and his viral load has decreased to undetectable levels.
Plaintiff's amended complaint alleges the following claims for relief: (1) violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, actionable through 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) invasion of privacy in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Oklahoma law; and (3) violation of Title II of the ADA. Plaintiff also alleges a state law claim against Williams for negligence. Plaintiff requests declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal and compensatory damages against all defendants, and punitive damages against three individual defendants. The present motions deal with plaintiff's § 1983 claim, which was brought against Sooter in his official and individual capacities and against Williams in her individual capacity, and the state law negligence claim against Williams.
Pursuant to the Federal Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 57, a court, "[i]n a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction . . . upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought." 28 U.S.C. § 2201. "Whether or not to entertain a justiciable declaratory judgment action is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court."
Summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 is appropriate where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
"When the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56[a], its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts. . . . Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'"
Plaintiff argues that the CCJ's failure to provide Atripla in a timely manner constituted a delay in medical treatment, which violated plaintiff's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The pending summary judgment motions deal with plaintiff's claim for retrospective relief, namely plaintiff's claim for damages for the prior alleged violation of his constitutional rights. Plaintiff's motion for a declaratory judgment, on the other hand, deals with plaintiff's claim for prospective relief, namely injunctive relief preventing the potential future violation of plaintiff's constitutional rights. Apart from this difference, the legal arguments made in the motions are substantially identical.
Section 1983 provides a claim for relief against state actors for violation of a plaintiff's federal rights.
A prison official's deliberate indifference to an inmate's serious medical needs is a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
"When the prisoner's Eighth Amendment claim is premised on an alleged delay in medical care, the prisoner must show that the delay resulted in substantial harm."
It is undisputed that plaintiff had a sufficiently serious need for medical treatment in that he needed to be medicated for HIV. However, since the medication was eventually provided, the issue is whether the delay in providing the Atripla resulted in substantial harm.
Plaintiff argues that he suffered substantial harm because he experienced a "worsening of his condition as a result of the medication practice at the [CCJ]: his viral load was undetectable when he arrived at the [CCJ] on June 18, 2009, and after being denied anti-viral mediation for approximately 90 days, his viral load had skyrocketed to 148,000." Dkt. # 125 at 1-2. In addition, plaintiff relies on his expert's opinion, which states that "[s]toppage of this medication can lead to drug resistance, failure to control the underlying disease, and increased risk of infectious and non infectious mortality and morbidity." Dkt. # 99-15 at 6-7. While plaintiff's expert states that the stoppage of medication could have caused these adverse effects, there is no evidence in the record that plaintiff actually suffered any of these potential harmful side effects. In fact, defendants' expert explicitly states that plaintiff did not suffer any infection due to his lack of medication while incarcerated. Dkt. # 110-12 at 3. Plaintiff has not submitted any evidence to the contrary. Further, plaintiff is currently taking Atripla and his viral load has decreased to pre-incarceration levels. Defendants' expert states that this shows that plaintiff has not developed any drug resistance, and plaintiff has not submitted any evidence to contradict this assertion.
Having reviewed the summary judgment record, the Court finds that plaintiff has not presented evidence of a disputed issue of material fact regarding the lack of substantial harm to plaintiff resulting from the delay in receiving Atripla. Plaintiff's viral count is again at undetectable levels and he has not provided any evidence that he suffered any infection or drug resistance because of temporarily being without medication. Further, plaintiff has not presented any evidence that he endured any pain or suffering during the time that he was not given Atripla.
Plaintiff argues that he has shown substantial harm based on the fact that his viral count increased while he was not receiving his medication because this shows a "worsening of the condition." While the Tenth Circuit has stated that the "worsening of the condition" may result in substantial harm, this Court does not believe that phrase can be interpreted as broadly as plaintiff suggests. Plaintiff relies on
Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment on his § 1983 claim. Specifically, plaintiff requests that a judgment be entered against the Board and Sooter in which the Court: (i) declares that "the practice of medication acquisition and administration" at the CCJ violated plaintiff's constitutional rights; (ii) compels the Board and Sooter to "implement policies and practices of medication acquisition and administration" that "address continuity of care throughout all phases of detention;" (iii) compels the Board and Sooter to implement a training program to ensure that staff is knowledgeable of these new policies and can implement them; and (iv) appoints a special master to supervise the implementation of these policies. Dkt. # 99 at 29-30.
As an initial matter, the Court cannot enter a declaratory judgment against the Board on plaintiff's § 1983 claim because the Board was not named as a defendant in that claim. The amended complaint names only defendants Sooter and Williams as defendants in that claim. The Board is not mentioned in the section of the amended complaint that states a claim of a constitutional violation.
As to plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment that Sooter violated plaintiff's constitutional rights, this too must be denied. As discussed above, plaintiff has failed to set forth facts upon which a trier of fact could find that the delay in medical care caused plaintiff substantial harm. Because there is no basis on which to find that plaintiff's constitutional rights were violated, a declaration of such past violation is inappropriate.
Plaintiff's request for prospective relief, namely that the CCJ be ordered to change its policies such that plaintiff would not again be denied his medication, turns on whether there is an immediate threat that plaintiff will again be incarcerated at CCJ and will again be denied Atripla. Defendants argue that plaintiff's request for prospective relief is moot because plaintiff seeks a declaration regarding the circumstances of his incarceration and he is no longer incarcerated. Plaintiff states that the relief sought is not moot because he faces a "credible threat of arrest in Craig County" due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Craig County for failure to pay court costs and/or fines.
The Supreme Court has held that prospective relief may be appropriate on a claim regarding conditions of confinement where a plaintiff shows "an unreasonable risk of serious damage to his future health."
Where, as here, a plaintiff requests equitable relief, he must demonstrate a "likelihood of substantial and immediate irreparable injury, and the inadequacy of remedies at law."
The Tenth Circuit has held that "where a prisoner is no longer housed at the penal institution having the conditions of confinement that form the basis of his suit, declaratory relief — as well as injunctive relief — is ordinarily not available."
In such a situation, courts "are disinclined to opine on important constitutional issues based upon the speculative suggestion that a plaintiff might be returned to a setting where he would be subject to allegedly unconstitutional practices."
It is undisputed that there is an active arrest warrant for plaintiff in Craig County based on his failure to pay court costs and/or fines. Plaintiff argues that this demonstrates a credible threat that he will again be detained in the CCJ and will again be denied medication. However, in order to make the determination that plaintiff will be again subjected to the medication distribution policies of the CCJ, this Court would have to assume: (i) that plaintiff will not pay the court costs and/or fines that he owes; (ii) that plaintiff will actually be arrested in Craig County or arrested elsewhere and transferred to the custody of Craig County; and (iii) that the CCJ will again deny plaintiff his Atripla.
Defendant Williams argues that the state law negligence claim against her must be dismissed because she is immune from suit pursuant to the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, OKLA STAT. tit. 51, § 151
The Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act states, in pertinent part, that:
OKLA STAT. tit. 51, § 163(C). Thus, no claim arising from the performance of Williams' duties may be made against her individually, because "`scope of employment' claims against employees are prohibited by § 163(C) of the Act."