Case: Suarez v. Annucci

7:20-cv-07133 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Sept. 1, 2020

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

This is a damages case about a man with bipolar schizoaffective disorder who alleges prison officials and doctors denied him mental health treatment while he was incarcerated at New York Downstate Correctional Facility (Downstate) in summer 2017. The case is notable: it held that part of the New York Special Housing Unit (SHU) Exclusion Law relating to mentally disabled prisoners placed in solitary confinement is privately enforceable. When the plaintiff was transferred to Downstate in June 20…

When the plaintiff was transferred to Downstate in June 2017, he told prison psychiatrists he suffered from severe bipolar schizoaffective disorder that was well-managed with medication. While Downstate officials created a mental health plan that included the medication, they did not create a plan to administer it to him when he refused it as they were required to by New York law. Instead, a prison psychiatrist terminated the prescription. The man's mental health deteriorated through July and early August, when he was sanctioned with over a month of solitary confinement after an altercation with prison guards. Throughout this time, the plaintiff alleged that prison officials repeatedly documented that his mental health disorder was untreated and he was refusing medication, but took no efforts to meaningfully remedy the situation. Eventually, on September 5, 2017, the man completed his sentence and was released in a state of active psychosis due to months of untreated bipolar schizoaffective disorder. The day after he was released, the man repeatedly stabbed his mother while continuing to experience active psychosis.

Represented by the Legal Aid Society and private counsel, on September 1, 2020, the plaintiff brought this damages action in the Southern District of New York against the New York Department of Corrections (DOC) and its Commissioner, New York Office of Mental Health (OMH) and its Commissioner, the Superintendent of Downstate, the Chief of the Downstate OMH Unit, an OMH psychiatrist, a Downstate psychiatrist, the Downstate Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator, an OMH psychology assistant, an OMH clinician, and an OMH social worker. The man brought a number of claims:

(1) Two Eighth Amendment claims, deliberate indifference to medical needs and conditions of confinement, against the supervisory and individual defendants under 28 U.S.C. § 1983;

(2) Claims against the Departments and their Directors under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, alleging discrimination on the basis of his mental health disability;

(3) Claims that the OMH and its Downstate Unit Chief and Psychology Assistant violated § 137(6) of the New York SHU Exclusion Law, which requires state prison officials to divert from solitary anyone with serious mental illness who is facing a solitary sanction of over 30 days; and

(4) Negligent supervision training claims against OMH and its commissioner.

The defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss on February 16, 2021; the court had granted a number of extensions of time for the defendants to coordinate their counsel. The next day, the court ordered the plaintiff to notify the court whether he intended to amend the complaint in response to the motion to dismiss. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint on March 12 which included additional facts about the actions and knowledge of the individual defendants. Motion practice continued over the next months.

District Court Opinion

The district court issued its order granting in part and denying in part the motion to dismiss on December 21, 2021. Judge Vincent L. Briccetti wrote the opinion. First, the court found that plaintiff's allegations about his treatment at Downstate and the conditions there were sufficient to state the two Eighth Amendment claims under § 1983. All of the individual defendants except for the DOC and OMH directors had "acted or failed to act while aware of a substantial risk that serious inmate harm would result" such that they might be held liable under § 1983. And, the court found, none of the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, because the defendants had not yet shown their actions were reasonable under the circumstances. Such an inquiry is more appropriate at the summary judgment stage.

Second, the court dismissed the plaintiff's ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims because he could not allege that the defendants treated him differently from incarcerated individuals without disabilities or that the failure to divert him from SHU to a therapeutic alternative treatment was because of his disability. The allegations stated poor treatment of a disability, but not discrimination because of it.

Third, in a first-of-its-kind holding, Judge Briccetti found § 137(6) of the NY SHU Exclusion Law contains a private right of action. This section of the law required state prison officials to divert from solitary anyone with serious mental illness who was facing a solitary sanction of over 30 days. The court found that § 137(6) satisfied the state law factors for implying a private right of action because the plaintiff was of the class for whose particular benefit the statute was enacted, and recognizing private enforceability was "consistent with the legislative purposes and scheme." So, the court found, the SHU claim could proceed against the two individual defendants named in it, the Downstate OMH Unit Chief and psychology assistant. The State OMH itself, however, had sovereign immunity and was dismissed from the claim.

Finally, the plaintiffs had forfeited their negligent supervision and training claims because they did not address them in their opposition brief to the motion to dismiss.

In summary, the court dismissed the Eighth Amendment claims against the state agency directors, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims, the SHU Law claim against the OMH, and the negligent supervision and training claims; the other claims remained. The court dismissed the DOC, DOC director, OMH, OMH director, and Downstate clinician from the case. 2021 WL 6065765.

The remaining parties adopted a discovery plan and scheduling order on January 27, 2022. The next case management conference is scheduled for August 2022. The case is ongoing.

	Document
1 7:20-cv-07133	Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial	Sept. 1, 2020	Sept. 1, 2020 Complaint
71 7:20-cv-07133	First Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial	March 12, 2021	March 12, 2021 Complaint
82 7:20-cv-07133	Opinion and Order	Dec. 21, 2021	Dec. 21, 2021 Order/Opinion 2021 WL 6065765

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against Anthony J. Annucci, Chesney J. Baker, Maura L. DiNardo, Peter M. Horan, Samantha L. Kulick, Ryan Lahey, Robert Morton, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, New York State Office of Mental Health, Abadul Qayyum, Brandon N. Reynolds, Ann Marie T. Sullivan. (Filing Fee $ 400.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-21439847)Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/01/2020)	Sept. 1, 2020	Sept. 1, 2020 RECAP
2	FILING ERROR - PDF ERROR - CIVIL COVER SHEET filed. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Addendum to Civil Cover Sheet).(Short, Stefen) Modified on 9/2/2020 (dnh). (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 1, 2020	Sept. 1, 2020
10	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Robert Morton, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
11	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to New York State Office of Mental Health, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
12	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Abadul Qayyum, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
13	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Brandon N. Reynolds, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
14	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Ann Marie T. Sullivan, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
15	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Robert Matthew Quackenbush on behalf of Elvin Suarez..(Quackenbush, Robert) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
3	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Anthony J. Annucci, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
4	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Chesney J. Baker, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
5	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Maura L. DiNardo, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
6	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
7	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Peter M. Horan, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
8	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Samantha L. Kulick, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
9	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Ryan Lahey, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/02/2020)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING PARTY MODIFICATION. Notice to attorney Stefen Russell Short. The party information for the following party/parties has been modified: Anthony J. Annucci, Chesney J. Baker, Maura L. DiNardo, Peter M. Horan, Samantha L. Kulick, Ryan Lahey, Robert Morton, Abadul Qayyum, Brandon N. Reynolds, Ann Marie T. Sullivan. The information for the party/parties has been modified for the following reason/reasons: party text was omitted. (dnh)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING DEFICIENT CIVIL COVER SHEET. Notice to attorney Stefen Russell Short to RE-FILE Document No. 2 Civil Cover Sheet. The filing is deficient for the following reason(s): the PDF attached to the docket entry for the civil cover sheet is not correct; Only one Nature of Suit may be selected. Re-file the document using the event type Civil Cover Sheet found under the event list Other Documents and attach the correct PDF. Use civil cover sheet issued by S.D.N.Y. dated June 2017. The S.D.N.Y. Civil Cover Sheet dated June 2017 is located athttp://nysd.uscourts.gov/file/forms/civil-cover-sheet.. (dnh)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Vincent L. Briccetti. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned District Judge, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/judges/district-judges. Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. Please download and review the ECF Rules and Instructions, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions..(dnh)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	Magistrate Judge Lisa M. Smith is so designated. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf. (dnh)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	Case Designated ECF. (dnh)	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Party Modification	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Deficient Civil Cover Sheet	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
	Case Opening Initial Assignment Notice	Sept. 2, 2020	Sept. 2, 2020
16	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Anthony J. Annucci..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
17	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Maura L. DiNardo..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
18	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Chesney J. Baker..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
19	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
20	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Peter M. Horan..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
21	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Samantha L. Kulick..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
22	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Ryan Lahey..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
23	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Robert Morton..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
24	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to New York State Office of Mental Health..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
25	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Abadul Qayyum..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
26	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Brandon N. Reynolds..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
27	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Ann Marie T. Sullivan..(dnh) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
28	CIVIL COVER SHEET filed. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Addendum to Civil Cover Sheet).(Short, Stefen) (Entered: 09/03/2020)	Sept. 3, 2020	Sept. 3, 2020
29	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by James Joseph Beha, II on behalf of Elvin Suarez..(Beha, James) (Entered: 09/04/2020)	Sept. 4, 2020	Sept. 4, 2020
30	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Jocelyn Edith Greer on behalf of Elvin Suarez..(Greer, Jocelyn) (Entered: 09/04/2020)	Sept. 4, 2020	Sept. 4, 2020
31	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. Anthony J. Annucci served on 9/15/2020, answer due 10/6/2020. Service was accepted by Kevin Kortright. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Greer, Jocelyn) (Entered: 09/28/2020)	Sept. 28, 2020	Sept. 28, 2020
32	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. Chesney J. Baker served on 9/16/2020, answer due 10/7/2020. Service was accepted by Shannah Sullivan. Document filed by Elvin Suarez..(Greer, Jocelyn) (Entered: 09/28/2020)	Sept. 28, 2020	Sept. 28, 2020

Case: Suarez v. Annucci

7:20-cv-07133 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

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