Case: Pearson v. Michigan Department of Corrections

2:19-cv-10707 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: March 8, 2019

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Case Summary

This is a case about unhealthy living conditions and lack of adequate medical care at a prison in Michigan. On March 8, 2019, plaintiffs, women incarcerated at the Women's Huron Valley prison (WHV), filed a class action suit against the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Plaintiffs alleged that women who were incarcerated at WHV were exposed to and contracted scabies and were denied adequate medical care. Scabies is an infe…

The lawsuit was initially filed against the Warden of WHV, Corizon Health Inc. ( a private health care contractor that provided health services to WHV), the Michigan Department of Corrections, and the Director of MDOC. The plaintiffs sought action under the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and Fourteenth Amendment. The case was assigned to District Judge Victoria A. Roberts.

The lawsuit sought to certify two classes. One of all current and former detainees and inmates of the Gladwin Unit in HVCF who, while incarcerated at HVCF, had a skin rash consistent with a scabies infestation and who were denied treatment, or whose delayed treatment caused the condition to worsen, since November 2016. The second class for injunctive relief was composed of all detainees and inmates of HVCF who were incarcerated and who, while at HVCF, were housed in the Gladwin Unit, since November 2016.

On March 26, 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that provided more details of the allegations by plaintiff Sheldon. On April 11, 2019, the defendant Corizon filed a motion to dismiss arguing that the plaintiffs failed to indicate allegations specific to Corizon. On May 3, 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that added new parties to the action. This included one plaintiff. Newly named defendants at MDOC included the Director, Deputy Director for Field Operations Administration, Deputy Director for Correctional Facilities Administration, Assistant Deputy Director for CFA, Acting Deputy Director for Budget and Operations Administration, and the Acting Administrator for the Bureau of Health Care Services. The complaint also added two deputy wardens. Additional defendants were the Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU), Chief Medical Officer for the MDOC, Assistant Chief Medical Officer for the MDOC, and Regional Medical Director at Corizon.

On May 14, 2019, the court denied the defendants motion to dismiss because the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. On June 7, 2019, the plaintiffs filed a motion to consolidate with Smith v. Michigan Department of Corrections, No. 2:19-cv-10771.

On February 20, 2020, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint consolidating this case with Smith v. Michigan Department of Corrections. The amended complaint added an allegation of gross negligence.

On April 20, 2020, the defendants filed motions to dismiss the consolidated cases. The same day, the defendants filed affirmative defenses. On May 1, 2020, the defendants made a motion for summary judgement alleging that the plaintiffs had not exhausted their administrative remedies. The plaintiffs filed their response on June 10, 2020.

On August 24, 2020, the court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgement finding that the plaintiffs exhausted their administrative remedies. On September 4, 2020, the court granted the motion to dismiss by the Corizon, WSU, and MDOC defendants. The court dismissed the Corizon motion because a § 1983 action cannot be based only on supervisory liability. The court found WSU was immune under the 11th amendment. The court found the plaintiffs failed to give notice of the claims against the MDOC employee defendants.

The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on September 25, 2020. The amended complaint added the Infectious Disease Coordinator/Director for the MDOC as a defendant. On October 9, 2020, Corizon filed a motion to strike the amended complaint. On April 26, 2021, the court filed a stipulated order clarifying the claims against the MDOC employee defendants.

On July 21, 2021, the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court found that the defendants’ request that the court dismiss the claims against them in their official capacities because they were duplicative of claims brought against the MDOC and Corizon Health, Inc.

On May 9, 2022, the court issued an order regarding a settlement structure and process. On August 17, 2023, the court issued a stipulated order that stayed the litigation involving the Corizon defendants.

	Document
1 2:19-cv-10707	Complaint and Jury Demand	March 8, 2019	March 8, 2019 Complaint
9 2:19-cv-10707	First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand	March 26, 2019	March 26, 2019 Complaint
38 2:19-cv-10707	Plaintiffs’ Motion for Consolidation of Related Cases and Appointment of Interim Class Counsel	June 7, 2019	June 7, 2019 Pleading / Motion / Brief
45 2:19-cv-10707	Order Pertaining to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Consolidation of Cases and Appointment of Interim Class Counsel	June 20, 2019	June 20, 2019 Order/Opinion

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT filed by All Plaintiffs against All Defendants with Jury Demand. Plaintiff requests summons issued. Receipt No: 0645-7143753 - Fee: $ 400. County of 1st Plaintiff: Wayne - County Where Action Arose: Washtenaw - County of 1st Defendant: Washtenaw. [Previously dismissed case: No] [Possible companion case(s): None] (Marko, Jonathan) (Entered: 03/08/2019)	March 8, 2019	March 8, 2019 Clearinghouse
2	SUMMONS Issued for Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation (DWor) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
3	SUMMONS Issued for Shawn Brewer (DWor) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
4	SUMMONS Issued for Michigan Department of Corrections (DWor) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
5	SUMMONS Issued for Heidi Washington (DWor) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
6	NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew H. Morgan on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (Morgan, Matthew) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
7	NOTICE of Appearance by Robert L. Schug on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (Schug, Robert) (Entered: 03/11/2019)	March 11, 2019	March 11, 2019
8	NOTICE of Appearance by Rebekah L. Bailey on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 03/13/2019)	March 13, 2019	March 13, 2019
9	AMENDED COMPLAINT with Jury Demand filed by All Plaintiffs against All Defendants. NO NEW PARTIES ADDED. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 03/26/2019)	March 26, 2019	March 26, 2019 Clearinghouse
10	ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Ronald W. Chapman appearing on behalf of Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation (Chapman, Ronald) (Entered: 04/11/2019)	April 11, 2019	April 11, 2019
11	MOTION to Dismiss Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) by Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation. (Chapman, Ronald) (Entered: 04/11/2019)	April 11, 2019	April 11, 2019 RECAP
12	ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Wedad Ibrahim appearing on behalf of Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation (Ibrahim, Wedad) (Entered: 04/11/2019)	April 11, 2019	April 11, 2019
13	STATEMENT of DISCLOSURE of CORPORATE AFFILIATIONS and FINANCIAL INTEREST by Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation (Ibrahim, Wedad) (Entered: 04/11/2019)	April 11, 2019	April 11, 2019
14	NOTICE of Appearance by Cary S. McGehee on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (McGehee, Cary) (Entered: 04/15/2019)	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019
15	NOTICE of Appearance by Beth M. Rivers on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (Rivers, Beth) (Entered: 04/15/2019)	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019
16	NOTICE of Appearance by Channing E. Robinson-Holmes on behalf of All Plaintiffs. (Robinson-Holmes, Channing) (Entered: 04/15/2019)	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019
17	NOTICE of Appearance by Scott A. Mertens on behalf of Shawn Brewer, Michigan Department of Corrections, Heidi Washington. (Mertens, Scott) (Entered: 04/16/2019)	April 16, 2019	April 16, 2019
18	NOTICE of Appearance by Neil Anthony Giovanatti on behalf of Shawn Brewer, Michigan Department of Corrections, Heidi Washington. (Giovanatti, Neil) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
19	NOTICE of Appearance by Tracy E. Van den Bergh on behalf of Shawn Brewer, Michigan Department of Corrections, Heidi Washington. (Van den Bergh, Tracy) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
20	CERTIFICATE of Service/Summons Returned Executed. Michigan Department of Corrections served on 3/29/2019, answer due 4/19/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
21	CERTIFICATE of Service/Summons Returned Executed. Heidi Washington served on 3/29/2019, answer due 4/19/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
22	CERTIFICATE of Service/Summons Returned Executed. Shawn Brewer served on 4/13/2019, answer due 5/6/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
23	CERTIFICATE of Service/Summons Returned Executed. Corizon Health, Inc A Deleware Corportation served on 3/29/2019, answer due 4/19/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019
24	STIPULATED ORDER to Extend Time For MDOC Defendants To Respond to Complaint. Signed by District Judge Victoria A. Roberts. (LVer) (Entered: 04/22/2019)	April 22, 2019	April 22, 2019
25	ORDER Regarding Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. Signed by District Judge Victoria A. Roberts. (LVer) (Entered: 04/22/2019)	April 22, 2019	April 22, 2019
26	AMENDED COMPLAINT with Jury Demand filed by All Plaintiffs against All Defendants. NEW PARTIES ADDED. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/03/2019)	May 3, 2019	May 3, 2019 RECAP
	REQUEST for SUMMONS for James Blessman, Jeffrey Bomber, Lia Gulick, David Johnson, Russell Marlan, Carmen McIntyre, Kenneth McKee, Karri Ousterhout, Lloyd Rapelje, Marti Kay Sherry, Wayne State University. (Bailey, Rebekah)	May 3, 2019	May 3, 2019
27	SUMMONS Issued for James Blessman, Jeffrey Bomber, Lia Gulick, David Johnson, Russell Marlan, Carmen McIntyre, Kenneth McKee, Karri Ousterhout, Lloyd Rapelje, Marti Kay Sherry, Wayne State University (NAhm) (Entered: 05/06/2019)	May 6, 2019	May 6, 2019
28	ORDER. Signed by District Judge Victoria A. Roberts. (LVer) (Entered: 05/08/2019)	May 8, 2019	May 8, 2019
29	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Russell Marlan waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
30	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Kenneth McKee waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
31	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Lloyd Rapelje waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
32	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Lia Gulick waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
33	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Marti Kay Sherry waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
34	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. David Johnson waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
35	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed. Karri Ousterhout waiver sent on 5/7/2019, answer due 7/8/2019. (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 05/09/2019)	May 9, 2019	May 9, 2019
36	ORDER Denying 11 Motion to Dismiss. Signed by District Judge Victoria A. Roberts. (LVer) (Entered: 05/14/2019)	May 14, 2019	May 14, 2019 RECAP
37	NOTICE of Appearance by David S. Steingold on behalf of Keshuna Abcumby. (Steingold, David) (Entered: 06/04/2019)	June 4, 2019	June 4, 2019
38	MOTION to Consolidate Cases, MOTION to Appoint Counsel Interim Class Counsel by All Plaintiffs. (Attachments: # 1 Index of Exhibits, # 2 Declaration of Rebekah L Bailey, # 3 Exhibit A to Bailey Decl - NK Firm Resume, # 4 Exhibit B to Bailey Decl - Bio, # 5 Declaration of Matthew H. Morgan, # 6 Exhibit A to Morgan Decl - Bio, # 7 Declaration of Jonathan R. Marko, # 8 Declaration of Cary S. McGehee) (Bailey, Rebekah) (Entered: 06/07/2019)	June 7, 2019	June 7, 2019 Clearinghouse
39	ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Cullen B. McKinney appearing on behalf of James Blessman, Carmen McIntyre (McKinney, Cullen) (Entered: 06/10/2019)	June 10, 2019	June 10, 2019

Case: Pearson v. Michigan Department of Corrections

2:19-cv-10707 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

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