Bell v. Luna

856 F. Supp. 2d 388, 2012 WL 696218, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26901
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedMarch 1, 2012
DocketNo. 3:10cv8 (MRK)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 856 F. Supp. 2d 388 (Bell v. Luna) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bell v. Luna, 856 F. Supp. 2d 388, 2012 WL 696218, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26901 (D. Conn. 2012).

Opinion

RULING AND ORDER

MARK R. KRAVITZ, District Judge.

Plaintiff Harold R. Bell claims that officials at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution subjected him to unconstitutional conditions of confinement and showed deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Mr. Bell’s claims, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, stem from a nearly seven-month period from June 2008 to January 2009 in which his prison mattress was, in his description, “defective,” “unhygienic,” and “grossly inadequate.” Compl. [doc. # 2] ¶ 1. The condition of the mattress resulted in pains and ailments which, Mr. Bell alleges, were inadequately treated by a prison doctor, Defendant Timothy Silvas.

Dr. Silvas and his co-defendants — Peter Murphy, the Warden; Carol Chapdelaine, the Deputy Warden of Administrative Services; James Vadnais, Inmate Remedies Coordinator; Colin Wilson, Unit Counsel- or; and Norberto Luna, the Unit Manager and Correctional Captain — have responded with the currently-pending Motion to Dismiss [doc. #22], They claim that Mr. Bell’s allegations do not rise to the level of cruel and unusual punishment, that none of the Defendants had enough personal involvement to be liable for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and that they should in any case be granted qualified immunity, as Mr. Bell’s allegedly infringed rights were not ones clearly established at the time the actions took place.

The Court disagrees, at least in part. Whether or not the factual record, when developed more fully, will ultimately show that the Eighth Amendment was violated, the factual allegations in Mr. Bell’s Complaint must be taken as true at this stage, and they plausibly describe an unconstitutional condition of confinement. Further, the need to provide an inmate with a hygienic mattress was clearly established at the time of the alleged deprivation; qualified immunity is therefore inappropriate. [393]*393On the other hand, Mr. Bell’s pleadings fail to establish sufficient personal involvement in this situation by four of the named defendants: Mr. Murphy, Ms. Chapdelaine, Mr. Vadnais, and Mr. Wilson. Nor do Mr. Bell’s pleadings suggest that he received constitutionally deficient medical care from Dr. Silvas. -For the reasons that follow, Mr. Bell’s claims are dismissed as to those five defendants. The Court will allow Mr. Bell’s claim against Mr. Luna to proceed and will await a further development of the factual record regarding the violations Mr. Bell has alleged.

I.

The function of a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) is to determine whether the plaintiff has stated a legally-cognizable claim that, if proven, would entitle him to relief. In making that determination, the Court accepts as true all factual allegations in the complaint and draws all reasonable inferences from those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 71-72 (2d Cir.2009). To survive a motion to dismiss, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)); see also Selevan v. N.Y. Thruway Auth., 584 F.3d 82, 95 (2d Cir.2009). When filed by a pro se plaintiff, a complaint is to be “liberally construed” and “held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007); Harris, 572 F.3d at 72.

The factual allegations stated by Mr. Bell in his Complaint are as follows. On or about June 26, 2008, Mr. Bell submitted a detailed request to Unit Manager Luna, pursuant to institutional policies, complaining that his mattress:

had been slashed into and ‘slit’ down its center the full length of the mattress exposing it’s [sic] internal insulation materials, of which a substantial amount had been missing, rendering the mattress intolerable, and uselessly defective, unhygienic, and substantially shortened with an odorous smell of mildew which contributed to the other defective conditions ....

Compl. [doc. # 2] ¶ 2. After he followed up with Mr. Luna in person on July 14, Mr. Bell was told that his request for a new mattress had been forwarded to Deputy Warden Chapdelaine. Mr. Bell submitted an additional, detailed complaint to Ms. Chapdelaine on August 4, claiming that his defective and unsanitary mattress was causing him “substantial pain and a loss of restful sleep.” Id. ¶ 5. Two days later, Ms. Chapdelaine denied Mr. Bell’s request for a new mattress, informing him that the Unit Manager, not she, handled mattress exchanges. On August 10, Mr. Bell again petitioned Mr. Luna for a new mattress but received no reply. On August 18, Mr. Bell had another conversation with Mr. Luna about whether he could get an adequate mattress, and Mr. Luna told him: “I don’t have mattresses like that.” Id. ¶ 9.

Mr. Bell claims that he suffers from several chronic ailments, some of which were exacerbated by the condition of his mattress. Mr. Bell’s degenerative glaucoma was aggravated, causing him eye pain, severe tension headaches, and a risk of elevated intraocular pressure; he experienced pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility in his joints, limbs, lower back, hips, knees, and right elbow; he has asthma, and worried that the exposed mattress insulation would make it worse; and he suffers from a variety of mental health illnesses, includ[394]*394ing depression and Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which were worsened by the sleeplessness caused by his defective mattress. Mr. Bell submitted requests to the medical unit on August 19 and 26, and on August 24, 25, and 28 he spoke to staff members in the medical unit about getting his mattress replaced. A nurse told Mr. Bell that mattresses were a custody, rather than medical, issue.

On August 29, Mr. Bell submitted a grievance which was marked as received on September 10, and to which Warden Murphy responded on September 23. See Compl. [doc. # 2] Ex. 79. In his response, Mr. Murphy wrote that “it has been confirmed that this mattress seems to meet conditions for replacement.” Id. Ex. 80. Mr. Murphy instructed Mr. Bell to present the disposition of his grievance to his unit staff, though it is unclear whether Mr. Bell immediately did so. Mr. Bell claims that no corrective measures were taken in response to his grievance.

Mr. Bell met with Dr. Silvas on September 22 to discuss his joint pain; Dr. Silvas examined him, ordered x-rays and blood tests, and prescribed an increased dosage of motrin. After submitting further requests to the medical unit, Mr. Bell met with a mental health staff member on October 19.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
856 F. Supp. 2d 388, 2012 WL 696218, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bell-v-luna-ctd-2012.