Brittain D. Waller v. OhioHealth Corporation, et al.

District Court, S.D. Ohio·Decided July 2, 2026·No. 2:25-cv-00672·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

BRITTAIN D. WALLER,

Plaintiff, Case Number 2:25-cv-672 v. Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Jolson OHIOHEALTH CORPORATION, et al.,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on several pending motions. They are: • Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Defendants OhioHealth Corporation, Catharyn DiBella, RN, and Emily Combes, LISW (ECF No. 50);

• First Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Memorandum in Opposition filed by Plaintiff Brittain Waller (ECF No. 64);

• Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Defendants Tiffany Nicole Burneka, MD, Payton Hurl, PA, and Brian Marshall, MD (ECF No. 68);

• Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Defendants Soumi Dey, CNP, and Columbus Springs Dublin (ECF No. 70);

• First Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Defendant Ivana Balic, MD (ECF No. 71);

• First Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiff Brittain Waller (ECF No. 81); and

• Motion to Strike filed by Defendants OhioHealth Corporation, Catharyn DiBella, RN, and Emily Combes, LISW (ECF No. 94).

For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiff Brittain Waller’s First Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint. (ECF No. 81.) The Court DENIES as moot without prejudice all other pending motions, as they pertain to Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint. (ECF Nos. 50, 64, 68, 70, 71, 94.) BACKGROUND I. Factual Background The Court summarizes the allegations set forth in Plaintiff’s 32-page proposed Second Amended Complaint. (ECF No. 88.) This action arises out of medical treatment Plaintiff

received in June 2024 at various facilities in Columbus, Ohio. (Id. PageID 318, 320.) Plaintiff alleges that healthcare facilities, medical providers, and law enforcement officers violated her civil rights and committed tortious actions by providing her with substandard medical treatment and subjecting her to an involuntary psychiatric hold. (Id. PageID 318–20.) Plaintiff was a licensed physician in postgraduate medical training employed by OhioHealth at the time the events underlying this lawsuit transpired. (Id. PageID 319.) She also alleges that the involuntary psychiatric hold resulted in adverse professional and employment consequences. (Id. PageID 318.) Plaintiff alleges that she presented to the OhioHealth Hilliard Emergency Department for medical evaluation for severe back pain and muscle spasms on June 7, 2024, and was transferred

to Riverside Methodist Hospital, then Columbus Dublin Springs, and finally Dublin Methodist Emergency Department over the next few days. (Id. PageID 318, 320.) Plaintiff alleges that she was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold and physically prevented from leaving the hospital, but those restrictions were not warranted because she explicitly denied suicidal ideation. (Id. PageID 321–25.) Plaintiff further alleges that her medical providers failed to adequately consider her symptoms, documented false information, denied her access to psychiatric evaluations, interfered with her ability to contact her family and her attorney, and misrepresented information to the police. (Id. PageID 321–34.) OhioHealth staff called the police the morning of June 7, 2024, to report Plaintiff as combative, although Plaintiff alleges this characterization was false. (Id. PageID 324.) Plaintiff claims that she experienced scrutiny, monitoring, harassment, and retaliation at work following her perceived mental health crisis. (Id. PageID 336.) Finally, Plaintiff believes

complaints and reports she made concerning discrimination, harassment, and substandard medical care were contributing factors to the allegedly unlawful treatment she experienced. (Id. PageID 340–41.) II. Procedural Background Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed this lawsuit in June 2025 (ECF No. 1), and filed a First Amended Complaint to remedy a typographical error a few weeks later (ECF No. 19). The First Amended Complaint named the following entities and individuals as Defendants: OhioHealth Corporation; Brian Marshall, MD (physician at OhioHealth); Emily Combes, LISW (social worker at OhioHealth); Catharyn DiBella, RN (nurse at OhioHealth); Payton Hurl, PA (physician assistant at OhioHealth); Tiffany Nicole Burneka, MD (physician at OhioHealth);

Columbus Springs Dublin; Ivana Balic, MD (physician at Columbus Springs Dublin); Soumi Dey, CNP (nurse practitioner at Columbus Springs Dublin); and John Does (unknown individuals or entities who participated in the misconduct described). (See generally id.) In September and October 2025, all Defendants who were named in the First Amended Complaint, except for the unidentified John Doe Defendants, moved for judgment on the pleadings. (ECF Nos. 50, 68, 70, 71.) The Court refers to the Defendants named in the First Amended Complaint as the “Current Defendants” herein. Plaintiff responded in opposition to the motions for judgment on the pleadings (ECF Nos. 52, 83, 91, 92), and some Current Defendants replied in support. (ECF Nos. 56, 99.) Then, in November 2025, Plaintiff moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. (ECF No. 81.) The Current Defendants responded in opposition (ECF No. 85, 95, 99, 100, 103), and Plaintiff replied in support (ECF Nos. 104, 105, 106, 107). Plaintiff’s proposed Second Amended Complaint names the Current Defendants and adds the following Defendants: Hilliard Division of Police and John Doe Officers; Ohio Physicians

Health Program and John Doe Employees; State Medical Board of Ohio and John Doe Employees; and Norwich EMS and John Doe Personnel (“New Defendants”). (ECF No. 88, PageID 319–20.) The proposed Second Amended Complaint sets forth the following federal claims: violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for unlawful seizure and detention; violations of the First and Fourth Amendments under § 1983 for retaliation; violations of procedural and substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment under § 1983; and disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., (“ADA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd,

(“EMTALA”). (Id. PageID 342–46.) It also includes the following state-law claims: false imprisonment, battery, medical malpractice, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, collateral consequences of false psychiatric labeling,1 and denial of meaningful access to public services. (Id.) Shortly after filing her proposed Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff moved for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint. (ECF No. 93.) The Court denied that motion and stated that

1 Plaintiff also lists “collateral consequences of false psychiatric labeling” (Count IX) as a claim under § 1983 (ECF No. 88, PageID 345), but the Court interprets Count IX to be alleging consequences of previously asserted claims, rather than an independent violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States under § 1983. Plaintiff may seek leave to amend for a third time only after the Court rules on her second amendment motion and all of Defendants’ motions for judgment on the pleadings. (ECF No. 102.) The Court begins by addressing Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended

Complaint (ECF No.

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Brittain D. Waller v. OhioHealth Corporation, et al., (S.D. Ohio 2026).

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