Bryant v. Steele

93 F. Supp. 3d 80, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35877, 2015 WL 1345376
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 21, 2015
DocketNo. 13-cv-5234 (ADS)(GRB)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 93 F. Supp. 3d 80 (Bryant v. Steele) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryant v. Steele, 93 F. Supp. 3d 80, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35877, 2015 WL 1345376 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

This civil rights and medical malpractice action arises out of the involuntary hospitalization of the Plaintiff (“Patrick Bryant”) by the former Defendant Stony Brook University Medical Center (“Stony Brook”) and the Defendant Brunswick Hospital Center, Inc. (“Brunswick”) in March 2011.

The third amended complaint, formally interposed on December 24, 2014, raises the following claims: (1) a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the Defendants Kristen Steele, Dr. Thomas Vertrees, Dr. David Margulies, Dr. Brenda Garro, Dr. Theddeus Ihenacho, and Dr. Abid Iqbal [83]*83Khan, alleging a violation of the right against unreasonable seizures as guaranteed by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; (2) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 substantive due process claims under the Fourteenth Amendment against the Defendants Dr. Ihenacho and Dr. Khan; (3) medical malpractice claims against the Defendants Dr. Garro, Dr. Ihenacho, Dr. Khan, and Brunswick; and (4) a claim against the Defendants Dr. Lloyd Sookhu and Brunswick for any Medicaid or Medicare charges collected as a result of treatment to the Plaintiff that he must pay to satisfy any Medicaid or Medicare liens.

Prior to the filing of the third amended complaint, on November 18, 2014, the Defendants Drs. Ihenacho and Khan moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.P”) 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) to dismiss the federal claims against them for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and/or failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Alternatively, Ihenacho and Khan request that the Court convert their motion to a Fed. R.Civ.P. 56 motion for summary judgment. Drs. Ihenacho and Khan also request that, in the event this Court dismisses the federal causes of action against them, the Court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the pendent state law claims against them.

The Court treats the instant motion as directed at the later-filed third amended complaint. For the reasons set forth, the motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise stated, the following facts are drawn from the third amended complaint and construed in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, the Plaintiff.

A. Th$ Parties

The Plaintiff is a resident of Suffolk County in New York State.

The Defendant Kristen Steele was at all relevant times a member of the Mobile Crisis Unit operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health in Suffolk County (the “OMH”).

The Defendant Dr. Vertrees was at all relevant times a designee of the Director of Community Services in Suffolk County.

The Defendant Dr. Marguiles was at all relevant times a designee of the Director of Community Services in Suffolk County.

The Defendant Dr. Garro was at all relevant times a psychiatrist employed by Stony Brook Medical Center. Stony Brook is operated by the State of New York, and, in turn, operates a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (the “CPEP”).

The Defendant Dr. Ihenacho was at all relevant times a psychiatrist employed by the Defendant Brunswick Hospital Center, Inc. which is licensed by the OMH to provide psychiatric services.

The Defendant Dr. Khan was at all relevant times a psychiatrist employed by Brunswick.

Finally, the Defendant Dr. Sookhu was at all relevant times a non-psychiatric physician employed by Brunswick.

B. Factual Allegations

In late 2010 and into the early part of 2011, the Plaintiff allegedly received several telephone calls from unidentified persons that he perceived to be threatening. On February 7, 2011, the Plaintiff sought assistance from the Suffolk County Police Department to investigate these calls.

Between March 14, 2011 and March 21, 2011, the Plaintiff twice contacted the In[84]*84ternal Affairs Division of the Suffolk County Police Department to complain about the lack of progress of police work in connection with the allegedly threatening telephone calls. However, the Suffolk County Police perceived the Plaintiffs reports to them and his behavior as manifestations of mental illness.

At some point, the police contacted the Mobile Crisis Unit operated by the OMH to evaluate the Plaintiff. Part of the function of the Mobile Crisis Unit is to promptly assess the need for emergency mental health evaluations for individuals deemed to be in crisis.

On March 21, 2011, Steele, a social worker who was part of the Mobile Crisis Unit, accompanied by two Suffolk County Police officers, approached the Plaintiffs home. The Plaintiff met them outside his home and the police engaged the Plaintiff in discussion.

During the conversation with the police, the Plaintiff mentioned that he had old hunting rifles in his home. The rifles were collector’s items: a Marlin; a World War II British rifle; a World War I Eddystone; and a 1930’s Spanish Mauser. The rifles were kept in a glass display in the Plaintiffs bedroom, were not loaded, and some had never been used by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff kept the rifles in a display cabinet as collector’s items because he no longer hunted deer as a hobby that he once enjoyed with his friends during the 1980s. According to the Plaintiff, he had not used or intended to use the rifles since 1989 when he was issued his last hunting permit.

When the police asked the Plaintiff for more information about the rifles, he explained that he had four hunting rifles which he had not used in twenty-three years and had no intentions of using them. The Plaintiff further stated to the police that the rifles were dusty and therefore inoperable in their current condition. Shortly thereafter, the conversation ended, the police and social workers permitted the Plaintiff to return to his home.

The Plaintiff alleges that, notwithstanding his logical and coherent responses to the questions, Steele determined that the Plaintiff manifested symptoms of mental illness that required psychiatric evaluation.

Steele was never directly responsible for the Plaintiffs treatment prior to or subsequent to March 21, 2011. Steele communicated with the Directors of Community Services Designees, Drs. Vertrees and Margulies in connection with the removal of the Plaintiff from his home pursuant to the provisions of New York Mental Hygiene Law § 9.45. Steele reported to Drs. Vertrees and Margulies that the Plaintiff suffered from a mental illness for which immediate care and treatment in a hospital was appropriate.

The Plaintiff alleges that he never suffered from a mental illness for which immediate care and treatment in a hospital was appropriate and which was likely to result in serious harm to himself or others as defined by Mental Hygiene Law § 9.45.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
93 F. Supp. 3d 80, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35877, 2015 WL 1345376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-steele-nyed-2015.