Carroll v. Lancaster Cnty.

301 F. Supp. 3d 486
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 14, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 16–1580
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 301 F. Supp. 3d 486 (Carroll v. Lancaster Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carroll v. Lancaster Cnty., 301 F. Supp. 3d 486 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

The Third Circuit applies a three-part test to determine whether the deliberate indifference requirement has been met:

*505it must be shown that (1) municipal policymakers know that employees will confront a particular situation; (2) the situation involves a difficult choice or a history of employees mishandling; and (3) the wrong choice by an employee will frequently cause deprivation of constitutional rights.

Id. (citing Walker v. City of New York, 974 F.2d 293, 297-298 (2d Cir. 1992) ).

In other words, to state a claim, plaintiff must show that the municipality's "failure to provide specific training...has a causal nexus with [the plaintiff's] injuries" and "that the absence of that specific training can reasonably be said to reflect a deliberate indifference to whether the alleged constitutional deprivations occurred." Reitz v. County of Bucks, 125 F.3d 139, 145 (3d Cir. 1997) (citing Colburn v. Upper Darby Twp., 946 F.2d 1017, 1030 (3d Cir. 1991) ). Plaintiff must also show "both (1) contemporaneous knowledge of the offending incident or knowledge of a prior pattern of similar incidents, and (2) circumstances under which the supervisor's inaction could be found to have communicated a message of approval to the offending subordinate." Bonenberger v. Plymouth Twp., 132 F.3d 20, 25 (3d Cir. 1997) (quoting Freedman v. City of Allentown, 853 F.2d 1111, 1117 (3d Cir. 1988) ).

1. Lancaster County and Warden Dennis Molyneaux

Plaintiffs assert several § 1983 Monell claims against Lancaster County and LCP Warden Dennis Molyneaux based on his failure to properly train subordinates and his failure to adopt necessary policies at LCP.2 Dkt. 64, Pls.' Resp. p 15. Specifically, Plaintiffs contend that Lancaster County and Warden Molyneaux (1) failed to train correctional offers in detox watch and suicide risk, (2) failed to train correctional officers on how to monitor an inmate using the restroom, (3) failed to train correctional officers and PrimeCare employees on the proper way to fill out intake forms, (4) failed to enact policies requiring inmates withdrawing from opiates be placed on suicide watch, and (5) failed to enact policies regarding clothes hooks and locking doors accessible to inmates. Dkt. 64, Pls.' Resp. p.15-17.

In their motion, Defendants contend that Plaintiffs have not established their failure to train claims because "both Lancaster County and PrimeCare Medical had adequate and comprehensive policies in place for the identification and treatment of inmates who were deemed to be at risk of committing suicide." Dkt. 54, Defs. Mem. of Law p. 17. Defendants further aver that all LCP inmates are screened multiple times for suicidality and mental health problems and that PrimeCare Medical staff conducted thousands of sessions with inmates. Dkt. 54, Defs. Mem. of Law p. 17-18. Defendants further contend that LCP had adequate suicide prevention policies, practices, and training in place because LCP was continually accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Dkt. 54, Defs. Mem. of Law p. 19.

Lancaster County and Warden Molyneaux are entitled to summary judgment on the § 1983 Monell claims against them *506in Count II of the Amended Complaint because Plaintiffs have failed to establish that Lancaster County or Warden Molyneaux had actual or constructive knowledge, and acquiesced in the alleged violations of suicide screening and monitoring procedures or failed to enact needed policies.

a. Failure to Train

With respect to the failure to train correctional officers in detox watch and suicide risk and the failure to train correctional officers and PrimeCare employees on the proper way to fill out intake forms claims, Plaintiffs may have pointed to sufficient evidence that a few members of the LCP staff did not know of certain suicide screening procedures or failed to properly administer those screenings. However, individual violations of LCP procedures do not constitute "policy" and may only constitute "custom" when such procedures are violated with such widespread frequency that policy making officials, such as Warden Molyneaux, have either actual or constructive notice, and acquiesced in the "custom." Berg v. Cpunty of Allegheny, 219 F.3d 261, 276 (3d Cir. 2000).

Plaintiffs contend that Warden Molyneaux "has final decision-making authority over the enactment and implementation of all policies and procedures at LCP." Dkt. 64, Pls.' Resp., p. 15. However, even assuming that Warden Molyneaux was the final policy making official, Plaintiffs have not presented evidence that he had knowledge of the alleged breaches of the suicide screening and monitoring procedures either in the case of Kanney or at any point prior to Kanney's suicide. Nor have Plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence that Lancaster County's policy making officials had constructive notice of the alleged breaches.

Plaintiffs have not cited to any evidence regarding how many suicide screening forms were improperly filled out or how many inmates previously locked themselves in restrooms for a lengthy period. While Plaintiffs have produced some evidence concerning the overall number of suicides that occurred at LCP between 1998 and Kanney's suicide, a close examination of the documents reveals that the circumstances surrounding these suicides vary greatly. Dkt. 63, Ex. KK; Dkt. 63, Ex. U. Of the seven Mortality Reviews provided by Plaintiff, none involve a situation where an inmate committed suicide in a locked restroom and two involve a situation where an inmate jumped to his death. Dkt. 63, Ex. KK.

Two of the records produced by Plaintiff require more thorough explanation and review. The Mortality Review of a 2011 suicide reveals that two medical providers, who were not involved with Kanney's screening, failed to properly and consistently fill out his suicide screening forms. Dkt. 63, Ex. KK. This 2011 Mortality Review recommended that the intake screening procedures be reviewed and that medical personnel review the screening forms completed by officers. Dkt. 63, Ex. KK.

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Bluebook (online)
301 F. Supp. 3d 486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carroll-v-lancaster-cnty-paed-2018.