Cheryl D. Dresdner, et al. v. Sacramento County Jail, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedNovember 3, 2025
Docket2:23-cv-02038
StatusUnknown

This text of Cheryl D. Dresdner, et al. v. Sacramento County Jail, et al. (Cheryl D. Dresdner, et al. v. Sacramento County Jail, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cheryl D. Dresdner, et al. v. Sacramento County Jail, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHERYL D. DRESDNER, et al., No. 2:23-cv-2038 DAD CSK P 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. ORDER 14 SACRAMENTO COUNTY JAIL, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiffs proceed pro se and allege the wrongful death of inmate Kevin Dresdner while he 18 was incarcerated in the Sacramento County Main Jail. Plaintiff Cheryl D. Dresdner, decedent’s 19 widow, was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF No. 6.) Plaintiffs seek relief under 20 the Eighth Amendment based on federal question jurisdiction. This proceeding was referred to 21 this Court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). On February 25, 2025, the Court 22 dismissed plaintiffs’ first amended complaint with leave to amend. (ECF No. 12.) Following 23 extensions of time, plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint. (ECF No. 19.) 24 I. PLAINTIFFS’ ALLEGATIONS 25 Plaintiffs name seven defendants: Sacramento County Jail (“SCJ”); Jim Cooper, 26 Sacramento County Sheriff; Adult Correctional Health (“ACH”); California Department of 27 Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”); Chris Carlson, Parole Officer; Dylan Schmidt, Social 28 Worker; and Deputy Arnold. (ECF No. 19 at 2-5.) 1 Decedent Kevin Dresdner was a parolee sentenced to ninety days in the Sacramento 2 County Jail for a parole violation sustained on August 10, 2021. Plaintiffs aver that decedent was 3 known to the jail facility as a high risk inmate with severe mental health issues, with a history of 4 substance and alcohol abuse. (Id. at 7.) On September 20, 2021, decedent was found 5 unresponsive in his cell, with seven fractured ribs, petechiae of his eyes, blood in his throat, and a 6 swollen tongue. (Id. at 8.) 7 In the first and second claims, plaintiffs allege that decedent’s due process rights were 8 violated by defendant Chris Carlson’s failure to provide decedent with an evidentiary hearing and 9 failure to appoint counsel at decedent’s parole hearing. (Id. at 7.) 10 In the third claim, plaintiffs allege that defendants SCJ, Dylan Schmidt, ACH, and Does 11 1-20, violated decedent’s Eighth Amendment rights as well as privacy laws under the Health 12 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) by sharing decedent’s private 13 and sensitive health and mental health information over twelve times in non-confidential settings, 14 i.e. cell-side, exposing protected health information to other inmates, making decedent a 15 “vulnerable target in a hostile environment.” (Id.) 16 In the fourth claim, plaintiffs allege defendants SCJ, Dylan Schmidt, Deputy Arnold, and 17 Does 1-20 were deliberately indifferent to decedent’s health and safety by delaying his move and 18 returning him to an unsafe environment, ignoring his serious needs and failing to monitor and 19 observe him for his safety. (Id. at 8.) 20 In the fifth claim, plaintiffs allege that defendants SCJ, Deputy Arnold, Dylan Schmidt, 21 ACH, and “Does” failed to monitor and protect the safety of decedent, who told SCJ staff of his 22 “high level of anxiety, depression and fear” on the day he died, September 20, 2021. (Id.) 23 Plaintiffs aver that defendants’ failure to recognize suicide warning signs constituted deliberate 24 indifference to decedent’s serious medical needs. (Id.) 25 In the sixth claim, plaintiffs allege that “[i]f it weren’t for the inadequate monitoring, 26 supervision, customs, training and policies enacted under sheriff Jim Cooper, decedent’s death 27 could have been prevented.” (Id.) 28 Plaintiffs seek money damages. (Id. at 10.) Plaintiffs provided a copy of decedent’s death 1 certificate, and an affidavit pursuant to California Civil Procedure Code § 337.32. (Id. at 11-18.) 2 II. COGNIZABLE CLAIMS 3 In his third, fourth, and fifth claims, plaintiffs allege that defendants Deputy Arnold and 4 Dylan Schmidt, a social worker, were deliberately indifferent to decedent’s serious medical and 5 mental health needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Because decedent was a convicted 6 inmate at the time of his death, plaintiffs’ claims are based on the Eighth Amendment. 7 The Eighth Amendment guarantees that inmates receive constitutionally adequate medical 8 and mental health care. Doty v. County of Lassen, 37 F.3d 540, 546 (9th Cir. 1994). A 9 prisoner’s claim of inadequate medical care does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment in 10 violation of the Eighth Amendment unless the mistreatment rises to the level of “deliberate 11 indifference to serious medical needs.” Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006) 12 (quoting Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976)). Deliberate indifference may be shown by 13 the denial, delay, or intentional interference with medical treatment or by the way in which 14 medical care is provided. Hutchinson v. United States, 838 F.2d 390, 394 (9th Cir. 1988). The 15 two-part test for deliberate indifference requires a plaintiff to show (1) “a ‘serious medical need’ 16 by demonstrating that failure to treat a prisoner’s condition could result in further significant 17 injury or the ‘unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain,’” and (2) “the defendant’s response to 18 the need was deliberately indifferent.” Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096. A defendant does not act in a 19 deliberately indifferent manner unless the defendant “knows of and disregards an excessive risk 20 to inmate health or safety.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994). A heightened suicide 21 risk or an attempted suicide is a serious medical need under the first prong. See Conn v. City of 22 Reno, 591 F.3d 1081, 1095 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. granted, judgment vacated sub nom. City of 23 Reno, Nev. v. Conn, 563 U.S. 915 (2011), and opinion reinstated, 658 F.3d 897 (9th Cir. 2011). 24 Plaintiffs allege that decedent was known to the jail facility as a high-risk inmate with 25 severe mental health issues, and on the day he died, decedent informed jail staff of his high level 26 of anxiety, depression and fear, yet defendants failed to monitor decedent and take steps to 27 prevent his death. (ECF No. 19 at 8.) In addition, decedent had asked several times to be moved 28 from his cell after physical altercations with cellmates; however, the move was delayed, and 1 decedent was returned to an unsafe environment demonstrating defendants’ deliberate 2 indifference by ignoring this risk to his safety. The Court reviewed plaintiffs’ second amended 3 complaint and liberally construing plaintiffs’ claims, and for the limited purposes of § 1915A 4 screening, finds that plaintiffs’ third, fourth and fifth claims state potentially cognizable Eighth 5 Amendment claims against defendants Dylan Schmidt and Deputy Arnold. See 28 U.S.C. 6 § 1915A. 7 III. NONCOGNIZABLE CLAIMS 8 For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that the second amended complaint does not 9 state a cognizable claim against defendants Chris Carlson, SCJ, ACH, Jim Cooper and CDCR, or 10 based on a violation of HIPAA. These claims are dismissed, as set forth below. 11 A. Defendant Chris Carlson 12 Plaintiffs’ first two claims alleging due process violations by defendant Chris Carlson are 13 unclear. (ECF No.

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Bluebook (online)
Cheryl D. Dresdner, et al. v. Sacramento County Jail, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cheryl-d-dresdner-et-al-v-sacramento-county-jail-et-al-caed-2025.