Cordell v. Howard

879 F. Supp. 2d 145, 2012 WL 3044251, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101439
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJuly 20, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 10-10879-NMG
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 879 F. Supp. 2d 145 (Cordell v. Howard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cordell v. Howard, 879 F. Supp. 2d 145, 2012 WL 3044251, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101439 (D. Mass. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

NATHANIEL M. GORTON, District Judge.

After consideration of defendants’ objections thereto, Report and Recommendation accepted and adopted.

DEIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Roger D. Cordell (“Cor-dell”) has brought this Bivens1 action pro se against four medical providers at FMC Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. Cordell claims that the defendants, Casandra Howard (“Howard”), Karl Bernhard (“Bern-hard”), Herbert P. Beam (“Beam”) and John Asare (“Asare”), deprived him of his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment while he was an inmate at FMC Devens by overdosing him with medication, falsifying his medical records to cover up the alleged overdoses, refusing to provide him with emergency medical care, [148]*148and failing to intervene to correct improper medical treatment. The matter is before the court on the “Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment” (Docket No. 23), and on the plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 25). By their motion, the defendants contend that Cordell’s claims are barred by the doctrine of res judicata because they were fully and finally litigated in a prior Bivens action filed in this court in Civil Action No. 07-40103-WGY (the “2007 Action”). They also contend that dismissal is warranted because the complaint lacks sufficient specificity to comply with the notice pleading requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8, and because the plaintiff has failed to present evidence demonstrating that the defendants acted with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. Cordell opposes the defendants’ motion on the merits and on the grounds that it is premature. He also has requested that summary judgment be entered in his favor.

As described below, this court finds that this case is not yet ripe for summary judgment, and that the defendants’ motion should be treated as a motion to' dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). After applying the applicable standard, this court concludes that Cordell’s present claims are distinct from the claims asserted in the 2007 Action, and should not be precluded by res judicata. This court also finds that the allegations set forth in Cordell’s Amended Complaint are sufficiently detailed to state an Eighth Amendment claim against each of the defendants. Therefore, and for all the reasons detailed herein, this court recommends to the District Judge to whom this case is assigned that the defendant’s motion be DENIED, albeit without prejudice to their right to file a motion for summary judgment at the conclusion of discovery.

In light of this court’s conclusion that summary judgment is premature, this court recommends that Cordell’s cross-motion for summary judgment also be DENIED without prejudice to refiling after the parties have completed discovery. However, because the issues in this case are straightforward, and the defendants are prepared to move forward with summary judgment immediately, this court further recommends that the period for discovery be limited and that the parties be given 180 days from the court’s final ruling on the pending motions to complete any discovery and file any motions for summary judgment.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Scope of the Record

The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, for summary judgment. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d), the court has discretion to treat a motion to dismiss as one for summary judgment if the court chooses to consider materials outside the pleadings. However, if the court decides to convert the motion into a motion for summary judgment, “[a]ll parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d). “Conversion is improper if it hvould come as a “surprise” or be “unfair” to the party against whom judgment is rendered.’ ” Giragosian v. Ryan, 547 F.3d 59, 65 (1st Cir.2008) (quoting Clorox Co. PR v. Proctor & Gamble Commercial Co., 228 F.3d 24, 31 (1st Cir.2000)).

In the instant case, the defendants and, in response, the plaintiff, have submitted materials outside the pleadings, and Cordell has responded to the defendants’ motion by cross-moving for summary judgment in his favor. Nevertheless, the plaintiff has indicated that he was not aware of [149]*149the need to present evidence at this stage of the litigation, and he has expressed a desire to take discovery and present additional evidence if his claims survive the defendants’ motion to dismiss. (PI. S.J. Mem. (Docket No. 26) at 2; PI. Reply Mem. (Docket No. 27) at 4-5). Because conversion would deprive Cordell of an adequate opportunity to develop the record in support of his claims, this court finds that summary judgment is premature. Consequently, this court will consider the defendants’ motion as a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).2 In light of this court’s conclusion that the matter is not ripe for summary judgment, this court recommends that the plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment be denied without prejudice.

Factual Background

When ruling on a motion to dismiss brought under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the court must accept as true all well-pleaded facts, and give the plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences. See Cooperman v. Individual, Inc., 171 F.3d 43, 46 (1st Cir.1999). Where, as here, the plaintiff is proceeding pro se, this court construes his allegations liberally. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106, 97 S.Ct. 285, 292, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976) (a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be liberally construed). Ordinarily, on a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the court is “limited to considering ‘facts and documents that are part of or incorporated into the complaint.’ ” Giragosian, 547 F.3d at 65 (quoting Trans-Spec Truck Serv., Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc., 524 F.3d 315, 321 (1st Cir.2008)). “These limitations, however, are not absolute. A district court may also consider ‘documents incorporated by reference in [the complaint], matters of public record, and other matters susceptible to judicial notice.’ ” Id. (quoting

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
879 F. Supp. 2d 145, 2012 WL 3044251, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101439, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cordell-v-howard-mad-2012.