Ellis v. Grimes

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 17, 2023
Docket4:17-cv-00325
StatusUnknown

This text of Ellis v. Grimes (Ellis v. Grimes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellis v. Grimes, (N.D. Okla. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

Terral B. Ellis, Sr., et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v. 4:17-cv-00325-CRK-CDL

Jennifer Grimes, et al.,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

This case involves a detainee Terral Ellis II (“Ellis”) housed at a county jail who died after requesting medical treatment. Ellis’ estate, Terral Ellis, Sr., and Shelly Bliss (“Plaintiffs”) are suing the sheriff’s office managing the jail and the emergency medical ambulance services provider and its paramedics who responded to the jail.1 Before the Court is defendants Baptist Healthcare of Oklahoma, LLC, d/b/a Integris Miami EMS, Kent Williams, and Jennifer Grimes’ (collectively “Integris”) supplemental summary judgment motion. See Suppl. Mot. Summ. J., June 29, 2023, ECF No. 320 (“Motion”). BACKGROUND The Court assumes familiarity with the facts of this matter as set forth in its prior order denying defendants’ summary judgment motions, see Bond ex rel. Ellis v.

1 The claims against the nurse and detention officers who worked at the jail have been dismissed. See Stipulation of Dismissal, Dec. 14, 2022, ECF No. 231. Sheriff of Ottawa Cnty., No. 17-cv-00325, 2022 WL 16716149 (N.D. Okla. Nov. 4, 2022), appeal dismissed sub nom. Bond v. Horn, No. 22-5101, 2022 WL 19829863 (10th Cir. Dec. 16, 2022) (“SJO”), and its order regarding the expert testimony of Dr.

Todd Wilcox, see Mem. and Order, June 16, 2023, ECF No. 303, and now recounts facts pertinent to this motion. Plaintiffs commenced this action seeking relief against Integris in a state claim for negligence over which the Court has supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C § 1367. See Compl. ¶¶ 4, 65–71, June 9, 2017, ECF No. 2. Plaintiffs alleged that Mr. Ellis had been “under the custody of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s

Department (“OCSD”) at the Ottawa County Jail (“Jail”).” Compl. ¶ 20. He first complained of back pain on October 17, 2015. SJO at *2. Further, as stated in this Court’s prior order: On October 19, 2015, Ellis complained of back pain to [Nurse] Horn directly, but this time he believed he had kidney stones. When Horn examined Ellis and identified a protrusion on his back as a possible dislocated rib, she administered ibuprofen.

On October 21, 2015, Ellis reported having a seizure to jail staff, and Horn instructed jail staff to call emergency services. Jail staff called emergency services, and paramedics Kent Williams and Jennifer Grimes arrived. Ellis described experiencing a seizure and complained of back pain and difficulty walking. Detention officer Bray and assistant jail administrator Shoemaker were present at least part of the time when the responding paramedics examined Ellis. The paramedics did not transport Ellis to the hospital at that time. The jail staff advised the paramedics that they would place Ellis in a holding cell in view of the guard desk and would check him every 15 minutes. Further, the jail staff advised the paramedics that if Ellis’ condition changed, they would call back emergency services immediately. Around 9:30–10:00 p.m. on October 21, 2015, detention officer Curtis Lawson reported to Bray that Ellis said he could not feel his legs, and Bray called Horn. Horn told Bray the paramedics had already been to the jail earlier to check on Ellis. Horn then advised Bray to insist Ellis get up and move around, and that he needed to use the bathroom himself. She also advised Bray to give Ellis over-the-counter pain medication and that she would be in to see him in the morning.

Around 10:23 p.m. on October 21, 2015, Ellis reported to Bray and Lawson that his legs were numb, and Bray responded to Ellis he had no injuries that would cause his legs to go numb and prevent him from moving his legs. Bray admits that Ellis’ condition was worsening. Bray did not call emergency medical services for Ellis the evening of October 21, 2015.

On October 22, 2015, around 8:28 a.m., Ellis is heard moaning in distress, and the jail staff mocked him and told him that they were not going to call emergency services. Around 8:59 a.m. on October 22, 2015, Ellis asks for water, but a member of the jail staff refuses, saying, “don’t let him fool you.”

Around 10:45 a.m. on October 22, 2015, Ellis again complained of being unable to walk, that his legs were black and blue, and that he was in pain. Shoemaker was near the cell Ellis was in when Horn arrived to examine him. Instead of referring Ellis for medical treatment, Horn mocked and threatened him for reporting his symptoms, implied he was faking his illness, and told him she was tired of dealing with him. Despite hearing Horn mock and threaten Ellis, Shoemaker did nothing to assist Ellis.

Around 1:45 p.m. on October 22, 2015, Horn contacted emergency services when she noticed Ellis’ discolored eyes and skin, low body temperature and pressure, and difficulty speaking. Ellis died at the hospital at 2:51 p.m. from sepsis/septic shock resulting from acute bronchopneumonia.

SJO at *3–4 (internal citations omitted).

Following discovery Integris moved for summary judgment. Mot. Summ. J. by [Integris], Dec. 18, 2019, ECF No. 133. On November 4, 2022, this Court denied Integris’ initial motion for summary judgment, concluding that “genuine disputes of material fact [existed] as to the three elements of whether the conduct of the jail staff [was] a supervening cause.” SJO at *11–13. Subsequently, Integris filed a motion in limine seeking, in part, to exclude the testimony of Plaintiffs’ expert witness, Dr.

Wilcox, on the standard of care applicable to paramedics. See Integris Mot. in Limine at 1–3, Apr. 3, 2023, ECF No. 243. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on June 14, 2023, Mins. of Hr’g, June 14, 2023, ECF No. 298, and subsequently issued an order precluding the testimony of Dr. Wilcox regarding Integris’ standard of care, Mem. and Order, June 16, 2023, ECF No. 303. Following the Court’s order, Integris moved for leave to file a supplemental motion for summary judgment, arguing that

this Court’s order precluding Dr. Wilcox from testifying to the standard of care for paramedics rendered Plaintiffs’ claims “unproveable at trial.” Mot. Leave to File Mot. Summ. J. at 4–7, June 20, 2023, ECF No. 307. The Court granted Integris’ motion for leave, Order, June 28, 2023, ECF No. 319, and Integris filed the instant motion for summary judgment on June 29, 2023. Plaintiffs responded on July 12, 2023, Pls.’ Resp. Opp. [Motion], July 12, 2023, ECF No. 331 (“Response”), and Integris replied on July 14, 2023, Reply [in Supp. of Motion], July 14, 2023, ECF No. 333 (“Reply”).

JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(a)(3)–(4) (2018), which provide original jurisdiction over civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States, and which provide original jurisdiction over any civil action authorized by law to redress the deprivation of Constitutional or federal statutory rights. The Court also has jurisdiction over the state law claims forming part of the same case or controversy as those claims over which the Court has original jurisdiction, pursuant to 28 U.S.C § 1367. The Court shall grant summary judgment if there is no genuine dispute of

material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56

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Ellis v. Grimes, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellis-v-grimes-oknd-2023.