Gordon v. Higgs

716 F. Supp. 1351, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9355, 1989 WL 89632
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedJune 16, 1989
DocketNo. CV-N-88-665-ECR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 716 F. Supp. 1351 (Gordon v. Higgs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gordon v. Higgs, 716 F. Supp. 1351, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9355, 1989 WL 89632 (D. Nev. 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

EDWARD C. REED, Jr., Chief Judge.

In this civil rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the plaintiff alleges that while a prisoner at the Washoe County Jail (“WCJ”) the defendant, a medical doctor under contract to WCJ, rendered medical care to the plaintiff which “failed to meet [the] 14th Amendment standard of due process.” Presently before the Court are defendant’s motion to dismiss without prejudice (document # 5), the plaintiff’s opposition to defendant’s motion to dismiss (document # 13), and the defendant’s reply to the plaintiff’s opposition (document #15).

Additionally, on March 29,1989, upon the defendant’s application, the Court issued a subpoena (document # 11) to the Custodian of Medical Records (“Custodian”) at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center. In response, the Custodian submitted a motion to clarify the subpoena (document # 14), which is opposed by both the plaintiff (document # 16), and the defendant (document #17).

The defendant argues in his motion to dismiss that NRS § 41A.016 requires that plaintiff first submit his claim to a “Medical-Legal Screening Panel.” Furthermore, we are told that “the provisions of NRS Chapter 41A clearly apply to federal court proceedings such as in the present case.” Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss at 2. The defendant relies primarily upon Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938), and Feinstein v. Massachusetts General Hospital, 643 F.2d 880 (1st Cir.1981), a medical malpractice case brought in federal court under the court’s diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The defendant argues the plain[1352]*1352tiffs failure to comply with NRS § 41A.016 deprives the Court of jurisdiction. Defendant’s Motion to Strike (document # 9) at 2.1

The defendant’s argument misses its mark by a wide margin because Erie does not apply to a cause of action based on federal law. See Olympic Sports Products, Inc. v. Universal Athletic Sales Co., 760 F.2d 910, 913, 914 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1060, 106 S.Ct. 804, 88 L.Ed.2d 780 (1985). The plaintiff has invoked the Court’s jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3), which grants federal district courts jurisdiction over, inter alia, § 1983 federal civil rights actions. A § 1983 action is brought to redress the violation of federal civil rights. Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131,-, 108 S.Ct. 2302, 2306, 101 L.Ed.2d 123 (1988).

Unlike a diversity case where the court must apply state substantive law, Erie, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938), in a § 1983 action a federal court primarily applies federal law and only borrows state law when “the federal civil rights law fail (sic) to provide certain rules of decision thought essential to the orderly adjudication of rights.” Felder, 487 U.S. at-, 108 S.Ct. at 2306 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 1988). For example, in a § 1983 action, federal courts borrow the state personal-injury statute of limitation because the federal civil rights law does not provide a statute of limitation. See Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985).

Thus, NRS § 41A.016 could only be applicable in this federal civil rights action if the borrowing doctrine mandates its application. When determining whether to borrow a state statute:

the issue presented by the doctrine is neither how to incorporate into federal law as much state law as a federal action will tolerate, nor how best to further state policies and goals in the litigation of a federal action. The issue is how to best effectuate the federal policies embodied in a federal action when the action does not itself supply the complete legal framework necessary to the effectuation of those policies.

Brown v. United States, 742 F.2d 1498, 1504 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1073, 105 S.Ct. 2153, 85 L.Ed.2d 509 (1985). The Brown court held that a District of Columbia notice-of-claim provision could not be applied to defeat a § 1983 action brought in federal court. Brown, 742 F.2d at 1509-1510.

In Felder 487 U.S. at —, 108 S.Ct. at 2306, the Court stated: “a state law that immunizes government conduct otherwise subject to suit under § 1983 is preempted [or not adopted] ... because the application of the state immunity law would thwart the congressional remedy.” Thus, the Court held that a state notice-of-claim statute could not be applied to defeat a § 1983 action even when that action is brought in a state court. Id.

Here, the plaintiff’s claim is to redress an alleged violation of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. We do not perceive any deficiency in the federal civil rights law that necessitates the borrowing of Nevada’s malpractice screening law in order to effectuate the remedial purposes underlying § 1983 in the context of an alleged due process deprivation. Accordingly, the Court holds that NRS § 41A.016 is inapplicable in a § 1983 action brought in a federal court to redress a deprivation of due process. Therefore, the defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to NRS § 41A.016 is denied.

In the defendant’s reply to the plaintiff’s opposition, the defendant raises a new argument and now attacks the plaintiff’s complaint for failure to adequately allege a deprivation of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. The defendant asserts [1353]*1353that plaintiff’s claim is in substance only a claim for medical malpractice and does not rise to the level of a due process deprivation. Normally, a party should not raise new grounds for his motion in his reply; however, since the deficiencies addressed by the defendant’s reply appear plainly on the face of the plaintiff’s complaint, the Court will consider them.

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716 F. Supp. 1351, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9355, 1989 WL 89632, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gordon-v-higgs-nvd-1989.