Harris v. Ryan

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided November 4, 2020·No. 2:19-cv-02723·Unknown

Opinion

WO MGD John Leonard Harris, No. CV 19-02723-PHX-JAT (ESW) Plaintiff, v. ORDER Charles L. Ryan, et al., Defendants.

Plaintiff John Leonard Harris, who is currently confined in the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence, filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.) Pending before the Court are Defendant Centurion of Arizona, LLC’s (“Centurion”) Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 26), Defendants Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) Director Shinn and Corizon Health Incorporated’s (“Corizon”) Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 32), and Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 44). Centurion joined Shinn and Corizon’s Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to Plaintiff’s injunctive relief claims. (Doc. 37.) The Court provided notice to Plaintiff pursuant to Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952, 962 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc), regarding the requirements of a response to the Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 34, 35), and he opposes the Motions (Docs. 36, 39). I. Background In his Complaint dated April 22, 2019, Plaintiff alleges that he received inadequate medical care for deformities in his feet. (Doc. 1.) Plaintiff alleges that in July 2016, Dr. Cory reconstructed his left foot and ordered Plaintiff to return in 4 weeks to have sutures removed, to receive injections in both feet for pain, and to return in a year for surgery on his right foot. (Id. at 3, 5.) Plaintiff did not return to Dr. Cory in 4 weeks to have the sutures removed, did not receive the pain injections, and had not received the surgery on his collapsed right foot as of the time he filed his Complaint, which further hindered his mobility and ability to work. (Id. at 5-6.) Plaintiff seeks damages and injunctive relief in the form of “immediate treatment/surgery.” (Id. at 9.) On screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), the Court determined that Plaintiff stated Eighth Amendment medical care claims in Counts One and Two against Corizon and former ADC Director Ryan, in his official capacity, and directed Corizon and Ryan to answer. (Doc. 5.) The Court dismissed the remaining claims and Defendants. (Id.) Because Ryan is no longer the ADC Director, on December 20, 2019, the Court substituted current ADC Director David Shinn for Ryan in his official capacity. (Doc. 16.) Also, because Corizon is no longer the contracted healthcare provider for ADC prisoners, the Court added Centurion, the new contracted healthcare provider, as a Defendant with respect to Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief. (Id.) II. Summary Judgment Standard A court must grant summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986). The movant bears the initial responsibility of presenting the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record, together with affidavits, if any, that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. If the movant fails to carry its initial burden of production, the nonmovant need not produce anything. Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Ltd. v. Fritz Co., Inc., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102-03 (9th Cir. 2000). But if the movant meets its initial responsibility, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to demonstrate the existence of a factual dispute and that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law, and that the dispute is genuine, i.e., the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 250 (1986); see Triton Energy Corp. v. Square D. Co., 68 F.3d 1216, 1221 (9th Cir. 1995). The nonmovant need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor, First Nat’l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89 (1968); however, it must “come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986) (internal citation omitted); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). At summary judgment, the judge’s function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249. In its analysis, the court must believe the nonmovant’s evidence and draw all inferences in the nonmovant’s favor. Id. at 255. The court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider any other materials in the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3). III. Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment On September 9, 2020, after briefing was complete on Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment, the Court ordered Defendants to provide the records from Plaintiff’s foot surgery and Plaintiff’s follow-up visits with the surgeon or other outside providers. (Doc. 42.) On September 16, 2020, Defendants filed a Notice of Service of Discovery stating that pursuant to the Court’s September 9, 2016 Order, they had served Plaintiff with a copy of supplemental medical records.1 (Doc. 43.) On September 25, 2020, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Default Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b), asserting that Defendants failed to comply with the Court’s Order at Doc. 42 and did not provide the surgeon’s or other outside providers’ “actual dictated notes/reports” but only produced “offsite forms that return with Plaintiff from every appointment.” (Doc. 44 at 1.) As such, Plaintiff argues that Defendants have

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