Hobbs ex rel. Hobbs v. Powell

138 F. Supp. 3d 1328, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130985, 2015 WL 5693635
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 29, 2015
DocketCase No. 6:14-cv-1113-SLB
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 138 F. Supp. 3d 1328 (Hobbs ex rel. Hobbs v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hobbs ex rel. Hobbs v. Powell, 138 F. Supp. 3d 1328, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130985, 2015 WL 5693635 (N.D. Ala. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SHARON LOVELACE BLACKBURN, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This case is before the court on Defendants Powell, Whitman, Hardy, Lolley and Baker’s Motion to Dismiss Count III of the Amended Complaint, (Doc. 34),1 Motion to Dismiss of George A. Lyrene, M.D., (Doc. 38), and Defendants Powell, Whitman, Hardy, Lolley, and Baker’s Motion to Dismiss Count III of the Amended. Complaint and First Amendment to Amended Complaint,2 (Doc. 53). Upon consideration of the record, the submissions of the parties, the arguments of counsel, and the relevant law, the court is of the opinion that Defendants Powell, Whitman, Hardy, Lolley and Baker’s Motion to Dismiss Count III of the Amended Complaint, (Doc. 34), is due to be denied. Defendants Powell, Whitman, Hardy, Lolley, and Baker’s Motion to Dismiss Count III of the Amended Complaint and First Amendment to Amended Complaint, (Doc. 53), is due to be granted as to Count IV of plaintiffs First Amendment to Amended Complaint and denied as to Count. Ill of plaintiffs Amended Complaint, and the Motion to Dismiss of George A. Lyrene, M.D., (Doc. 38), is due to be denied.

MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

Defendants Powell, Whitman, Hardy, Lolley, and Baker (hereafter, “defendant jailers”) have moved to dismiss Count III of plaintiffs Amended Complaint and Count IV of plaintiffs First Amendment to Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.3 (Docs. 34 and 53.) Additionally, Lyrene has moved to dismiss Counts I and II of plaintiffs Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim against him upon which relief may be granted. (Doc. 38.) The purpose of such motions, authorized by Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, is to test the facial .sufficiency of the plaintiffs statement of his claims for relief. Brooks v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc., 116 F.3d 1364, 1367 (11th [1333]*1333Cir.1997). Rule 12(b)(6) must be read together with Rule 8(a)(2), which “requires that a pleading contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Am. Dental Ass’n v. Cigna Comp., 605 F.3d 1283, 1288 (11th Cir.2010) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).

To survive a 12(b)(6) motion, Rule 8 “does not require ’detailed factual allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The “plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, “[fjactual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level... on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Id. (citations and footnote omitted). The plaintiff need not prove his case but must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570,127 S.Ct. 1955 (emphasis added).

“"When considering a motion to dismiss, all facts set forth in the plaintiffs complaint ’are to be accepted as true and the court limits its consideration to the pleadings and exhibits attached thereto.’ ” Grossman v. Nationsbank, N.A., 225 F.3d 1228, 1231 (11th Cir.2000) (quoting GSW, Inc. v. Long Cnty., 999 F.2d 1508, 1510 (11th Cir.1993)). Further, all “reasonable inferences” are drawn in favor of the plaintiff. St. George v. Pinellas Cnty., 285 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir.2002). However, while the Court must accept all factual allegations as true, it is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citation omitted). “In considering a motion to dismiss, a court should eliminate any legal conclusions contained in the complaint, and then determine whether the factual allegations, which are assumed to be true, give rise to relief.” Chapman v. U.S. Postal Serv., 442 Fed.Appx. 480, 482-83 (11th Cir.2011) (citing Am. Dental Ass’n, 605 F.3d at 1290).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY4

Plaintiff Jessica Hobbs, the widow of Stephen Hobbs (“Hobbs”), a former inmate at Winston County Jail, brings this action as the personal representative of her deceased husband! (Doc. 30 ¶¶1, 5.) During the relevant time period, defendant Rick Harris was the sheriff of Winston County. (Id. ¶ 11; see also Doc. 35 at 2.) Led Powell was the captain in charge of guards at Winston County Jail, (id. ¶ 6), and James Whitman, Deborah Hardy, Brian Lolley, and Charles Baker were guards at Winst'on County Jail,' (id. ¶¶ 7-10). Also during this period, Dr. George Lyrene was a physician contracted to provide medical care to Winston County Jail inmates. (Id. ¶ 13.) Lyrene provided this care through Correctional Managed Card Consultants, LLC, (“CMCC”) an entity Lyrene incorporated in March 2008. (Id. ¶ 12.)

By July 2012, Hobbs began experiencing a toothache. (Doc. 30 ¶ 14.) At several times “[Heading up to the end of 2012,” Hobbs completed medical request forms complaining about his toothache and seek[1334]*1334ing, treatment for it. (Id. ¶ 16.) At one point, Hobbs made a complaint to Harris while Harris was assisting guards during a mealtime, and Hobbs also “requested medical care or assistance from several guards, including James Whitman, Deborah Hardy, Brian Lolley and Charles Baker.” (Id. ¶¶ 15, 17.) Lyrene and CMCC ignored the medical request forms and ignored requests for Hobbs’s treatment made by Hobbs through jail personnel, including some of the other defendants. (Id. ¶ 38.) At no point did Lyrene or -CMCC treat plaintiff for his abscessed tooth or for symptoms of an abscessed tooth. (Id.) Although Hobbs ' could purchase pain medication with his money, no one provided medical care to Hobbs during this time. (Id. ¶ 18.)

Around December 31, 2012, Hobbs’s toothache caused noticeably severe swelling that required immediate medical attention. (Id. ¶ 19.) The next day, “a Winston County guard—either Whitman, Hardy, Lolley or Baker—came to the door of the day room and observed Hobbs through a window of a locked door.” (Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 F. Supp. 3d 1328, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130985, 2015 WL 5693635, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hobbs-ex-rel-hobbs-v-powell-alnd-2015.