Jenkins v. Walls

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 6, 2020
Docket1:20-cv-01224
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Jenkins v. Walls, (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DARRELL W. JENKINS, Plaintiff, -against- BRYAN WALLS, HSA Otisville FCI; ALFONSO LINLEY, Acct CD/DR Otisville 20-CV-1224 (CM) FCI; JAYNE VANDER HEY-WRIGHT, PA Otisville FCI; J. PETTRUCCI, Warden ORDER TO AMEND Otisville FCI; DEES, AHSA Otisville FCI; LeMASTER, Asst. Warden Otisville FCI; MALDANADO, Asst. Warden – Ret. Otisville FCI; VAN BLANKENSEE, Warden- Transfer Tucson FCI, Defendants. COLLEEN McMAHON, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff, currently incarcerated in the Low Security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, brings this pro se action under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), alleging that Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. By order dated February 13, 2020, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepayment of fees, that is, in forma pauperis (“IFP”).1 For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint within sixty days of the date of this order. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that federal courts screen complaints brought by prisoners who seek relief against a governmental entity or an officer or employee of a

1 Prisoners are not exempt from paying the full filing fee even when they have been granted permission to proceed IFP. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a prisoner’s IFP complaint, or any portion of the complaint, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B), 1915A(b); see Abbas v. Dixon, 480 F.3d 636, 639 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court must also dismiss a complaint if the Court lacks subject matter

jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (emphasis in original). But the “special solicitude” in pro se cases, id. at 475 (citation omitted), has its limits – to state a claim, pro se pleadings still must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires a complaint to make a short and plain statement showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.

The Supreme Court has held that under Rule 8, a complaint must include enough facts to state a claim for relief “that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim is facially plausible if the plaintiff pleads enough factual detail to allow the Court to draw the inference that the defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct. In reviewing the complaint, the Court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009). But it does not have to accept as true “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,” which are essentially just legal conclusions. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. After separating legal conclusions from well-pleaded factual allegations, the Court must determine whether those facts make it plausible – not merely possible – that the pleader is entitled to relief. Id. BACKGROUND Plaintiff brings this action regarding events that arose while he was incarcerated in Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in Orange County, New York. The following allegations

are taken from the complaint: Plaintiff has a serious medical condition characterized by nerve degeneration and muscle weakness in his feet and legs. (ECF No. 2, at 5.) He asserts that Defendants have been unable to determine what is wrong with him and have delayed or denied him necessary medical care. Plaintiff states that he is permanently confined to a wheelchair and that because of Defendants’ delay in providing him with health care, his condition may be irreversible. (Id. at 4, 5.) He sues Health Services Administrator (“HSA”) Bryan Wells, Dr. Alfonso Linley, physician’s assistant Jayne Vander Hey-Wright, Warden J. Pettrucci; Assistant HSA Dees, Assistant Warden LeMaster, Assistant Warden (retired) Maldanado, and former Otisville (now Tucson FCI) Warden Van Blankensee. Plaintiff annexes to the complaint 99 pages of medical records, emails, and other

documents detailing his condition, the treatment he has received, and his correspondence with Otisville medical staff, including many of the Defendants. The documents indicate that since arriving at Otisville on June 21, 2017, Plaintiff has been seen by multiple doctors including doctors at the facility’s Chronic Care Clinic, a podiatrist, multiple orthotics specialists, and facility medical staff. He has undergone repeated testing including, “but not limited to: MRIs, nerve conduction studies, CTs, x-rays, multiple lab tests and consults,” and a nerve biopsy. (Id. at 11.) In addition, Plaintiff was provided with a CAM boot, fitted for diabetic orthotic shoes to help reduce stress on his foot, and provided with a wheelchair. The documents further indicate that Otisville medical staff answered Plaintiff’s questions “addressing Charcot Marie Tooth Disease, Hallux Valgus, peripheral nervous system, antalgic gait, bony hypertrophy, delayed callus formation, joint space, activities of daily living, calcaneal spur, atrophy, non-displaced, open bone, closed bone, NSAIDS, and demyelination.” (Id. at 84.) Plaintiff seeks money damages and a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from retaliating against him. (Id. at 5.)

DISCUSSION To state a claim for relief under Bivens, a plaintiff must allege facts that plausibly show that: (1) the challenged action was attributable to an officer acting under color of federal law, and (2) such conduct deprived him of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution. See Thomas v. Ashcroft, 470 F.3d 491, 496 (2d Cir. 2006) (citing Bivens, 403 U.S. at 389). Federal courts have analogized Bivens claims to those brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which require a showing that defendants acted under color of state law to deprive a plaintiff of a federally protected right. Thus, caselaw from actions brought under § 1983 may be used to address issues raised in Bivens cases. See Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 498-99 (1978); Shue v. United States, 466 F. App’x 51, 51 (2d Cir. 2012) (citing Tavarez v.

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Bluebook (online)
Jenkins v. Walls, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-walls-nysd-2020.