K.B. v. Michigan Dept. Of Health & Human Services

367 F. Supp. 3d 647
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 6, 2019
DocketCase No. 18-11795
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 367 F. Supp. 3d 647 (K.B. v. Michigan Dept. Of Health & Human Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
K.B. v. Michigan Dept. Of Health & Human Services, 367 F. Supp. 3d 647 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

Opinion

THOMAS L. LUDINGTON, United States District Judge

On June 6, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a complaint against Defendants the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Nick Lyon, and Richard Snyder. Compl., ECF No. 1. Plaintiffs are Michigan children and their families who claim that Defendants are providing them with inadequate mental health care. Id.

On September 7, 2018, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims. ECF No. 17. Plaintiffs filed a response and Defendants filed a reply. ECF No. 20, 21. On October 29, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a motion for leave to file a sur-reply in opposition to Defendants' reply. ECF No. 22. On November 7, 2018, the motion was denied. ECF No. 23. The next day, Plaintiffs filed a motion for corrected judicial assignment from the Northern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan to the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan. ECF No. 24. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs' motion for corrected judicial assignment will be denied and Defendants' motion to dismiss will be granted in part.

I.

Plaintiffs bring their claim as a class action on behalf of "[a]ll current or future Michigan Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of 21 with a behavioral, emotional, or psychiatric disorder who are or may be eligible for, but are not receiving, home and community-based services." ECF No. 1 at 12. Plaintiffs contend that Defendants' failure to provide adequate mental health care services in their homes and communities have required some Plaintiffs to enter institutions (such as psychiatric hospitals and juvenile delinquency facilities) while the other Plaintiffs are at risk of requiring institutionalization in the future. Id. at 3.

Nationally, the Medicaid program is funded through joint contributions by federal and state governments. Id. at 15. If a state wishes to participate in the Medicaid program and receive federal funding, it must comply with certain requirements. Id. at 16. One of these requirements is that it provide Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment services ("EPSDT") for eligible individuals. Id. The state of Michigan receives Medicaid funds to assist in its facilitation and provision of health services. Id. at 15.

Defendant the Michigan Department of Health (the "Department") is responsible for facilitating the Medicaid program throughout Michigan. Id. To assist in this, the Department has contracted with ten Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans ("PIHPs") and local County Medical Health Service Programs ("CMHSP") to provide health services. Id. at 17. Plaintiffs contend that the PIHPs are not fulfilling Medicaid's requirements and as such, the Department should be held responsible. Plaintiffs raise six claims against Defendants for violating the following: the federal Medicaid *652EPSDT Mandate, the federal Medicaid reasonable promptness requirement, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the due process provisions of the Medicaid Act, and due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The complaint lists seven plaintiffs: K.B. and M.B. from Roscommon County, P.S. from Muskegon County, G.P. from Iron County, D.P. from Isabella County, G.G. from Lapeer County, and J.W. from Ingham County. Id. at 6-10. Each of these Plaintiffs claim to have mental health needs that Defendants are not adequately addressing. Plaintiffs estimate that the class numbers more than 32,000 individuals with approximately half of the class residing in the counties located within the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan. ECF No. 25 at 3.

Plaintiffs' motion for judicial reassignment will be addressed followed by Defendants' motion to dismiss.

II.

Plaintiffs contend that they filed their complaint seeking its assignment to the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan. ECF No. 25 at 4. When completing the Civil Cover Sheet, Plaintiffs selected Lapeer County as the "County in which action arose" because Lapeer is the county where Plaintiff G.G. resides, the fifth named Plaintiff in the complaint. Id. at 5. Plaintiffs explain that they selected Lapeer County intentionally because it is within the Southern Division. The Southern Division has 20 assigned U.S. District Judges. The Northern Division has but one. When entering the names of the individual plaintiffs in the Civil Cover Sheet and on the complaint, Plaintiffs listed K.B. as the first plaintiff, who resides in Roscommon County which is located in the Northern Division.

Plaintiffs' preference for the Southern Division is grounded on their assertion that they believe that over half of the putative class resides in the Southern Division. ECF No. 25 at 2. Plaintiffs also prefer the Southern Division because Plaintiffs' lead attorney, David Honigman, has a "severe medical condition that can be exacerbated by travel to the Bay City courthouse, and even result in death." Id. at 11. Plaintiffs contend that trying the case in the Southern Division rather than the Northern Division would be better for Mr. Honigman's health.

After filing, Plaintiffs' complaint was initially assigned to the Southern Division. One day later, a "Notice of Corrected Judicial Assignment Due to Clerical Error" was entered by the Court's Clerk. ECF No. 8. The notice explained that according to Administrative Order No. 11-AO-016, Plaintiffs' complaint was being reassigned to the Northern Division because of an attorney's error. Id. Administrative Order 11-AO-016 provides:

It appearing that when a CM/ECF filing user erroneously identifies the county where the civil action arose, it can result in an improper assignment to a place of holding court, as well as a mistaken designation of the presiding judicial officer;
It further appearing that pursuant to Local Rule 83.10(c), if a case is improperly assigned to a place of holding court, then the case shall be transferred to the proper location by order of the Court;
NOW THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED that if it reasonably appears an attorney through a clerical error has incorrectly identified the county where the civil action arose, then in the interests of the administrative efficiency of the Court, the Clerk is directed to correct such an improper judicial assignment by entering a Notice of Judicial Assignment. The *653Notice shall include a notation that it is entered pursuant to this Administrative Order and that it was made necessary due to the filing attorney's clerical error.

Plaintiffs contacted the Clerk's office and were told that the case was reassigned because the first named plaintiff resided in a county within the Northern Division. ECF No. 25 at 6. Plaintiffs now bring this motion to correct the judicial assignment of the case to the Southern Division of the Court to be randomly assigned to a judge of the Court.

A.

Assignment of cases is governed by Local Rule 83.10(b) which provides:

(b) Civil cases shall be assigned by the Clerk to a place of holding court by reference to the counties in (a) in the following order of priority:

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Bluebook (online)
367 F. Supp. 3d 647, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kb-v-michigan-dept-of-health-human-services-mied-2019.