Lim v. Miller

District Court, E.D. California·Decided August 24, 2022·No. 1:21-cv-01734·Unknown

Opinion

CHONG SOOK LIM, Case No. 1:21-cv-01734-DAD-BAM Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DISMISSAL OF ACTION v. (Doc. 8.) LISA A. MILLER, Ph.D., et al., Defendants. Plaintiff Chong Sook Lim (“Plaintiff”), proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, initiated this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Lisa A. Miller, Ph.D. and Does 1-53 on December 7, 2021. (Doc. 1.) On June 17, 2022, the Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint and granted her leave to amend within thirty days. (Doc. 5.) Plaintiff’s first amended complaint, filed on August 16, 2022, is currently before the Court for screening. (Doc. 8.) II. Screening Requirement and Standard The Court screens complaints brought by persons proceeding in pro se and in forma pauperis. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Plaintiff’s complaint, or any portion thereof, is subject to dismissal if it is frivolous or malicious, if it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if it seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). /// A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully is not sufficient, and mere consistency with liability falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quotation marks omitted); Moss, 572 F.3d at 969. III. Summary of Plaintiff’s Allegations Plaintiff brings this action against Defendant Lisa A. Miller, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Miller specializes in child psychology and does not have the proper expertise to diagnose parents and report to the court. In December 2019, Defendant Miller reported to the Tulare County Family Court that Plaintiff, the mother of minor child Yerin Lim, was “very dangerous as she exhibited symptoms of Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome (MBPS, Factitious Disorder on DSM-V).” (Doc. 8, First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), at p. 3.) Defendant Miller allegedly did not participate in any screening methods to evaluate or diagnose Plaintiff and there were no outstanding reports to support the diagnosis. Defendant Miller recommended that Plaintiff should only be permitted supervised visits with her minor child, of whom she had sole physical custody. Plaintiff contends that this caused damage to her household as a single mother and to her career as a preschool instructor. Plaintiff lost full custody and was permitted supervised visits with her minor child. Plaintiff also has been unable to find a job since 2019 due to Defendant Miller’s allegedly false accusations. (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff met with Defendant Miller three times, with Defendant Miller suggesting conjoint therapy on July 12, 2019. Plaintiff asserts that Defendant Miller never requested the minor child’s medical records for review when suspecting Plaintiff of MBPS. Plaintiff also asserts that Defendant failed to meet with Plaintiff individually to assess if Plaintiff needed referral to an adult-specialized counselor, family or group counseling facilities, or to a psychiatrist. Plaintiff claims that Defendant Miller “openly shamed and foul-mothed the Plaintiff in front of her children, going as far as to emailing the Plaintiff’s oldest daughter past midnight and threatening to take the Plaintiff, their mother, away from them if they did not “receive [her] help.” (FAC at p. 5.) Plaintiff also claims that Defendant Miller openly talked about the Plaintiff and shared false information with anyone who asked. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Miller does not understand the diagnostic criteria for MBPS or Factitious Disorder. According to Plaintiff, Defendant Miller was not aware of the change in 2013 from the term MBPS to Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder - V (“DSM-V”) and “did not describe the correct diagnostic criterion in her evaluation report to the court in December 2019.” (Id.) Defendant Miller’s actions reportedly have caused Plaintiff and her family to experience mental distress and trauma. Plaintiff and her oldest daughter regularly attend counseling sessions. Plaintiff alleges that they were ripped apart from their family members with Defendant Miller’s allegedly irresponsible and unethical behaviors. Plaintiff visited a team of psychiatrists for three months after Defendant Miller’s alleged misdiagnosis. Plaintiff has attended biweekly counseling sessions since 2019. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Miller never properly evaluated her, and Plaintiff was not diagnosed with either MBPS or FDIA by other mental health providers or psychiatrists. (Id. at pp. 5-6.) Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Miller reported to the family court from 2020 to 2022 that Plaintiff was not receiving counseling and was mentally unstable. Defendant Miller never made any contact with Plaintiff and only met regularly with the minor child. Defendant Miller has not had contact with the rest of Plaintiff’s family since 2019. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant Miller shared false information and false evaluations to the court “in retaliation to the Plaintiff’s concerns about the Defendant’s misdiagnosis and breach of confidentiality.” (FAC at p. 6.) Plaintiff claims that she has a right to complain about potential malpractice or potential wrongdoing by medical providers. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant Miller refused to interview and properly evaluate Plaintiff upon request but continued to speculate about Plaintiff’s mental condition and spread rumors about Plaintiff’s personal life and comments made by the minor child about her parents. Plaintiff claims that Defendant Miller continued to spread false information about Plaintiff to the minor child, past patients, and personally texted Plaintiff’s medical providers to bribe them into falsifying information about Plaintiff with her. Plaintiff also claims that Defendant Miller neglected to review Plaintiff’s medical records, breached confidentiality, and committed perjury in Tulare County Family Court. (Id. at p. 8.) Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant Miller shared false information or sensitive details about Plaintiff’s family with unrelated third parties who asked about the case and committed perjury to publicize her own biases and narratives about the Plaintiff. Defend

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Lim v. Miller, (E.D. Cal. 2022).

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