Lipman v. Budish

383 F. Supp. 3d 764
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedMay 23, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 1:18 CV 2985
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 383 F. Supp. 3d 764 (Lipman v. Budish) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lipman v. Budish, 383 F. Supp. 3d 764 (N.D. Ohio 2019).

Opinion

Introduction

This matter is before the Court upon the County defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 9). This case arises out of the death of a minor after continued physical abuse by her mother. For the following reason, the motion is GRANTED as to the federal claim. The state law claims are dismissed without prejudice.

Facts

Plaintiffs Kevin Lipman as Administrator of the Estate of Ta'Naejah McCloud, deceased, and Shabrina McCloud filed this Complaint against defendants Armond Budish (in his official capacity as Cuyahoga County Executive), Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services (CFS), Tequila Crump, Ursula Owens, Kristina Quint, Ada Jackson, and Marquetese Betts.1 The Complaint alleges the following in relevant part.

*768Ta'Naejah was a five year old child with a developmental disability who died on March 19, 2017. Prior to 2016, Ta'Naejah lived with defendant Crump, her biological mother, and plaintiff McCloud, who had legal custodial rights, in the state of Virginia. In 2016, McCloud separated from Crump. Crump then moved in with defendant Owens in Cleveland, Ohio. Beginning in October 2016, Crump and Owens repeatedly physically abused Ta'Naeja which ultimately resulted in her death. Crump and Owens were both convicted by a jury in connection with the death. During this time, defendants Quint, Jackson, and Betts were social workers/employees (sometimes referred to as case workers) of CFS. They are sued in their individual capacity.

In September and October 2016, it was reported to a CFS social worker and another Cuyahoga County employee that Crump and Owens were burning and beating Ta'Naeja, but the the abuse was not reported or properly investigated as mandated by Ohio statute. In October 2016, Ta'Naeja was taken to University Hospitals with third degree burns. The hospital social worker reported to the CFS social worker that the burns were not self-inflicted, but CFS refused to investigate. Ta'Naeja was then admitted to Metro Health Medical Center Burn Intensive Care Unit and the suspected physical abuse by her mother was reported to defendant Quint. Quint interviewed Ta'Naeja during the hospitalization in the presence of Crump and Owens who were accused of committing the abuse. Quint refused to investigate and ultimately, Quint discharged Ta'Naeja from the hospital into the custody of Crump and Owens. After the discharge and until Ta'Naeja's death, multiple complaints of neglect and physical abuse were made to CFS but the reports were not investigated.

In February 2017, a county social worker reported to CFS that Ta'Naeja was being physically abused and defendant Jackson was responsible for investigating the report. CFS refused to investigate. In February 2017 and until Ta'Naeja's death, CFS took co-custody of Ta'Naeja. A CFS case worker took her to medical appointments. Defendant Betts determined that the risk level for Ta'Naeja was high, took co-custody, and kept her case open. On February 7, 2017, defendant Jackson was present but left the room when Ta'Naeja was examined by a physician who determined that Ta'Naeja had multiple scars on her body and was malnourished. Despite the complaints made to CFS during this time, CFS continued to return Ta'Naeja to the home of Crump and Owens. Between February and March 2017, CFS received multiple complaints of physical abuse of Ta'Naeja and went to the home on five occasions. Each time, CFS social workers interviewed Ta'Naeja in front of Crump and Owens in violation of the Ohio Administrative Code and CFS policy.

Between February and March 2017, defendant Jackson discovered that Ta'Naeja was sleeping on the floor and had no bed. Also during this time, CFS was aware that Ta'Naeja was in a home invested with bed bugs and cockroaches. It was reported to CFS that Ta'Naeja was eating cockroach-filled sandwiches, and yet CFS continued to return her to the home of Owens and Crump.

On March 17, 2017, while in the co-custody and care of CFS, Ta'Naeja was brought to the emergency room and died of her injuries on March 19, 2017. An autopsy concluded that the cause of death was homicide and Crump and Owens were subsequently convicted thereof.

The Complaint sets forth five claims. Count One alleges a claim against the County defendants (Budish, CFS, Quint, *769Jackson, and Betts) for a violation of substantive and procedural due process as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Count Two alleges wrongful death against Quint, Jackson, and Betts. Count Three alleges wrongful death against Crump and Owens. Count Four alleges a survival action of all counts against all defendants. Count Five alleges statutory failure to report against "Cuyahoga County2 , John/Jane Does."

This matter is now before the Court upon the Motion to Dismiss of defendants Budish, CFS, Betts, Jackson, and Quint.

Standard of Review

"Dismissal is appropriate when a plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). We assume the factual allegations in the complaint are true and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Comtide Holdings, LLC v. Booth Creek Management Corp., 335 Fed.Appx. 587 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing Bassett v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n , 528 F.3d 426, 430 (6th Cir.2008) ). In construing the complaint in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, "the court does not accept the bare assertion of legal conclusions as enough, nor does it accept as true unwarranted factual inferences." Gritton v. Disponett, 332 Fed.Appx. 232 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing In re Sofamor Danek Group, Inc ., 123 F.3d 394, 400 (6th Cir.1997). As outlined by the Sixth Circuit:

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." "Specific facts are not necessary; the statement need only give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
383 F. Supp. 3d 764, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lipman-v-budish-ohnd-2019.