Marvin Mead v. Charles Palmer

794 F.3d 932, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12792, 2015 WL 4488665
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJuly 24, 2015
Docket14-1680
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 794 F.3d 932 (Marvin Mead v. Charles Palmer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marvin Mead v. Charles Palmer, 794 F.3d 932, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12792, 2015 WL 4488665 (8th Cir. 2015).

Opinions

[934]*934SMITH, Circuit Judge.

In this interlocutory appeal, Director Jason Smith, M.D., and Nurse Mary Benson, both of Iowa’s Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders (CCUSO) (collectively, “defendants”),2 appeal the district court’s order denying them qualified immunity from damages in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit brought by. Marvin Mead, a patient civilly committed at the CCUSO. Mead claimed that he was denied essential dental care because the defendants required him to pay for partial dentures and were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical need by denying him the dentures.

After careful review of the record — and within the constraints of our appellate jurisdiction in this interlocutory appeal — we conclude that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity from damages on Mead’s claim regarding the denial of partial dentures. See Stoner v. Watlingten, 735 F.3d 799, 802 (8th Cir.2013) (de novo review); Robbins v. Becker, 715 F.3d 691, 693 (8th Cir.2013) (court has jurisdiction to review denial of qualified immunity only to extent that denial turns on issue of law). Accordingly, we reverse.

I. Background

Mead’s amended § 1983 complaint alleged that the defendants “denied [him] adequate dental care” by depriving him of “extensive dental care that he is unable to afford” and were “deliberately indifferent to [his] need for dental care in violation of his constitutional rights.” He alleged that he had many teeth pulled while in custody, was unable to chew food properly, suffered from acid reflux, and had become diabetic. He sought injunctive relief and damages.

The defendants moved for summary judgment arguing that Mead had sufficient funds to pay for a partial denture plate and failed to demonstrate a serious medical need because (1) he had not requested and did not want a soft diet, (2) he had not lost weight, (3) he had complained of discomfort but not pain, (4) he had stated that he was satisfied with his medical care, and (5) no dentist had concluded that Mead had a serious medical need for dentures. The defendants argued that they were entitled to qualified immunity, not personally responsible for Mead’s alleged damages, and immune from money damages. In an attached statement of facts, they alleged that Mead had $1,300 in his account and that buying a partial plate would cost approximately $1,200. The defendants’ appendix included transcripts of the depositions of Mead and dentist Timothy DeStigter; Mead’s dental records; and CCUSO documents, including Mead’s account statement, nursing notes, and a health-services request from Mead.

The undisputed evidence shows the following. Mead testified that he suffered cuts on the top of his gums from chewing food which caused “discomfort” but “not really pain.” Mead could not eat apples, eating steak was a “chore” for him, and eating cold cereal cut his gums. He was on a normal diet and did not want a soft diet. He had gained about ten pounds since admission to CCUSO, and he felt that he consumed adequate calories. He ate “in a different way” and had to “adapt” how he chewed. He was satisfied with his medical care.

Dr. Timothy DeStigter, Mead’s treating dentist, testified that substantial recent weight loss is symptomatic of serious medical need for dentures. According to Dr. DeStigter, if he had seen cuts on Mead’s [935]*935gums or had believed that Mead had a serious medical need for dentures, he would have made that notation in Mead’s file; his records did not include either notation. Nursing notes indicate that Mead had been transported to Dr. DeStig-ter’s office for a dental appointment in January 2012 after complaining of a broken tooth. During the appointment, Mead asked if he was a candidate for an upper partial plate, and Dr. DeStigter replied that Mead would need to have another couple of teeth pulled, and then Dr. DeS-tigter “would recommend Pt. Mead be fitted for an upper partial plate.” Following this appointment, Mead wrote in a health-services request that he needed a partial plate so that he could chew his food properly. Benson responded that “we do not pay for dentures” and directed Mead to take the issue to management. In September 2012, Mead had another dental appointment, during which two teeth were pulled.

In response to the defendants’s summary-judgment motion, Mead argued that he required partial dentures to repair damage to his teeth that occurred while he was detained; without the dentures, he suffered discomfort and cuts on his gums; and though he had saved $1,300 in a “restricted” account that could be used for medical care, there was a $2,000 saving requirement for progressing towards release from CCIÍSO. Mead also argued that he had to be selective about his diet due to his diabetes, acid reflux, Hepatitis C, and high cholesterol and that the lack of teeth limited food choice. The defendants replied, as relevant, that the new policy required “demonstration of financial responsibility” and no longer required a specific amount of savings.

The district court denied summary judgment, concluding that Mead had established a genuine issue of material fact on whether he had a serious medical need for dentures in light of (1) his medical condition and inability to choose freely what to eat and (2) the fact that his weight gain might be unhealthy rather than a sign of good health. The court also found that Mead had established a genuine issue on whether the defendants were deliberately indifferent by refusing him partial dentures. The court then concluded that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity because they had admitted that they knew of their obligation to provide medical care that was not deliberately indifferent. The court found that Dr. Smith and Benson were appropriate defendants because Dr. Smith had developed the denture policy and Benson had carried it out; according to the court, because they were being sued in their individual capacities, they were not immune from money damages.

II. Discussion

On appeal, the defendants argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity because Mead neither demonstrated serious medical need nor deliberate indifference.

“We review de novo a denial of summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity.” Stoner, 735 F.3d at 802 (quotation and citation omitted). We note that “[t]he scope of our interlocutory review, however, is limited to the issue of qualified immunity, and we may not consider summary judgment on the merits of the case at this stage.” Id. (citations omitted). ‘We may review a district court’s order denying qualified immunity to the extent that it turns on an issue of law.” Robbins v. Becker, 715 F.3d 691, 693 (8th Cir.2013) (quotations and citations omitted).

In determining whether the defendants should receive qualified immunity, this court evaluates

[936]*936(1) whether the facts alleged, construed in the light most favorable to [Mead], establish a violation of a constitutional or statutory right, and (2) whether that right was clearly established at the time

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Gray v. Hammond
E.D. Missouri, 2024
McIntosh v. Gallion
D. Minnesota, 2024
Benson v. Jesson
D. Minnesota, 2024
Catherine Brennan v. Cass County Health
93 F.4th 1097 (Eighth Circuit, 2024)
Dalen v. Harpstead
D. Minnesota, 2024
Frazier v. USA
E.D. Arkansas, 2022
Presson v. Reed
W.D. Missouri, 2022
Salinas v. Hirachen
D. Minnesota, 2021
Judah v. Ovsak
D. Minnesota, 2021
Briesemeister v. Johnston
D. Minnesota, 2020
Flores v. Moser
D. Minnesota, 2019
BUSINESS LEADERS IN CHRIST v. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
360 F. Supp. 3d 885 (S.D. Iowa, 2019)
Paul Gerlich v. Steven Leath
847 F.3d 1005 (Eighth Circuit, 2017)
Jill S. N. Schaffer v. Bryan Beringer
842 F.3d 585 (Eighth Circuit, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
794 F.3d 932, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12792, 2015 WL 4488665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marvin-mead-v-charles-palmer-ca8-2015.