Massey v. Morgan

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 31, 2021
Docket1:18-cv-03994
StatusUnknown

This text of Massey v. Morgan (Massey v. Morgan) 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
Massey v. Morgan, (S.D.N.Y. 2021).

Opinion

□□□ ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOC#: □ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DATE FILED: August 31, 2021 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TYRONE H. MASSEY, Plaintiff, -against- 18-CV-3994 (ALC) (KHP)

CAPTAIN MORGAN, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Defendant.

ANDREW L. CARTER, JR., District Judge: Pending before the Court are Plaintiff’'s and Defendant’s motions for summary judgment. ECF Nos. 67, 76. For the reasons that follow, Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is denied, and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted. BACKGROUND The facts are derived from Defendant’s Rule 56.1 statement, Plaintiff's Rule 56.1 statement,!' and the Parties’ declarations and exhibits. The facts are considered in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.

1 The Court notes that even “a pro se party’s bald assertions unsupported by evidence are insufficient to overcome a motion for summary judgment.” Parker v. Fantasia, 425 F. Supp. 3d 171, 183-84 (S.D.N.Y. 2019) (citation, alteration, and quotation marks omitted). Here, Plaintiff filed its 56.1 Statement, (Pl.’s 56.1). Defendant filed its 56.1 Statement in addition to a statement notifying Plaintiff of the potential consequences of not responding to the Motion, as required by Local Rule 56.2 for pro se litigants, (Not. to Pro se Litigant). Plaintiff submitted a statement in response, (see Pl.’s Opp.). The facts in Plaintiff’s 56.1 Statement and opposition are not all supported by direct citations to admissible evidence. See generally Pl.’s 56.1 statement. “[W]here there are no citations or where the cited materials do not support the factual assertions in the statements, the Court is free to disregard the assertion.” Holtz v. Rockefeller & Co., 258 F.3d 62, 73 (2d Cir. 2001) (internal alterations omitted) (collecting cases); see also Fiedler v. Incandela, No. 14 CV 2572, 2016 WL 7406442, at *6 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 6, 2016) (“The court need not consider as true any fact that is not supported by admissible evidence.” (citing Whitehurst v. 230 Fifth, Inc., 998 F. Supp. 2d 233, 260 (S.D.N.Y. 2014))); Suares v. Cityscape Tours, Inc., No. 11 Civ. 5650, 2014 WL 969661, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2014), aff'd, 603 Fed. Appx. 16 (2d Cir. 2015) (where plaintiff failed to provide citations to the record, the Court deemed defendants’ 56.1 statement of material facts “admitted for purposes of the motion”) (citing Local Rule 56.1). However, The Court has thoroughly reviewed the record, and to the extent that Plaintiff’s facts as set forth in his 56.1 Statement and opposition are supported by the record, they have been considered.

On April 19, 2018, Plaintiff was a pre-trial detainee incarcerated at the Manhattan Detention Complex (“MDC”) and housed in the enhanced segregated housing unit, Housing area 9 South.2 Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 25. That same day, the Housing Area Supervisor, Correction Captain Jossette Morgan, conducted tours of Housing Area 9 South. Id. at ¶ 28. That day, from 11

a.m. to 7 p.m., Correction Officer Cerrato was deployed to Housing Area 9 South to assist with securing inmate cells. Id. at ¶ 29. Around 12:30 p.m., Officer Cerrato observed Plaintiff set a small fire in his cell, and he immediately located a fire extinguisher and extinguished the fire. Pl.’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 1; Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶¶ 32-33.3 Officer Cerrato reported the incident to Captain Morgan around 1:00 p.m. Id. at ¶ 34. Afterwards, Captain Morgan responded and activated an institutional alarm and a medical emergency alarm for Plaintiff alerting medical personnel. Id. at ¶ 36. A probe team, which consists of a captain and five correction officers, was called to the housing area and responded around 1:05 p.m. Id.at ¶¶ 37-39, 42. When Captain Morgan arrived in Housing Area 9 South, the small fires had already been extinguished, and removal from Plaintiff’s cell was not needed. Id. at ¶¶ 40-41. Captain Morgan left after the probe team arrived, and the

probe team left around 1:15 p.m. Id. at ¶ 44.4 Captain Deborah Earle arrived at Housing Area 9 South with medical staff at 1:18 p.m. in response to the medical emergency activated for Plaintiff and another inmate. Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 45. After medical staff left, Plaintiff again set multiple small fires, and the fires were extinguished by Officer Cerrato. Id. at ¶ 46. Officer Cerrato observed plaintiff before and after the

2 Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated at MDC. Plaintiff is currently incarcerated at Rikers Island. 3 The Court notes that Plaintiff’s 56.1 Statement states that a fire incident occurred in his cell. Plaintiff does not admit to setting the fire. Pl.’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 1. 4 The Court notes that Plaintiff alleges that Captain Morgan did not resolve the fire during her tour of duty despite being aware of the fire incident in Plaintiff’s cell. Pl.’s 56.1 Statement ¶¶ 2-3. Plaintiff alleges that Captain Morgan was aware that Defendant required medical attention due to him inhaling smoke. Id. at ¶ 4. Plaintiff alleges that Captain Morgan was required to notify medical personnel, and Captain Morgan failed to notify medical personnel as required. Id. at ¶¶ 5-6. Plaintiff states that he did not receive medical attention during Captain Morgan’s tour, and that medical personnel responded to another inmate approximately forty-eight minutes after the fire incident. Id. at ¶¶ 7-8. fires and did not witness Plaintiff in any physical distress, and Plaintiff did not request medical attention from Officer Cerrato. Id. at ¶¶ 48-49. Captain Morgan conducted her last tour on Housing Area 9 South at 3:05 p.m., and Captain Morgan observed Plaintiff breathing normally, standing up in his cell, and he did not appear to be in any physical distress, physical, or otherwise. Id. at ¶¶ 50-

51. On April 19, 2018 at 3:30 p.m., Captain Morgan’s tour of duty ended. Before leaving, Captain Morgan instructed Officer Cerrato to generate a Report and Notice of Infraction for the fires set by Plaintiff. Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶¶ 52, 54. Plaintiff alleges that during Captain Morgan’s tour of duty, he was not removed from the location of the fire and his cell was not searched, cleared, or decontaminated. Pl.’s 56.1 Statement ¶¶ 9, 11. Officer Cerrato left Housing Area 9 South at around 4:10 p.m. Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 56, and at that same time, Captain Erik Gonzalez’s tour of Housing Area 9 South began. Captain Gonzalez did not observe Plaintiff to be in any distress, physical or otherwise. Id. at ¶ 57. From 3:55 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the Correction staff conducted supervised tours of Housing Area 9 South

every 30 minutes. Id. at ¶ 58. The Mental Health Clinician, Stanley Killian, noted that Plaintiff had “no complaints,” “was well related,” “appeared alert and responsive,” “coping well,” “goal directed,” and “cooperative. Id. at ¶ 60. Around 8:40 p.m., Captain Gonzalez was alerted that Plaintiff had set a small fire in his cell, and Captain Gonzalez activated an institutional alarm and a medical emergency alarm for Plaintiff alerting medical personnel. Def.’s 56.1 Statement ¶¶ 62-63. By the time Captain Gonzalez arrived in Housing Area 9 South, medical staff was already there, and Plaintiff was being seen by medical staff consisting of Dr. Eugenio Mateo, Registered Nurse Jeanne Israel, and Patient Care Associate Candice Davis. Id. at ¶ 66. The medical entry states that Plaintiff was found “slumped on the floor on his left side,” was “breathing spontaneously,” had a “normal heart rate” and his lungs were “clear.” Plaintiff’s eyes and throat were also reported to be clear. Id. at ¶ 67. Plaintiff’s medical history reflected that on April 19, 2018, Plaintiff’s prescribed medications included albuterol sulfate (aerosol asthma pump), Qvar (maintenance asthma steroid pump), Keppra (anti -

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Massey v. Morgan, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/massey-v-morgan-nysd-2021.