Miller v. Osauski

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 22, 2024
Docket3:23-cv-01165
StatusUnknown

This text of Miller v. Osauski (Miller v. Osauski) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Osauski, (M.D. Pa. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

PAUL M. MILLER, :

Plaintiff : CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:23-CV-1165

v. : (Judge MANNION)

BRETT OSAUSKI, et al., :

Defendants :

MEMORANDUM

Presently before the court in this prisoner civil rights case are defendants’ motions to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint, plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction, defendants’ motion to stay discovery, defendants’ motion for sanctions, and plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery. For the reasons set forth below, the court will grant the motions to dismiss, dismiss the claims against defendant Knecht with prejudice, dismiss the claims against defendants Osauski, Nye, and Burns without prejudice, grant plaintiff leave to amend his claims against Osauski, Nye, and Burns, deny plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction, grant defendants’ motion to stay discovery, deny plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery as moot, and deny defendants’ motion for sanctions without prejudice. I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Paul M. Miller, who is currently incarcerated in Columbia County Prison, brings the instant case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 alleging violations of his civil rights by a correctional officer in Columbia County Prison, the warden and deputy warden in the prison, and a magisterial district

judge in Columbia County. Miller filed his complaint on July 7, 2023, and the court received and docketed it on July 13, 2023. (Doc. 1 at 10). According to the allegations in the complaint, Miller asked defendant Osauski, a correctional officer in the prison, to contact a nurse so that he

could receive treatment for a “tooth problem” he was experiencing on March 26, 2021. (Id. at 4). Osauski allegedly responding by “calling [Miller] names.” (Id. at 4). Osauski then purportedly handcuffed Miller, followed him out of the

cell, and assaulted him in the prison’s dayroom. (Id.) During the assault, Osauski allegedly grabbed Miller by the throat and struck Miller on the side of his face. (Id.) Osauski then allegedly tried “to wrap up [Miller’s] legs in attempts to slam [him] down.” (Id.) Other correctional officers allegedly

observed this incident. (Id.) Officer Moser, who is not named as a defendant, purportedly held Miller up by the handcuffs. (Id.) Miller was allegedly placed in the prison’s restricted housing unit

(“RHU”) after this incident and was not given any pain medication until the following morning. (Id.) Miller was found not guilty of misconduct, but he remained in the RHU. (Id.) Defendant Nye, the prison’s warden, allegedly

told Miller that his phone calls were being monitored while he was in the RHU. (Id.) Nye also allegedly obstructed Miller’s ability to file grievances by not providing grievance forms to him and by improperly responding to the

grievances he filed. (Id. at 5). Miller alleges that he was subjected to two “targeted cell searches” in which paperwork was removed from his cell while he was in the RHU. (Id.) The complaint alleges that “nurse Kaitlyn”—who is not named as a

defendant—gave Miller a “5 pill cocktail of another inmate[’s] medication.” (Id.) Miller was also purportedly given medication to which he was allergic. (Id.) The complaint alleges that “they” delayed giving Miller medication for

his “tooth infection,” before “giving [him] medication for it finally but with no real intentions of fixing the problem because there was no dentist here at the time.” (Id.) On April 9, 2021, Miller allegedly had an extradition hearing in the

Bloomsburg County Court of Common Pleas to determine whether he should be extradited to Alabama to face prosecution for charges pending in that state. (Id.) Defendant Knecht, a magisterial district judge in the county,

purportedly presided over the hearing. (Id.) Knecht allegedly came down from his bench and sat across from Miller, at which point he slid him a piece of paper and said “this is so you can take care of your Alabama affairs.” (Id.)

Miller’s bond for his pending Columbia County charges was purportedly lowered from $250,000 to unsecured shortly after this hearing. (Id.) When Miller returned to Columbia County Prison after the hearing, he

noticed that all of his belongings, except for “some other paperwork” had been packed up. (Id.) Prison officials then transferred him to a facility in Montour County to await his extradition to Alabama. (Id.) Miller continued to experience tooth pain after his transfer to Montour

County. (Id.) An unnamed doctor in the prison spoke with Miller. (Id.) Miller asked for more pain medication, but rather than giving him more, the doctor purportedly lowered his prescribed dose. (Id. at 5-6). Miller woke up “in even

more pain” the next day. (Id. at 6). Miller was scheduled for a hearing in one of his legal proceedings later that day. (Id.) He purportedly told a correctional officer that everyone in the hearing would see “his condition and know why.” (Id.) The hearing was then “coincidentally continued.” (Id.)

Officials in Montour County purportedly transported him to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania for medical treatment. (Id.) The doctor purportedly diagnosed his condition as a “problematic tooth.” (Id.) The

doctor purportedly expressed disbelief that another doctor had lowered his pain medication and then prescribed additional pain medication, lemon drops, and a soft food diet. (Id.) The complaint alleges that Miller never

received the lemon drops or the soft food diet as prescribed. (Id.) The doctor advised Miller to keep a warm compress on his throat and return if his condition did not improve within a week. (Id.) The swelling in Miller’s mouth

and throat allegedly began to subside approximately four or five days after he spoke with the doctor. (Id.) On April 29, 2021, Miller’s family and friends contacted Montour County and stated that the 14-day timeline for Miller to be extradited had

expired and that the county therefore needed to release him. (Id.) A private extradition agent named “Oliver” then allegedly came to the prison that day and gave Miller a ride to the airport. (Id.) Oliver purportedly asked Miller why

he was being extradited given how many pending charges he had in Pennsylvania. (Id.) Miller explained the circumstances and Oliver allegedly responded, “Oh I see, yeah, I think PA is done with you.” (Id.) Upon his extradition to Alabama, officials in that state allegedly asked

Miller, “What are you even doing here rite [sic] now?” (Id.) Miller responded, “What do you mean?” (Id.) The officials then stated, “We wanted you but not until PA was done with you.” (Id.) Miller was then released on July 2, 2021, after Alabama gave Pennsylvania officials seven days to come get him and the Pennsylvania officials declined to do so. (Id.)

On July 9, 2021, Miller was scheduled for a hearing in Pennsylvania. (Id.) He was not aware of the hearing because he was in Alabama but his legal documents had not been sent to him there. (Id.) The court in

Pennsylvania allegedly held Miller’s failure to appear for the hearing against him. (Id. at 7). Based on this failure to appear, officials in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania allegedly arrested Miller on July 29, 2021. (Id.) On May 9, 2023, Miller was allegedly “back in Columbia Co. Prison.”

(Id.)1 The lack of medical and dental care allegedly continued. (Id.) Miller began filing grievances about his treatment on June 2, 2023. (Id.) After two weeks of not receiving responses, he contacted the county commissioners’

office.

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Miller v. Osauski, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-osauski-pamd-2024.