N.B. v. Hamos

26 F. Supp. 3d 756, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1491, 29 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1303, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18232, 2014 WL 562637
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 13, 2014
DocketNo. 11 C 06866
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 26 F. Supp. 3d 756 (N.B. v. Hamos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
N.B. v. Hamos, 26 F. Supp. 3d 756, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1491, 29 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1303, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18232, 2014 WL 562637 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

John J. Tharp, Jr., United States District Judge

Nine children with mental health or behavioral disorders, through their guardians, bring this suit as a putative class action against the director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services' (“Department” or “HFS”). The four-count complaint alleges violations of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (“EPSDT”) provi[760]*760sions of the Medicaid Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396a(a)(43), 1396d(r) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“Title II” or “ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, and the parallel provision of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (“Section 504” or “RA”). The plaintiffs claim that HFS violates their rights by failing to provide medically necessary treatment — specifically, home or community-based mental health and behavioral services — in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief that would require HFS to implement appropriate screening and treatment alternatives to the acute care provided in general and psychiatric hospitals. One of the plaintiffs, N.B., also seeks monetary damages on his own behalf under the Rehabilitation Act.

This Court recently denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims, concluding that the plaintiffs stated a claim for relief under both the Medicaid Act and the disability discrimination statutes. It now takes up the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2). The plaintiffs’ first request to certify the putative class was denied without prejudice. See Mem. Op. & Order, Dkt. #45 (Pallmeyer, J.). For the reasons set forth below, the plaintiffs’ amended motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

Unlike a motion to dismiss, a motion for class certification does not require the Court to accept the plaintiffs’ factual allegations as true: “Before deciding whether to allow a case to proceed as a class action ..., a judge should make whatever factual and legal inquiries are necessary” to determine whether the requirements are met. Szabo v. Bridgeport Machs., Inc., 249 F.3d 672, 676 (7th Cir.2001). The Court is required to make a “rigorous analysis” of whether the requirements for class certification have been met, and the Supreme Court has made plain that, where necessary to conduct that rigorous analysis, a trial court must resolve disputes about the merits of the claim. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011); Gen. Tel. Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160-61, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982).1

In this case, however, the defendants have not disputed the plaintiffs’ basic factual allegations in opposing class certification. Moreover, the substantive legal disputes — such as whether the plaintiffs have any enforceable rights under the applicable statutes — were resolved on the defendant’s motion to dismiss, leaving only the legal question whether this case is appropriate for class treatment. Accordingly, the Court sets forth the facts largely as alleged in the Second Amended Complaint.

A. The Named Plaintiffs

The named plaintiffs are all Medicaid-eligible youths (under age 21) who have [761]*761been diagnosed with various mental illnesses and/or emotional or behavioral disorders.

N.B. is a boy diagnosed with autism, intermittent explosive disorder, mood disorder not otherwise specified, disruptive behavior disorder not otherwise specified, and moderate to severe mental retardation. He is non-verbal, aggressive, and prone to self-injury. Existing family support and outpatient services have proven ineffective to manage N.B.’s conditions, leading to numerous hospitalizations at Streamwood Behavioral Hospital for three-week stints, followed by a return to the same inadequate outpatient services. According to the complaint, N.B. needs treatment in a residential setting in order to best ameliorate his conditions and restore him to his most functional level.

R.F. is a boy with bipolar illness with a history of psychosis. His illness renders him physically aggressive to himself and others, and he suffers from extreme mood swings, anger, and irritability. He has been hospitalized at least ten times at the Pavilion Hospital, a psychiatric facility, for three to four weeks at a time. In between hospitalizations, family care and existing outpatient services have been unsuccessful in managing his condition. According to the complaint, R.F. needs treatment in an intensive residential setting.

J.J. is a boy suffering from intermittent explosive disorder, fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal methamphetamine exposure, moderate mental retardation, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (an autism-like condition) (“PDD-NOS”). J.J. has been hospitalized at least four times at Streamwood and Pavilion Hospitals, and in between these hospitalizations, the available outpatient services and" family care have been unsuccessful. According to the complaint, J.J. requires treatment in a residential setting.

M. Wa. is a boy diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, moderate mental retardation, XYY syndrome, and he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past. He has been hospitalized at least five times at Streamwood and at Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health System. In between hospitalizations, family care and available outpatient services have been insufficient to adequately care for him. According to the complaint, M. Wa. requires treatment in a residential setting.

Plaintiff M. Wh. is a young boy with diagnoses of early onset bipolar disorder, PDD-NOS, autism, and a seizure disorder. A doctor, Holly M. Maes, has recommended intensive community based care2 to correct or ameliorate his conditions; according to the complaint, without such care, M. Wh. is at risk of hospitalization.

Plaintiff M.B. is a teenaged girl with a significant history of suicidal ideation and maladaptive and self-injurious behaviors. She has mental illness or severe emotional disorders (“MI/SED”) not attributable to [762]*762any developmental disability,3 including major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, ADHD, and suicidal ideation. She was hospitalized about 10 times in the two years before the Second Amended Complaint was filed, for one- to four-week periods. A doctor, Paras Har-shawat, has determined that M.B. requires treatment in a residential setting, and without it, she is at risk of more hospitalizations.

S.B. is a teenaged girl diagnosed with schizophrenia-paranoid type and ADHD, neither attributable to a developmental disability.

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Bluebook (online)
26 F. Supp. 3d 756, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1491, 29 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1303, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18232, 2014 WL 562637, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nb-v-hamos-ilnd-2014.