Nordenstrom v. Corizon Health, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJune 18, 2021
Docket3:18-cv-01754
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Nordenstrom v. Corizon Health, Inc., (D. Or. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

BRENDA KAY NORDENSTROM, No. 3:18-cv-01754-HZ as personal representative for the Estate of Bryan Perry, Deceased; and OPINION & ORDER BRENDA KAY NORDENSTROM, an individual,

Plaintiff,

v.

CORIZON HEALTH, INC., a Tennessee Corporation; CLACKAMAS COUNTY, an Oregon County; and individuals JANA RACKLEY, CAMILLE VALBERG, NADIA PETROV, ALEX SALAZAR, M.D., SHAWN SHULTZ, BENJAMIN LEFEVER, MATT SAVAGE, RICKY PAURUS, LACEY SANDQUIST, RICHARD TAYLOR, NICK JOHNSON, MATRONA SHADRIN, and JOHN DOES 1-10, in their personal capacities.

Defendants. William C. Stavley 434 NW 19th Avenue Portland, OR 97209

John T. Devlin Devlin Law, P.C. 1212 SE Spokane St. Portland, OR 97202

Nadia H. Dahab Sugerman Law Office 707 SW Washington Street, Ste. 600 Portland, OR 97205

John M. Coletti, III Paulson Coletti 1022 NW Marshall Street, Unit 450 Portland, OR 97209

Attorneys for Plaintiff Anne M. Talcott Kathryn E. Kelly Stephanie Corey Holmberg Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt 1211 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97258

Scott C. Ciecko Clackamas County Counsel Public Services Bldg 2051 Kaen Road Oregon City, OR 97045

Vicki M. Smith Bodyfelt Mount, LLP 319 SW Washington Street, Suite 1200 Portland, OR 97204

Attorneys for Defendant HERNÁNDEZ, District Judge: Bryan Perry died while in the custody of Clackamas County on November 3, 2016. His mother, Plaintiff Brenda Nordenstrom, brings claims for inadequate medical care under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against individual Clackamas County deputies and sergeants, and Corizon Health, Inc. nurses on duty during the time Mr. Perry was in custody as well as their supervisors.

Plaintiff also brings Monell and negligence claims against Clackamas County (the County) and Monell, negligence, and gross negligence claims against Corizon Health, Inc. (Corizon), a private contractor responsible for the provision of medical services at Clackamas County Jail. Defendant Clackamas County moves for summary judgment on all claims against it and the individual Clackamas County Defendants. Defendant Corizon moves for summary judgment on all claims against it and the individual Corizon defendants, except the negligence claim. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants in part and denies in part the parties’ motions.

BACKGROUND I. Mr. Perry’s Arrest and Death On November 3, 2016, the Clackamas County Interagency Taskforce performed a controlled drug buy at Eastport Plaza. Smith Decl. Ex. B 8:24-9:5, ECF 71-1. Mr. Perry and his girlfriend, Ms. Mountsier, happened to be at Eastport Plaza during the buy. Id. at 9:13-18. Mr. Perry’s parole officer, Officer Kays, was present at the buy and recognized Mr. Perry. Id.; Smith Decl. Ex. C 9:15-10:4, ECF 71-2. Officer Kays knew Mr. Perry had an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. Id. Mr. Perry was arrested on the outstanding warrant. First Talcott Decl. Ex. 3 at 1, ECF 15. Ms. Mountsier was also arrested on an outstanding warrant. Id.

Officer Fromme volunteered to transport Mr. Perry to the Clackamas County Jail. Smith Decl. Ex. C 8:8-9. Before the ride, he did not notice that Mr. Perry was impaired or intoxicated. Id. at 11:9-10, 12:3-5. Mr. Perry sat in the front seat next to Officer Fromme. Id. at 12:8-11. At the beginning of the ride, Mr. Perry asked Officer Fromme to roll down the window because he was hot and had post-traumatic stress disorder. Id. at 12:20-25. During the ride, Mr. Perry’s demeanor changed. Id. at 13:19-21. He began to move around in his seat. Id. at 13:22-14:18. When asked by Officer Fromme, Mr. Perry said he was moving around because he was coming

down off methamphetamine, was anxious, and did not like to be handcuffed. Id. He asked to see a doctor when he arrived to get the medication he needed for his post-traumatic stress disorder. Id. at 15:1-11. During the drive, another officer pulled up next to Officer Fromme’s vehicle and noted Mr. Perry’s body movements and change in demeanor. Smith Decl. Ex. B 14:9-16. Mr. Perry arrived at the Clackamas County Jail at 7:12 pm. First Talcott Decl. Ex. 3 at 2. He managed to walk on his own from Officer Fromme’s patrol car into the jail’s intake area. Dahab Decl. Video 1, 0:00-00:24, 01:01-01:07, ECF 94.1 At intake, his body continued to move and jerk involuntarily requiring the intake officers to retrieve a chair for him to sit in while they searched him. Id. at 03:33. During intake, one officer placed his hands on Mr. Perry’s shoulders

in an apparent effort to steady him, while the other officer continued the pat down. Id. at 03:50. Throughout this time, Mr. Perry involuntarily kicked his legs, arched his back, and threw his head back, among other movements. Id. at 03:33-05:25. One intake officer described his speech as “barely coherent.” Stavley Decl. Ex. R at 10, ECF 95-17. Mr. Perry reported to the officers that he had taken methamphetamines, bath salts, and heroin. Id. Office Shultz conducted Mr. Perry’s classification and mental health screeners at intake. First Smith Decl. Ex. F 43:7-18, ECG 71-5. The screeners have 86 questions related to health

1 From this point on, citations to “Video” refer to the videos referenced in the Dahab Declaration available at ECF 94. and mental health. First Stavley Decl. Ex. O at 13, ECF 95-14. Officer Shultz testified that on busy shifts it is his practice to answer “no” to all the questions on the forms and then later change them to “yes.” Id. at 46:1-6. On Mr. Perry’s form, Officer Shults wrote, “yes” to “Signs of being under the influence of alcohol/drugs” and “Current mental health needs.” Id. at 13-15. He wrote “no” to all other questions including, “Signs of alcohol/drugs withdrawals/sweating/ needle

marks/tremulousness/hallucinations,” “Current substance abuse needs,” “Current medical problem that nursing needs to be aware of (ie, Diabetes),” “Needs to be seen by a nurse,” and “Under the influence of drugs/alcohol.” Id. Sergeant Taylor signed off on the screening forms. Id. at 3. After the intake process, multiple officers assisted Mr. Perry to a padded high-security cell around 7:20 pm. Video 2; First Smith Decl. Ex. H 17:17-20, ECF 71-7. Mr. Perry continued to exhibit uncontrollable body movements including clutching at his head and stomach. Video 3. At 7:40 pm, a group of four deputies gathered outside Mr. Perry’s cell observing him and making comments to one and other. Video 4, 00:47-03:10. Deputy Shadrin took a video of Mr. Perry on

her cell phone. Video 5. The video captures Mr. Perry moaning, yelling, writhing, and twisting his body uncontrollably. Id. It also recorded the following conversation between the deputies observing Mr. Perry. Deputy Sandquist: “You don’t think this needs to, like, go to the school as, like, the new DARE?” Deputy James Murphy: “Can we just take him and put him in front of a class?” Deputy Sandquist: “That would be fantastic.” Deputy Paurus: “And you can just wheel him in in a cage and wheel him back out.” Deputy Sandquist: “Oh my god, what is that?” Deputy Sandquist: “Just let him sit there for like 10 minutes, and then ‘Don’t do drugs,’ and then wheel him back out. That’s it.” Deputy Paurus: “You’d be like, look what I brought for show and tell today.” Deputy Sandquist: “Yeah and then one kid, ‘That’s my dad.’” Deputy Paurus: “That’s awful. I mean, that’s absolutely awful.” Deputy Shadrin: “There’s no face shots. You should go show this to his girlfriend, like, ‘You love this?’”

Id. 5:00–52. At some point prior to 7:48 pm, Sergeant Taylor told Nurse Rackley that Mr. Perry needed to be seen. Smith Decl. Ex. O 74:5-10, ECF 71-12. Sergeant Taylor was the booking sergeant on duty at that time. Smith Decl. Ex. E at 7, ECF 71-4.

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