Pestana v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs

282 F. Supp. 3d 1284
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 13, 2017
DocketCASE NO. 16–25350–CIV–LENARD/O'SULLIVAN
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 282 F. Supp. 3d 1284 (Pestana v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pestana v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs, 282 F. Supp. 3d 1284 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

JOAN A. LENARD, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendants Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners and John and Jane Does' ("Doe Defendants") Motion to Dismiss Complaint, ("Motion," D.E. 15) filed April 18, 2017. Plaintiff Raul Pestana, pro se, filed a Response on May 4, 2017, ("Response," D.E. 17), to which Defendants filed a Reply on May 16, 2017, ("Reply," D.E. 24). Upon review of the Motion, Response, Reply, and the record, the Court finds as follows.

I. Background1

From August 2012 to June 2013, Plaintiff was incarcerated at what he refers to *1286as the "Main Jail" in Miami-Dade County's jail system, located at 1321 N.W. 13th Street, Miami, FL. (Compl. ¶¶ 17, 20.) Plaintiff told Corrections Health Service ("CHS") and the Doe Defendants that he suffered from several medical issues, including anxiety. (Id. ¶ 21.) On August 24, 2013, the Doe Defendants evaluated Plaintiff, and CHS prescribed Plaintiff certain medications that he had not been prescribed prior to incarceration. (Id. ¶ 22.) The prescribed medication made Plaintiff nauseous and caused him to have more anxiety attacks. (Id. ¶ 23.) Plaintiff complained to CHS and the Doe Defendants that the prescribed medication was not effective, but Defendants were unreceptive. (Id. )

Plaintiff also filed multiple medical requests and grievances with Defendants Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners, the Doe Defendants, and CHS in an attempt to receive proper medical treatment, including Clonazepam and/or Alprazolam for his anxiety, which were prescribed to him before his incarceration. (Id. ¶ 24.) Plaintiff alleges that these requests and grievances were never answered, and that he was never given Clonazepam and/or Alprazolam because of budget cuts. (Id. )

Plaintiff also alleges that he was permitted to furlough to the VA hospital for treatment on his eye and would return on his own accord with eye drops and an anti-inflammatory. (Id. ¶¶ 26, 28.) However, John and Jane Doe would confiscate the medication when he returned, and would not dispense it to him thereafter. (Id. ¶ 29.)

Plaintiff was also "repeatedly forced to live under horrific conditions"-for example, he was subject to extremely cold temperatures; he slept on the floor with a thin mattress, one sheet, and a wool blanket that he was allergic to; there were insects and rodents; he did not always receive proper medication; and he was denied use of the "yard facility" which resulted in a lack of exercise that has complicated some of his medical conditions. (Id. ¶ 31.)

On December 28, 2016, Plaintiff filed a two-count Complaint, although it appears that both counts allege deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against all Defendants. (Id. ¶¶ 16-56.)

Defendants have moved to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

II. Legal Standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a court may dismiss a claim for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." "To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). Conclusory statements, assertions or labels will not survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Id."A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id.; see also Edwards v. Prime, Inc., 602 F.3d 1276, 1291 (11th Cir. 2010) (setting forth the plausibility standard). "Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level[.]" Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citation omitted). Additionally:

Although it must accept well-pled facts as true, the court is not required to accept a plaintiff's legal conclusions.
*1287Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed. 2d 868 (2009) (noting "the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions"). In evaluating the sufficiency of a plaintiff's pleadings, we make reasonable inferences in Plaintiff's favor, "but we are not required to draw plaintiff's inference." Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc., 416 F.3d 1242, 1248 (11th Cir. 2005). Similarly, "unwarranted deductions of fact" in a complaint are not admitted as true for the purpose of testing the sufficiency of plaintiff's allegations. Id.; see also Iqbal, 129 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
282 F. Supp. 3d 1284, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pestana-v-miami-dade-cnty-bd-of-commrs-flsd-2017.