Sanchez v. McLain

867 F. Supp. 2d 813, 2011 WL 8007577
District Court, S.D. West Virginia·Decided September 23, 2011·No. Civil Action No. 5:07-cv-00355·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THOMAS E. JOHNSTON, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are Plaintiffs motions for summary judgment [Docket 97, 100, & 101], Defendants’ motions to dismiss or, alternatively, for summary judgment [Docket 99 & 129], Plaintiffs Motion to Unseal [Docket 118], and Defendants’ motion in limine to exclude Plaintiffs expert witnesses, Drs. Kimmel and Simons [Docket 132],

For reasons that follow, Plaintiffs motions for summary judgment [Docket 97, 100 & 101] are DENIED, Defendants’ motions to dismiss or, alternatively, for summary judgment [Docket 99 & 129] are GRANTED, and Plaintiffs Motion to Unseal [Docket 118] and Defendants’ motion in limine [Docket 132] are DENIED AS MOOT.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The full factual background and procedural history are set forth in United States Magistrate Judge Mary E. Stanley’s Proposed Findings and Recommendation (“PF & R”) (Docket 52), as well as in this Court’s prior Memorandum Opinion adopting the PF & R in part (Docket 77), and need not be restated here. In the PF & R, Magistrate Judge Stanley recommended that this Court find that it lacks jurisdiction over Plaintiffs Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) claim, grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss the FTCA claim against Defendants Dr. Dominick McLain and Dr. Roger Edwards, grant Defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiffs Bivens claims against all Defendants, and deny Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment.1 (Docket 52.) Plaintiff [816] filed written objections to the PF & R on September 23, 2008. (Docket 59.)

By its July 8, 2009, 2009 WL 2045093, Memorandum Opinion and Order (Docket 77) and Judgment Order (Docket 78), the Court took under advisement Plaintiffs objection to the PF & R’s recommendation that his Bivens claim against Dr. McLain and Dr. Edwards be dismissed. (Docket 77 at 11.) The Court, however, overruled Plaintiffs objections to the PF & R as they related to his other claims. The Court ordered the parties to submit additional briefing “on the issue of whether, in light of recently filed medical records, Defendants McLain and Edwards were deliberately indifferent to Plaintiffs serious medical needs.” Id. at 12.

On September 9, 2009, the United States filed its responsive briefing as directed by the Court’s July 8, 2009, Memorandum Opinion and Order. (Docket 83.) The Court later permitted limited discovery pertinent to the Plaintiffs Bivens deliberate indifference claim against Defendants McLain and Edwards. (Docket 89.) Thereafter, Plaintiff filed three renewed summary judgment motions (Docket 97, 100, & 101) and Defendants filed a motion seeking dismissal or summary judgment. (Docket 99.) Plaintiff filed memoranda, along with supporting materials, in response to Defendants’ renewed motion for summary judgment or dismissal. (Docket 123, 124 & 128.) On April 8, 2011, the Defendants filed their reply to Plaintiffs memoranda, along with a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. (Docket 129.) Plaintiff filed a further response to the Defendants’ reply and a motion to dismiss on April 22, 2011. (Docket 130.) Finally, Defendants filed a motion in limine seeking exclusion of Plaintiffs two medical experts, Drs. Kimmel and Simons. (Docket 132.)

These matters, having been fully briefed, are now ripe for this Court’s review.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district courts of the United States are courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction. Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 552, 125 S.Ct. 2611, 162 L.Ed.2d 502 (2005). They possess only the jurisdiction authorized them by the United States Constitution and by federal statute. Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 212-13, 127 S.Ct. 2360, 168 L.Ed.2d 96 (2007) (“Within constitutional bounds, Congress decides what cases the federal courts have jurisdiction to consider”); Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). Thus, when a district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over an action, the action must be dismissed. Arbaugh v.Y & H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 506-07, 126 S.Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2006).

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure raises the fundamental question of whether a court is competent to hear and adjudicate the claims brought before it. It is axiomatic that a court must have subject matter jurisdiction over a controversy before it can render any decision on the merits.

III. DEFENDANTS’MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

A Law Governing the Effect of the FTCA’s Judgment Bar on Bivens Claims

A prospective plaintiff seeking redress against a federal official for injury has two distinct avenues of relief. He may file a common law tort claim against the United States under the FTCA and — or in [817] the alternative — he may file a constitutional tort claim against the individual officer under Bivens.

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Sanchez v. McLain, 867 F. Supp. 2d 813, 2011 WL 8007577 (S.D.W. Va. 2011).

867 F. Supp. 2d 813 (Sanchez v. McLain) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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