Shaw ex rel. Estate of Stroud v. Coosa County Commission

434 F. Supp. 2d 1199, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43414
District Court, M.D. Alabama·Decided October 26, 2005·No. No. CIV A 2:03-CV-1034-F·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

FULLER, Chief Judge.

On October 16, 2003, Sherry Shaw (hereinafter “Shaw”) filed suit against the Coosa County Commission (hereinafter “the County Commission”), William A. Evans individually and as Sheriff of Coosa County (hereinafter “Evans”), and fictitious parties.1 Shaw brings suit individually and as Administrator of the estate of [1200] her deceased father Winston Stroud (hereinafter “Stroud”). Stroud died on October 19, 2001, while he was an inmate in the Coosa County Jail. In this action, Shaw asserts state and federal law claims against both Evans and the County Commission arising from the death of Stroud.

This cause is presently before the Court on Defendant Coosa County’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 60). Although directed to submit argument and evidence in opposition to this motion, Shaw failed to do so. Despite Shaw’s failure to oppose this motion, the Court has an independent obligation to ascertain whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the undisputed facts. For the reasons set forth in this Memorandum Opinion and Order, Defendant Coosa County’s Motion for Summary Judgment is due to be GRANTED.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367. Additionally, defendants have not argued that the Court does not have personal jurisdiction over each of them. There is no dispute over whether venue is appropriate.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Shaw’s Complaint contains six counts. Count One alleges that Evans and the County Commission are responsible for the wrongful death of Stroud. Count Two alleges that as a result of the conduct of Evans and the County Commission Stroud was caused grievous pain and suffering. Count Three alleges that “Defendant” negligently trained, hired, counseled, and supervised “the Defendants” and as a result Stroud suffered pain and suffering and died. Count Four alleges that pursuant to Sections 14-6-20 and 14-6-19 of the Code of Alabama, the County Commission has a duty to provide adequate medical care in the county jail and adequate funding for necessary medicines and medical attention to inmates in the county jail. Count Four further alleges that the County Commission breached that duty with respect to maintaining the Coosa County jail and failed to provide necessary medical treatment to Stroud while he was incarcerated in the Coosa County jail. Count Five alleges that Evans violated Stroud’s Fourteenth Amendment right as an inmate to receive reasonable medical treatment and seeks a remedy pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Finally, Count Six alleges that the County Commission acted with deliberate indifference to the medical needs of inmates in the county jail by failing to provide adequate funding to meet such needs and by failing to provide adequate funding to staff the jail so that personnel is able to perform their duties in such a way as to prevent deprivations of the inmates’ rights to medical attention. In Count Six, Shaw asserts a claim against the County Commission pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Shaw demands $2,000,00.00 damages on each count and reasonable attorneys fees.

The County Commission filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint (Doc. # 5). This Court granted that motion in part and denied it in part. (Doc. # 43). All claims against the County Commission for punitive damages were stricken. This Court granted the motion to dismiss all claims which sought to impose vicarious liability on the County Commission for the actions of Evans. This Court expressly rejected any claims based on the argument that the County Commission was responsible for the day to day operation of the jail or the [1201] conduct of the sheriff and his staff. This Court denied the County Commission’s motion to dismiss on the remaining claim because the Complaint alleged a breach of the county’s duty to provide adequate funding for medical treatment of and medicines for inmates of the county jail caused Stroud’s death. In addition to the motion for summary judgment, Evans has also filed a motion by which he asks this Court to strike the affidavit of Faye Reynolds which Shaw submitted as part of her opposition to the motion for summary judgment. That motion to strike has been addressed by a separate memorandum opinion and order.

NARRATIVE STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS2

The Court has carefully considered all deposition excerpts and documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the motion. The submissions of the parties, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, establish the following relevant facts:

On October 17, 2001, Stroud became an inmate in the Coosa County Jail. According to the Coroner, Stroud died on the evening of October 18, 2001. The Coroner recorded the cause of death as atheroscler-otic cardiovascular disease.

The Coosa County Jail was less than one year old when Stroud died. The County budgeted over one-half million dollars to the jail for the October 2001 to September 2002 Budget. Of that total budget, $25,000 was allocated to medical and dental services and $4,000 was allocated to drugs and medical supplies. These sums represented a ten thousand dollar increase from the allotment for medical and dental services in the 1999-2000 budget.3 It is undisputed that when the jail’s medical expenses exceeded the budgeted amount, the County Commission paid the overage anyway. It is also undisputed that the County Commission had never discouraged the payment of medical expenses just because they exceeded the amount budgeted. With respect to staffing at the Coosa County Jail, it is undisputed that the County Commission approved ten jailers for the new jail facility based on the recommendation of the jail architect.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

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Shaw ex rel. Estate of Stroud v. Coosa County Commission, 434 F. Supp. 2d 1199, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43414 (M.D. Ala. 2005).

434 F. Supp. 2d 1199 (Shaw ex rel. Estate of Stroud v. Coosa County Commission) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Shaw v. COOSA COUNTY COM'N.
434 F. Supp. 2d 1199 (M.D. Alabama, 2005)