Simmons v. United States

225 F.R.D. 688, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26413, 2004 WL 3090684
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 31, 2004
DocketNo. CIV.A.1:02-CV-1535-J
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 225 F.R.D. 688 (Simmons v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Simmons v. United States, 225 F.R.D. 688, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26413, 2004 WL 3090684 (N.D. Ga. 2004).

Opinion

ORDER

CARNES, District Judge.

This ease is presently before the Court on defendants Sonyika, Kai, and Southside Healthcare, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss [20] AND Plaintiffs Motion for Oral Argument on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss [25]. The Court has reviewed the record and the arguments of the parties and, for the reasons set out below, concludes that the defendants Sonyika, Kai, and Southside Healthcare, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss [20] should be GRANTED AND Plaintiffs Motion for Oral Argument on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss [25] should be DENIED.

BACKGROUND

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This case arises out of defendants’ alleged medical malpractice in the treatment of Trina Elliott, deceased. Plaintiff alleges that defendants’ negligence from June 5, 1997 until April, 1999 caused Trina Elliott’s death. For the purposes of the pending motions, the only relevant alleged negligence is that which occurred before November 3, 1997. After that date, Southside Healthcare, Inc. (hereinafter, “Southside”) became a federally supported health facility, thereby rendering the United States of America (hereinafter, the “Government”) the only party liable for negligence under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680 (2003) from that date forward.

A. Alleged Pre-November 3,1997 Act of Negligence at Issue

Elliott came under the care and treatment of defendants Sonyika and Kai at defendant Southside prior to 1997. (Pl.’s First Amended Compl. for Medical Malpractice [19] at ¶ 58.) On June 5, 1997, Elliott came to Southside for a routine pap test, which was administered by defendant Sonyika. (Id. at ¶ 59.) On June 11, 1997, the pap test came back indicating an abnormal result, and the chart was marked with the notation “letter,” but Elliott allegedly was not notified of the abnormal pap results. (Id. at ¶¶ 60-62.) This is the only alleged instance of negligence against the defendants who are seeking to be dismissed from the case in the motion at issue here.

B. Treatment of Deceased After November 3,1997

Between February 6, 1998 and March 30, 1999 Elliott returned to Southside nine times complaining of prolonged vaginal bleeding, vaginal discharge with an odor, abdominal pain, blood clots and similar symptoms on each occasion. (Pl.’s Original Compl. for Medical Malpractice, attach, as Ex. A to Defendants Motion to Dismiss [20] at ¶¶ 10, 14, 22, 26-34.) It was not until March 31, 1999, that Defendant Sonyika performed a colposcopy and cervical biopsy. (Id. at ¶ 35) On April 2, 1999, Defendant Sonyika diagnosed Elliot as suffering from high grade dysplasia. (Id at ¶ 36.)

[690]*690Elliott died of cervical cancer on April 7, 2000.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On March 8, 2001, plaintiff Sharon Simmons, Administrator of the Estate of Trina Elliott, filed her original Complaint in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, alleging medical malpractice against defendants Sonyika, Kai, and Southside (hereinafter, collectively, the “Southside Defendants”). On July 30, 2001, the Government removed the case to federal court, arguing that plaintiffs claims arising from November 3, 1997 forward are covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680 (2003) (hereinafter, the “FTCA”), because, as of this date, Southside Healthcare had become a federally supported health center. See Simmons v. Marine, et al., 1:01-CV-2020-CAM at [1], Moreover, because Southside Healthcare had become a federally supported health center, Southside doctors could no longer be sued in their individual capacities for acts or omissions performed within the scope of their official duties after November 3, 1997. Id.

On August 2, 2001, the Government filed a motion to substitute the United States of America as a party for all claims arising from November 3, 1997 forward. Id. at [2]. Additionally, the Government filed a motion to dismiss based on plaintiffs failure to exhaust local administrative remedies. Id. at [3]. The Honorable Charles A. Moye, the judge and colleague of the undersigned’s to whom this original action was assigned, granted both of these motions on February 19, 2002. (Id. at [18] and also attached as Ex. 5 to Pl.’s Motion for Joinder of State Claim [7] in this action.) Because all of plaintiffs claims against defendant Marine arose on or after November 3, 1997, the court dismissed all claims against defendant Marine and substituted the Government for his claims and any other claims arising after that date. Plaintiffs state law claims against the Southside defendants arising prior to November 3,1997 were remanded to state court because the federal court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over these claims. Thus, the action against the Southside defendants proceeded in state court: specifically, in the Fulton County Superior Court.

Meanwhile, plaintiff exhausted her administrative remedies with the Department of Health and Human Services on June 15, 2001, and on June 5, 2002, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, pursuant to the FTCA: Simmons v. United States, 1:02-CV-1535-JEC at [1]. This newly filed action against the federal defendants (that is any defendants who allegedly committed negligent acts after November 3, 1997) was assigned to the undersigned.

The complaint against the “federal” defendants now back on track, on September 6, 2002, plaintiff sought to join with these “federal” claims the claims against the “state” Southside defendants, which claims were still in state court having been remanded back there via Judge Moye’s earlier Order. [10]1 This Court convened a conference with counsel for plaintiff, the United States, and the Southside defendants to determine whether such joinder was possible. Upon being advised that the state defendants would be subject to a jury trial, whereas the federal defendant would be entitled to a bench trial, the Court indicated that it would not consider any sort of joint hybrid proceeding requiring two finders of fact. (Tr., Feb 3, 2003 Conference at 20). Moreover, as to the propriety of joinder of the claims, the undersigned, although noting the desirability in trying the case in one proceeding, indicated that the case law suggested that the Court lacked the power to join a state and a federal action. Id. at 24-25.2

In response to the Court’s observation that it would be problematic to join a state action, [691]*691for which no subject matter jurisdiction existed, with a pending federal action, plaintiff’s counsel indicated that he would consider “non-suiting” the state case and amending the federal case to add' the state Southside defendants. Id. at 25-26. In response to the Court’s inquiry about the statute of limitations’ ramifications of such action, plaintiff indicated his belief that the statute of limitations would not bar such efforts. Id. at 26.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
225 F.R.D. 688, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26413, 2004 WL 3090684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simmons-v-united-states-gand-2004.