Smith v. Masterson

353 F. App'x 505
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedNovember 16, 2009
DocketNo. 08-2832-cv
StatusPublished

This text of 353 F. App'x 505 (Smith v. Masterson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Masterson, 353 F. App'x 505 (2d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

Plaintiff Kenneth Smith, pro se and incarcerated, appeals from two judgments, entered on April 22, 2008, and July 9, 2008, respectively, granting the unopposed motions for summary judgment of defendants, various New York State Department of Correctional Services (“DOCS”) employees and Westchester Medical Center (“WMC”), on his claims, inter alia, that the DOCS defendants denied him reasonable accommodations for his hearing loss in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq., and that WMC’s decision to treat his dislocated jaw with bilateral manipulation rather than an emi-nectomy rendered it liable for medical malpractice. Construing his notice of appeal liberally, as we must, see Boykin v. KeyCorp, 521 F.3d 202, 214 (2d Cir.2008), we also read Smith’s submission as appealing from the district court’s April 22, 2008 order denying his motion for relief from judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b), and its November 19, 2008 order denying a related motion for reconsideration. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts and the record of prior proceedings, which we reference only as necessary to explain our decision to affirm.

1. Summary Judgment

We review the district court’s award of summary judgment de novo, see Dillon v. Marano, 497 F.3d 247, 251 (2d Cir.2007), and we will affirm only if the record evidence, construed in the light most favorable to Smith, shows no genuine issue of material fact and defendants’ entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, see Fed. [507]*507R.Civ.P. 56(c); White River Amusement Pub, Inc. v. Town of Hartford, 481 F.3d 163, 167 (2d Cir.2007). To demonstrate an issue of material fact, Smith must point to more than a “scintilla” of evidence in support of his position. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); accord Havey v. Homebound Mortgage, Inc., 547 F.3d 158, 163 (2d Cir.2008).

a.Vital Notice

We must first determine whether Smith received proper notice of the nature and consequences of summary judgment under Vital v. Interfaith Medical Center, 168 F.3d 615, 620-21 (2d Cir.1999), as “[t]he failure to give actual notice to a pro se litigant of the consequences of not responding adequately to a summary judgment motion will usually constitute grounds for vacatur.” Jova v. Smith, 582 F.3d 410, 414 (2d Cir.2009). Here, the district court expressly found that both defendants’ motions for summary judgment “included an appropriate notice to pro se litigant pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.2.” Smith v. Masterson, 538 F.Supp.2d 653, 656 (S.D.N.Y.2008). We identify no basis for concluding that this finding was clearly erroneous. See United States v. Rubenstein, 403 F.3d 93, 99 (2d Cir.2005) (reviewing factual findings for clear error); cf. Scott v. Real Estate Fin. Group, 183 F.3d 97, 101 (2d Cir.1999) (treating plaintiffs’ receipt of proper notice under state statute as question of fact). Accordingly, any challenge to Smith’s receipt of adequate notice of the nature and consequences of summary judgment is without merit.

b. The ADA and the Rehabilitation Act

Smith submits that the district court erred in concluding that the record raised no material fact as to his alleged hearing impairment, the basis for his disability claims under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. We disagree. The record indicates that Smith frequently complained of hearing loss, that subjective hearing tests, which can be manipulated by a test-taker, indicated hearing loss, and that one audiologist recommended that Smith be given bilateral hearing aids. But objective hearing tests, which measure physiological responses of the inner ear to noise and cannot be manipulated by a test-taker, consistently demonstrated that Smith was not hearing impaired and thus needed no special accommodation. The objective test results, including a November 15, 2005 Stenger test,1 the variation in Smith’s subjective tests, and observations of Smith engaging in conversational speech without the assistance of hearing aids, support the conclusions of a number of audiologists that Smith’s claimed hearing loss was feigned. Because both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act require that an individual demonstrate a physical or mental impairment to be deemed to have a “disability,” see 29 U.S.C. § 705(20)(B); 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1), and because Smith failed to adduce sufficient evidence to permit a jury to make such a finding, the district court properly awarded the DOCS defendants summary judgment on these claims.

c. Medical Malpractice

Smith’s challenge to the district court’s award of summary judgment to WMC on his medical malpractice claims is also without merit. To establish a prima [508]*508facie case of medical malpractice under New York law, a plaintiff must adduce expert opinion of a deviation from accepted standards of medical care proximately causing injury. See Hytko v. Hennessey, 62 A.D.3d 1081, 1083-84, 879 N.Y.S.2d 595, 598 (3d Dep’t 2009); see also Silts v. United States, 811 F.2d 736, 739 (2d Cir.1987). Expert testimony is required even when a medical malpractice action is based on lack of informed consent. See Gardner v. Wider, 32 A.D.3d 728, 730, 821 N.Y.S.2d 74, 76 (1st Dep’t 2006). Apart from his own conclusory allegations, Smith adduces no evidence — much less expert evidence— suggesting that WMC’s decision to treat his dislocated jaw with bilateral manipulation rather than an eminectomy constituted a departure from accepted standards of medical care, or that his consent to the bilateral manipulation was qualitatively insufficient. In view of WMC’s submission of expert opinion that its treatment of Smith fell within accepted standards, and that there was no medical basis for deeming that treatment the proximate cause of Smith’s alleged injuries, Smith has plainly failed to demonstrate the existence of any genuine issue of material fact rendering the award of summary judgment in this case inappropriate. See, e.g., Alvarez v. Prospect Hosp., 68 N.Y.2d 320, 324, 508 N.Y.S.2d 923, 501 N.E.2d 572 (1986).

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Related

Boykin v. KeyCorp
521 F.3d 202 (Second Circuit, 2008)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Kenneth E. Sitts v. United States
811 F.2d 736 (Second Circuit, 1987)
Barcia v. Sitkin
367 F.3d 87 (Second Circuit, 2004)
White River Amusement Pub, Inc. v. Town Of Hartford
481 F.3d 163 (Second Circuit, 2007)
Havey v. Homebound Mortgage, Inc.
547 F.3d 158 (Second Circuit, 2008)
Dillon v. Morano
497 F.3d 247 (Second Circuit, 2007)
Jova v. Smith
582 F.3d 410 (Second Circuit, 2009)
Smith v. Masterson
538 F. Supp. 2d 653 (S.D. New York, 2008)
Alvarez v. Prospect Hospital
501 N.E.2d 572 (New York Court of Appeals, 1986)
Gardner v. Wider
32 A.D.3d 728 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2006)
Hytko v. Hennessey
62 A.D.3d 1081 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
353 F. App'x 505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-masterson-ca2-2009.