Steah 200537 v. Shinn

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided December 17, 2021·No. 2:21-cv-01265·Unknown

Opinion

1 WO SC 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Kee Nelson Steah, Sr., No. CV 21-01265-PHX-JAT (MHB) 10 Plaintiff, 11 v. ORDER 12 David Shinn, et al., 13 Defendants.

14 15 Plaintiff Kee Nelson Steah, Sr., who is confined in the Arizona State Prison 16 Complex (ASPC)-Yuma, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 17 and an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. The Court granted the Application and 18 dismissed the Complaint with leave to amend. Plaintiff has filed a First Amended 19 Complaint (Doc. 9). The Court will order Defendants Corizon and Centurion to answer 20 Count I of the First Amended Complaint and will dismiss the remaining claim and 21 Defendants without prejudice. 22 I. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints 23 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief 24 against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 25 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff 26 has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which 27 relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from 28 such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)–(2). 1 A pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 2 pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does 3 not demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, the- 4 defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 5 (2009). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 6 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. 7 “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a 8 claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 9 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content 10 that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the 11 misconduct alleged.” Id. “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for 12 relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial 13 experience and common sense.” Id. at 679. Thus, although a plaintiff’s specific factual 14 allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there 15 are other “more likely explanations” for a defendant’s conduct. Id. at 681. 16 But as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has instructed, courts 17 must “continue to construe pro se filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 18 (9th Cir. 2010). A “complaint [filed by a pro se prisoner] ‘must be held to less stringent 19 standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 20 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam)). 21 II. First Amended Complaint 22 In his two-count First Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges claims for 23 constitutionally deficient medical care and threat to safety. Plaintiff sues David Shinn, the 24 Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADC); 25 ADC; Corizon, a private entity which until June 30, 2019, provided medical care for ADC 26 prisoners under a contract with ADC; and Centurion, another private entity that since July 27 1, 2019, has provided medical care to ADC prisoners under a contract with ADC. Plaintiff 28 seeks injunctive, compensatory, and punitive relief. 1 In Count I, Plaintiff alleges the following: 2 In 2011, Plaintiff felt a sharp pain in his right hip, which got worse in the following 3 weeks. Plaintiff sought medical treatment by submitting a Health Needs Request (HNR). 4 Plaintiff was seen by Nurse Practitioner (NP) Jane Doe (a non-party), who ordered an x- 5 ray of his hip. Two or three weeks later, NP Doe told Plaintiff he needed an MRI, but 6 Defendant Corizon denied authorization for an MRI. Plaintiff submitted a grievance and 7 subsequently received an MRI, a PET-scan, and a biopsy. Two months later, Plaintiff was 8 diagnosed with plasmacytoma1 in his right hip. In November 2011, Plaintiff was 9 transferred to the East Unit in the Florence Complex, and subsequently received radiation 10 treatment. A year later, apparently in late 2012, Plaintiff awoke to find he was unable to 11 walk and could not move his hip and leg. Nurse Jane Doe told Plaintiff “Centurion”2 12 denied Plaintiff’s request for cancer treatment and hip replacement because of the cost. 13 Plaintiff asserts this was part of the customs, policies, and practices of the entity then- 14 providing Plaintiff medical care. Plaintiff asserts his due process rights were also violated 15 as a result of those customs, policies, and practices. According to Plaintiff, Defendant 16 Shinn knew via several emergency grievances about his health issues and denial of medical 17 care for his hip and cancer. Plaintiff alleges he also sent grievances to Corizon, which 18 failed to provide him care because of the cost. Plaintiff claims Corizon and Centurion’s 19 policies for providing care were or are inadequate. After Centurion became the medical 20 care provider, Plaintiff saw Dr. Jauregui, who is the provider treating his cancer. 21 On March 3, 2018, Dr. Jane Doe, a cancer specialist at Ironwood Cancer Center in 22 Mesa, ordered or recommended that Plaintiff’s hip be replaced and opined that Plaintiff 23

24 1 Plasmacytoma is a type of cancer that begins in plasma cells and may turn into multiple myeloma. See https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer- 25 terms/def/plasmacytoma (last accessed Dec. 7, 2021). 26 2 As noted above, Centurion did not become responsible for providing medical care to ADC prisoners until July 1, 2019. From July 1, 2012, until March 4, 2013, Wexford 27 provided inmate health care under a contract with ADC. Defendant Corizon became responsible for medical care for ADC prisoners, effective March 4, 2013. Presumably, NP 28 Doe referred to either Wexford or ADC, which prior to Wexford, was responsible for providing medical care to ADC prisoners. 1 needed a shoulder biopsy to “stop the spread of [his] can[c]er.” Plaintiff told Dr. Doe that 2 Corizon had denied a consult for the biopsy and hip replacement. Dr. Doe, upset, again 3 ordered a shoulder biopsy and hip replacement. Three times, Dr. Doe ordered a biopsy and 4 hip replacement, but Centurion denied all three recommendations or orders. Both Corizon 5 and Centurion have refused to provide Plaintiff a biopsy and hip replacement. 6 Plaintiff’s right hip has collapsed, and he is in pain daily and unable to perform 7 normal activities of daily living, including walking and sitting. 8 In Count II, Plaintiff alleges the following: 9 On March 11, 2020, a public health emergency was declared in Arizona as a result 10 of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 19, 2020, temporary closure of businesses and 11 social distancing were ordered. In addition, use of face masks and gloves became common. 12 Despite COVID-19, at ASPC-Yuma’s La Paz Unit, up to 100 prisoners, including Plaintiff, 13 are “crammed” into a dorm, and there is no social distancing.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Steah 200537 v. Shinn, (D. Ariz. 2021).

Steah 200537 v. Shinn (Steah 200537 v. Shinn) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Rizzo v. Goode
423 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Bell v. Wolfish
441 U.S. 520 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
465 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Hebbe v. Pliler
627 F.3d 338 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Michael Henry Ferdik v. Joe Bonzelet, Sheriff
963 F.2d 1258 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Dennis Hamilton v. Roger v. Endell
981 F.2d 1062 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Taylor v. List
880 F.2d 1040 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
Gilbreath v. Cutter Biological, Inc.
931 F.2d 1320 (Ninth Circuit, 1991)
Hale v. Arizona
993 F.2d 1387 (Ninth Circuit, 1993)