Timperio v. Bronx-Lebanon Hosp. Ctr.

384 F. Supp. 3d 425
District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided April 26, 2019·No. 18 Civ. 1804 (PGG)·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

Paul G. Gardephe, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Justin Timperio brings claims against (1) Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center (the "Hospital") for negligence; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision; and (2) Upstate Guns and Ammo, LLC ("Upstate") for negligent entrustment and negligence per se. Defendants have moved to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The Hospital, in the alternative, moves for summary judgment.

On March 31, 2019, this Court issued an order (Dkt. No. 43) (1) converting the Hospital's motion to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment, and denying the motion; and (2) granting Upstate's motion to dismiss. The purpose of this opinion is to explain the Court's reasoning.

*429BACKGROUND 1

I. FACTS

On June 30, 2017, Plaintiff Timperio - then a first-year medical resident - was shot by Dr. Henry Bello, a former Hospital employee. Bello's employment had resigned in 2015 after an allegation that he had sexually harassed a Hospital employee. (Cmplt. (Dkt. No. 9) at 1-2 & n.2)2 On June 30, 2017, Bello returned to the Hospital. He was wearing a white doctor's coat and a Hospital identification badge, which had not been taken from him when his employment was terminated. (Id. at 2) Hidden under Bello's white coat was an AR-15 rifle and extra magazines, which he had purchased from Defendant Upstate, a firearms shop in Schenectady, New York. (Id. ) Bello was also carrying a Tropicana orange juice container filled with gasoline, which he used to set fire to the Hospital's 16th floor nursing station. (Id. )

After arriving at the Hospital on June 30, 2017, Bello shot Plaintiff; killed another doctor; and wounded four other members of the medical staff and a patient. (Id. at 1-2) The bullet that hit Plaintiff entered his abdomen and exited his right thigh, "requiring surgical procedures and treatment ... at Defendant Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital" from June 30, 2017 to July 21, 2017. (Id. at 2) After his rampage, Bello killed himself. (Id. at 3)

This was not the first shooting incident at the Hospital. (Id. ) On November 11, 2011, a gang member shot into the Hospital's emergency room, hitting a nurse and a security guard. (Id. ) Plaintiff alleges that, after the 2011 incident, the Hospital was on "notice that its security system was ineffective," but it did nothing to improve it. (Id. ) Plaintiff also alleges that the Hospital "failed to take proper action" after it learned that Bello had sexually harassed another Hospital employee and should have taken custody of Bello's identification badge when he resigned. (Id. )

As for Upstate, Plaintiff alleges that it sold Bello, a New York City resident, an AR-15 rifle on June 22, 2017. (Id. at 5) According to Plaintiff, that sale constitutes negligent entrustment in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 7903(B), because Upstate was on notice that AR-15 rifles are "the semi-automatic weapon of choice in ... mass death and casualty shootings." (Id. at 6-7) Plaintiff also alleges that Upstate was required to - but did not - contact the New York City Police Department before selling Bello the rifle to determine whether Bello had a New York City permit for the weapon. (Id. at 6)

DISCUSSION

I. Whether the Hospital's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion Should Be Converted to a Rule 56 Motion for Summary Judgment

In support of its motion to dismiss, the Hospital has submitted an affidavit from Debra Jarmon, a third-party administrator for workers compensation claims for the Hospital. Attached to Jarmon's affidavit are the following documents: (1) the Hospital's workers' compensation policy as of June 30, 2017 (Dkt. No. 36-2, at 3); (2) a workers' compensation claim the Hospital filed for Plaintiff on June 30, 2017 (Dkt. No. 36-2, at 29-32); (3) the New York State *430Workers' Compensation Board Notice of Case Assembly relating to Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 36-2, at 33); and (4) the New York State Workers' Compensation Board payment report for Plaintiff. (Dkt. No. 36-2, at 36)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(d) provides that "[i]f, on a motion under R. 12(b)(6) ... matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56. All parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d).

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

Timperio v. Bronx-Lebanon Hosp. Ctr., 384 F. Supp. 3d 425 (S.D. Ill. 2019).

384 F. Supp. 3d 425 (Timperio v. Bronx-Lebanon Hosp. Ctr.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related