United States v. Reisdorfer

870 F. Supp. 2d 473, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59069, 2012 WL 1468460
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedApril 27, 2012
DocketCriminal No. 11-21(1)-ART
StatusPublished

This text of 870 F. Supp. 2d 473 (United States v. Reisdorfer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Reisdorfer, 870 F. Supp. 2d 473, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59069, 2012 WL 1468460 (E.D. Ky. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

AMUL R. THAPAR, District Judge.

Defendant Scott Anthony Reisdorfer asserts that the Court should not issue a restitution order because the Bureau of Prisons, as a third-party provider of medical services, is not a “victim” for purposes of the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act. But even if a third party is not itself the victim, the Act still mandates that a defendant pay for the medical services provided by a third party to the victim.

BACKGROUND

Scott Anthony Reisdorfer is an inmate at the United States Penitentiary-Big Sandy in Inez, Kentucky. R. 38 at 2. Reisdorfer, his co-defendant, Alan Church, and their victim, Dewayne McAnally, were all members of the Aryan Brotherhood. On February 6, 2011, Church became irritated with McAnally who was intoxicated and, according to Church, being obnoxious. Id. In an effort to silence him, Church beat McAnally with his fists, knocking McAnally unconscious. Id. When McAnally awoke, Church beat him unconscious again. Id. When McAnally awoke a second time, Church directed Reisdorfer to “kick [McAnally’s] ass and put him to bed.” Id. Church left Reisdorfer and McAnally alone in the cell, and Reisdorfer beat and stabbed McAnally into unconsciousness. Id.

Prison guards rushed McAnally to the Health Services Unit at Big Sandy. Id. As a result of the attacks, McAnally suffered severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, and at least two stab wounds in his back. Id. After initial treatment at Big Sandy, McAnally was transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, and eventually to the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Id. McAnally has remained in a vegetative state since the attack, and doctors do not expect McAnally to ever regain consciousness. Id.

On December 13, 2011, . Reisdorfer pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate in a federal penitentiary in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6). Id. at 1. At the sen-[475]*475fencing hearing, the United States moved to postpone the issue of restitution until it had determined the cost of medical care incurred by the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) to treat McAnally. R. 41.

On January 6, 2012, the Court held a restitution hearing in which all parties agreed that the total amount of loss suffered by the BOP was $124,396.56. R. 62 at 1. Reisdorfer, however, objected to an order of restitution. Id. The Court ordered the parties to submit briefs in support of their positions, which the parties have now done.

DISCUSSION

I. Third-Party Providers Under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act

Under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, a court “shall order” a defendant who commits a crime of violence to “make restitution to the victim of the offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(a)(l). Reisdorfer does not dispute that he committed a crime of violence. R. 68 at 1. But Reisdorfer says that he does not owe restitution because the BOP is not a “victim” as defined by the Act. Id. The Act defines a “victim” as “a person directly and proximately harmed” by the defendant. § 3663A(a)(2). Reisdorfer asserts that McAnally was the sole victim “directly” harmed by Reisdorfer and that the BOP only suffered an indirect injury as a third-party provider of medical services.

There is no question that the BOP would be a victim if it suffered a direct injury, such as being defrauded or having its property damaged or stolen. See United States v. Bruce, 437 Fed.Appx. 357, 367 (6th Cir.2011) (holding that state agencies were properly considered “victims” under the Act where the defendant stole state property); cf. Ratliff v. United States, 999 F.2d 1023, 1027 (6th Cir.1993) (holding that “the government can be a ‘victim’ ” when the defendant was found guilty of filing false claims for benefits with the United States Department of Labor). But courts have disagreed about whether third-party providers are victims under the Act. See United States v. Cliatt, 338 F.3d 1089, 1090 (9th Cir.2003) (declining to decide whether Tripler Army Medical Center, a hospital providing free health care to active-duty members of the United States Army, was a “victim” when it provided all of the medical care for the victim of a crime of violence); United States v. Johnson, 400 F.3d 187, 200 (4th Cir.2005) (indicating that a mental health agency that provided counseling to the victim of a crime of violence was not a victim under the Act); United States v. Dungee, 228 Fed.Appx. 298, 299 (4th Cir.2007) (holding that the BOP was a victim under the Act because it incurred medical expenses on behalf of an assaulted inmate).

Fortunately, the Court does not need to decide this difficult issue. Even if a third-party provider is not a victim under the Act, § 3663A and § 3664 work together to mandate payment to a third-party provider.

How exactly does this work? Section 3663A provides how to calculate the restitution amount. In McAnally’s case, the statute requires that when a victim suffers bodily injury, a court must order the defendant to “pay an amount equal to the cost of necessary medical” care. § 3663A(b)(2)(A). Whether or not the victim actually paid the costs of medical care is irrelevant. The subsection says nothing about costs the victim incurred or paid; rather, it simply provides a blanket directive that the victim’s restitution equal the amount of his medical costs. See Johnson, 400 F.3d at 200 (comparing subsection § 3663A(b)(2)(C), which requires the defendant to “reimburse” the victim for lost income, with § 3663A(b)(2)(A) and determining that “[t]he careful choice of [476]*476words indicates a legislative intent to require those convicted of crimes resulting in bodily injury to pay the entire ‘amount equal to the cost of necessary medical ... services,’ even when the provider of the services has not taxed the victim herself with the full amount of those costs”).

Once a restitution amount is calculated, § 3663A(d) states explicitly that an order of restitution “shall be issued and enforced in accordance with section 3664.” For its part, § 3664 provides disclosure and evidentiary guidelines for restitution hearings as well as states what kinds of restitution payments (e.g., in-kind, lump sum, periodic) a court can order. Section 3664 also adopts several principles of damage awards from tort law. For example, § 3664(j)(2) adopts the one satisfaction rule: a victim’s restitution should be “reduced by any amount later recovered as compensatory damages” in a civil suit. Section 3664(f)(1)(B) adopts the collateral source rule: the calculation of the victim’s amount of restitution should be not affected by any insurance or other third-party compensation to the victim.

Specifically applicable in this case, § 3664(j)(l) adopts subrogation. This subsection states that when a victim “has received compensation from insurance or any other source,”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
870 F. Supp. 2d 473, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59069, 2012 WL 1468460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-reisdorfer-kyed-2012.