Vaughn v. Wernert

357 F. Supp. 3d 720
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJanuary 9, 2019
DocketNo. 1:16-cv-03257-JMS-DLP
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 357 F. Supp. 3d 720 (Vaughn v. Wernert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vaughn v. Wernert, 357 F. Supp. 3d 720 (S.D. Ind. 2019).

Opinion

Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Chief Judge

An American Vice President once spoke about the treatment of certain members of American society as a reflection of its government: "the ultimate moral test of a government is the way it treats three groups of its citizens. First, those who are in the dawn of life-our children. Second, those in the shadows of life-our needy, our sick, our handicapped. Third, those in the twilight of life-our elderly." Vice President Hubert Humphrey, remarks at the dedication of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, November 1, 1977, Congressional Record, November 4, 1977, vol. 123, p. 37287.

In its Order on summary judgment in this case, the Court concluded that Defendants have failed that moral test, and that their actions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Medicaid Act. Karen Vaughn has been institutionalized for nearly three years, and she remains institutionalized. The Court sought briefing from the parties and conducted a hearing as to the issuance of injunctive relief. Briefing was completed on January 8, 2019. Having considered the evidence adduced at the hearing and the briefs of the parties, the Court concludes that a permanent injunction is appropriate and GRANTS Ms. Vaughn's request for a permanent injunction.

I.

*722BACKGROUND 1

Ms. Vaughn has lived with quadriplegia since 1976. [Filing No. 36-2 at 27.] Between 1981 and 2016, Ms. Vaughn lived in her own apartment, where she received Medicaid-funded services from home healthcare providers to assist in nearly all of her activities of daily living. [Filing No. 36-2 at 9.] After a several-week hospitalization from pneumonia in January 2016, Ms. Vaughn was medically approved for discharge home. [Filing No. 36-2 at 20.] Despite efforts by several individuals working within the parameters imposed by the state Medicaid plan and its waiver programs, no home healthcare agencies were located that were willing and able to provide Ms. Vaughn's home-based care. [See, e.g. , Filing No. 62-1 at 12-27; Filing No. 36-1.] As a result, Ms. Vaughn remained at Methodist Hospital, despite her medical providers' agreement that she would be better served by receiving care at home. [See, e.g. , Filing No. 36-2 at 20; Filing No. 62-1 at 25-26.] Over the following months, Ms. Vaughn's treating physicians at Methodist continued to support her return home, and a licensed clinical social worker and a nurse case manager attempted to locate an agency or agencies that would provide Ms. Vaughn's care under the regime established by Defendants. [Filing No. 62-1 at 9-27.]

After several months of failed attempts to locate a provider, on April 12, 2016, Ms. Vaughn sent a letter to Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration ("FSSA") stating that she was being institutionalized at Methodist against her will. [Filing No. 36-2 at 114.] In that letter, she requested that FSSA provide her with one or more reasonable accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act that would, in her view, enable her to receive care at home. [Filing No. 36-2 at 114.] Ms. Vaughn received no response to that letter. [Filing No. 36-2 at 45; Filing No. 118 at 89.] On July 26, 2016, FSSA Division of Aging staff met with Ms. Vaughn, hospital staff and doctors, Ms. Vaughn's advocates, and her legal counsel to discuss a care plan that included finding a home healthcare provider for Ms. Vaughn. [Filing No. 36-1 at 2.] But again, within the bounds of the current Medicaid programs, as administered by FSSA, no healthcare providers were found. [Filing No. 36-2 at 60.]

Still having found no home healthcare provider, in mid-November 2016, Ms. Vaughn was discharged to North Capitol nursing home. [Filing No. 36-2 at 60.] She filed a Complaint in this Court on November 30, 2016 alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Medicaid Act arising from Defendants' alleged failure to provide her with reasonable accommodations that would allow her to return home. [Filing No. 1.] Ms. Vaughn resided at North Capitol through February 2017, when she was hospitalized at Methodist after developing a decubitus ulcer that required surgery. [Filing No. 36-2 at 23-24.] After that surgery, Ms. Vaughn was again medically cleared for discharge home, but again, no home healthcare providers were found. [Filing No. 36-2 at 25; Filing No. 36-1 at 3-4.] In December 2017, Ms. Vaughn was discharged to Ambassador Healthcare nursing home in Centerville, Indiana, where she still resides today. [Filing No. 36-2 at 23; Filing No. 47-1 at 1; Filing No. 118 at 84-85.]

In early 2018, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on Ms. *723Vaughn's claims. [Filing No. 36; Filing No. 47.] The Court granted Ms. Vaughn's Motion for Summary Judgment, concluding that Defendants failed to provide a reasonable accommodation that would allow for Ms. Vaughn's placement at home, in violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. [Filing No. 68 at 27.] The Court also concluded that Defendants violated the Medicaid Act's requirement that medical assistance be provided with reasonable promptness to all eligible individuals. [Filing No. 68 at 31.]

Having made this finding as to liability, the Court converted the trial in this matter to a remedy hearing, and it encouraged the parties to reach an agreement as to the injunctive relief that should be implemented. [Filing No. 68 at 32-33.] The parties were unable to do so, and the Court held a remedy hearing on December 3, 2018. [Filing No. 114.] The parties presented evidence and legal argument, and they have submitted their post-hearing briefing, as ordered by the Court. The issue of remedy is now ripe for the Court's determination.

II.

FINDINGS

A. Propriety of Injunctive Relief

In determining whether injunctive relief is appropriate, a Court generally considers "(1) whether the plaintiff has suffered or will suffer irreparable injury, (2) whether there are inadequate remedies available at law to compensate for the injury, (3) the balance of hardships, and (4) the public interest." Sierra Club v. Franklin Cty. Power of Illinois, LLC , 546 F.3d 918, 935 (7th Cir. 2008). Ms. Vaughn seeks only injunctive relief through this lawsuit, and the parties in their cross-motions for summary judgment addressed the issue of the propriety of injunctive relief alongside (and largely overlapping with) their arguments regarding liability. [Filing No. 55 at 22; Filing No. 61 at 14-15.] As such, the Court's discussion of liability, and its decision on the merits at summary judgment "essentially embraced the remedy and the injunctive relief factors" that a Court routinely considers. Sierra Club , 546 F.3d at 937.

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357 F. Supp. 3d 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaughn-v-wernert-insd-2019.