White v. Reyes

558 P.3d 43, 335 Or. App. 124
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 18, 2024
DocketA175360
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 558 P.3d 43 (White v. Reyes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Reyes, 558 P.3d 43, 335 Or. App. 124 (Or. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

124 September 18, 2024 No. 662

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OREGON

ANTHONY SAM WHITE, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Erin REYES, Superintendent, Two Rivers Correctional Institution, Defendant-Appellant. Umatilla County Circuit Court 18CV38683; A175360

Robert W. Collins, Jr. Judge. Argued and submitted September 1, 2022. Joanna Hershey, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for appellant. Also on the briefs were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. On the reply brief was Robert M. Wilsey, Assistant Attorney General. Margaret V. Huntington argued the cause for respon- dent. Also on the brief was O’Connor Weber LLC. Before Ortega, Presiding Judge, and Powers, Judge, and Hellman, Judge. HELLMAN, J. Affirmed. Powers, J., dissenting. Cite as 335 Or App 124 (2024) 125

HELLMAN, J. Defendant, the superintendent of the institution where plaintiff was incarcerated, appeals a supplemen- tal judgment that held defendant in contempt of court and ordered plaintiff’s release. On appeal, defendant raises two assignments of error.1 Specifically, he argues that the habeas court erred by finding him in contempt and by order- ing plaintiff’s release.2 Although defendant contends that the court should have terminated jurisdiction after he com- plied with the general judgment and its subsequent orders, the evidence supports the court’s determinations that defen- dant willfully violated the general judgment and that his deliberate indifference continued through the pendency of the case. Therefore, we conclude that the court did not err and affirm the supplemental judgment. I. FACTS We state the facts in the light most favorable to plain- tiff, the party who moved for the contempt finding. Elizabeth Lofts Condo Owners’ v. Victaulic Co., 293 Or App 572, 574, 428 P3d 952 (2018). In 2014, plaintiff entered Department of Corrections (DOC) custody after committing a robbery and sustaining a gunshot wound that rendered him paraplegic. In 2018, plaintiff filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and alleged that defendant was deliberately indifferent to his medical condition and refused to provide him medically necessary care. Plaintiff sought injunctive relief, including “a higher pain medication management plan” and evalua- tions by a physiatrist and pain management specialist.3

1 Defendant raised a third assignment of error contending that the court erred by requiring him to provide plaintiff with post-release services. We agree with defendant that his argument has been rendered moot because he provided plaintiff those services upon release. 2 Because defendant notes that “the superintendent at the time of the proceed- ings was Tyler Blewett” and refers to defendant as “he” in the briefs, we do so here. 3 In June 2019, following the trial, plaintiff sought a temporary order con- cerning his medication. Plaintiff asked the court to “order his transfer to a prison in Marion County as part of any relief received” and stated that he “[had] no other alternative remedy available than the pending habeas action.” In its Post Trial Rebuttal memorandum, defendant did not address plaintiff’s request for a transfer and maintained that he was “providing constitutionally appropri- ate medical care for all of Plaintiff’s medical needs alleged in his Replication,” including plaintiff’s chronic pain. 126 White v. Reyes

In his trial memorandum, plaintiff requested “immediate release and/or injunctive release.” In July 2019, the habeas court entered a gen- eral judgment and concluded that defendant had violated the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution because he had “failed to provide [plaintiff] adequate med- ical treatment.” The court made extensive findings of fact. Specifically, the court found that defendant had approved plaintiff to see a physiatrist in 2014 but failed to provide the appointment. Even though plaintiff’s medical records referenced “ongoing physical therapy,” defendant had pro- vided plaintiff only one physical therapy session in 2015; subsequent sessions were “exercise sessions supervised by an untrained individual[.]” As a result, the court found that “approved and recommended medical interventions have been denied to [plaintiff]” and caused plaintiff “to suf- fer extreme pain and discomfort and lose the opportunity for possible relief over a period of four-and-a-half years, thus impairing the quality of his life and opportunities for improvement.” The court also made findings about defendant’s management of plaintiff’s medications. For example, the court found that defendant had discontinued one of plain- tiff’s pain medications “in favor of * * * a pain medication that is typically weaker and less effective” and discontinued another medication that had known withdrawal symptoms without consulting plaintiff. Thus, the court concluded that defendant was “deliberately indifferent in diagnosing and treating plaintiff’s medical needs.” In the section titled “judgment,” the habeas court issued the following orders. “1. ODOC is to provide consultation and evaluation with a board certified Physiatrist (spinal cord injury med- ical specialist) in a reasonable amount of time for diagnos- tic analysis and full medical review of Plaintiff’s condition and possible medical interventions to improve pain, muscle spasm, and overall levels of Plaintiff’s physical and mental functional abilities. “2. ODOC is directed to provide Physical Therapy with a licensed Physical Therapist to commence within a Cite as 335 Or App 124 (2024) 127

reasonable period of time and to continue until no longer indicated in the opinion of the treating Physical Therapist. “3. ODOC is directed to restore the drugs [G]abapen- tin and Zanaflex as previously prescribed and utilized by Petitioner and to make no further changes to Petitioner’s medications until examination and review of drug regimen by a qualified Physiatrist and as recommended and pre- scribed by a board certified Physiatrist.” The court retained jurisdiction to ensure that defendant complied with the judgment, and defendant did not appeal that judgment. About three weeks after the habeas court entered the judgment, plaintiff filed a motion for an emergency hear- ing because defendant had failed to provide one of plaintiff’s medications. After the hearing, the court declined to hold defendant in contempt, but ordered the parties to submit an update within 14 days “as to whether or not there is cur- rently compliance with the terms of the General Judgment.” In response, defendant filed a memorandum asserting that he had complied with the general judgment and requesting that the court terminate jurisdiction. Defendant stated that plaintiff had a physiatry appointment in September 2019, received two physical therapy sessions, and was scheduled for two more sessions. Defendant acknowledged that the physiatrist recommended continuing plaintiff’s Gabapentin and Zanaflex, discontinuing Baclofen, and obtaining a wheelchair evaluation from a physical therapist to improve plaintiff’s back pain. In a January 2020 hearing, the habeas court found that the physiatrist had said that it was appropriate and could be beneficial for plaintiff to see a pain specialist. Although defendant argued that the general judgment did not require him to comply with all of the physiatrist’s rec- ommendations or to send plaintiff to additional specialists and to follow those specialists’ recommendations, the court ordered defendant to provide a pain specialist appoint- ment within 30 days. The court retained jurisdiction and explained that it wanted DOC to be “more proactive about finding solutions and ways to assist [plaintiff] with his pain issues[.]” 128 White v. Reyes

In February 2020, a physical therapist evaluated plaintiff’s wheelchair and observed numerous problems.

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

Related

Zyst v. Miller
346 Or. App. 801 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2026)
White v. Reyes
Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2024

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
558 P.3d 43, 335 Or. App. 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-reyes-orctapp-2024.