Dongmei Li v. State

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DONGMEI LI, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF CONNECTICUT et al., Defendants.

No. 3:22-cv-00996 (VAB)

United States District Court, D. Connecticut

August 11, 2022

RULING AND ORDER ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS

VICTOR A. BOLDEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dongmei Li has sued fifty-five defendants, alleging, inter alia, unlawful seizure, excessive force, abuse of process, civil conspiracy, and racial profiling and discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as state law claims of civil battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and false arrest arising from two alleged incidents at Ms. Li's daughter's middle school and Ms. Li's residence in 2016 and 2020, respectively. Compl., ECF No. 1 (July 21 2021) (“Compl.”).

In an Amended Complaint, Ms. Li brings suit against the following the State of Connecticut, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, former State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo, and Fairfield State's Attorney Joseph T. Corradino (“State Defendants”); the Town of Fairfield, the Town of Fairfield Board of Education, Anthony Formato, Morgan Rhodes, the Fairfield Police Department, Chris Lyddy, Lance Newkirchen, Edward Kovac, Richard Peck, and the Fairfield Emergency Communications Center (“Town Defendants”); St. Vincent's Medical Center (“SVMC”); Rachel Bouteiller, Fayoia Carmichael, Margaret Chuckta, Lori Dube, Jingchun Liu, Bonnie Perez, Nadine Ritt, Jernesha Wright, Dr. Audrey Harrell, Dr. Ryan Liberman, Dr. Bujji B. Surapaneni, Dr. Christopher M. Orelup, Dr. Simon A. Ovanessian, Dr. Kelechi Ogbonna, Dr. Roger Jou, Cynthia Anderson, Andrew E. Bertolozzi, Cynthia Campbell, Barbara McConachie, Christina Pannone, and James Richards (“SVMC Defendants I”); and Kellie Clomiro, Patricia Galich, Bruny Jacques Germain, Rahul Gupta, Sharon Hasbani, Lilliana Hernandez, Dora Orosz, Melissa Ortiz, and Clifford Schwartz (“SVMC Defendants II”); American Medical Response, Inc. (“AMR”), Bret Jackson, MacKenzie D'Lorio, and James P. Zwally (“AMR Defendants”); Lei Li; Dr. Raj K. Bansal; Dr. Amanda M. Sandrew; and Stephanie A. Sirois (collectively, “Defendants”). Am. Compl., ECF No. 8 (July 30, 2021) (“Am. Compl.”).

Defendants have moved to dismiss on the basis of lack of subject matter jurisdiction or lack of personal jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. See State Defs.' Joint Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 26 (Nov. 9, 2021); Def. Lei Li's Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 47 (Dec. 13, 2021); Fairfield Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 50 (Dec. 13, 2021); Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 57 (Dec. 29, 2021); Amanda Sandrew, D.O.'s Rule 12(b) Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 68 (Jan. 7, 2022); Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 94 (Jan. 10, 2022); Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 111 (Jan. 24, 2022); Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 113 (Jan. 24, 2022); Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 116 (Jan. 24, 2022).

For the following reasons, the State Defendants' [26] motion to dismiss, Lei Li's [47] motion to dismiss, Dr. Bansal's [57] motion to dismiss, Dr. Sandrew's [68] motion to dismiss, SVMC Defendants I's [113] motion to dismiss, and SVMC Defendants II's [116] motion to dismiss are GRANTED.

The Town Defendants' [50] motion to dismiss, the AMR Defendants' [94] motion to dismiss, and St. Vincent's Medical Center's [111] motion to dismiss are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

Ms. Li's unreasonable seizure claim against Officer Peck and Mr. D'Lorio under § 1983; state law claim of false imprisonment against American Medical Response, Inc. and St. Vincent's Medical Center; and state constitutional claims under Article I, Section 7 and 9 of the Connecticut Constitution against Officer Peck, Mr. D'Lorio, the Town of Fairfield, American Medical Response, Inc., and St. Vincent's Medical Center will proceed. All other defendants who have appeared in this action are dismissed.^[1]

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Factual Allegations

1. 2016 Incident

On September 26, 2016, Ms. Li allegedly visited her daughter's school, Tomlinson Middle School, to make a discrimination complaint. Am. Compl. at 6 ¶ 1, 9 ¶ 6. Specifically, Ms. Li allegedly complained to the school's principal, Anthony Formato, about “discrimination against Asians in school education” and requested a sociology and health education curriculum. Id. at 9 ¶ 6. After allegedly speaking with Mr. Formato, who allegedly was “very rude,” Ms. Li allegedly was “walked . . . out” of the school by Morgan Rhodes, a school counselor. Id.

Ms. Li allegedly left the school to file a complaint with the Fairfield Board of Education. Id. Ms. Li alleges that Mr. Formato and Mr. Rhodes subsequently “falsely, maliciously, and willfully reported to Fairfield Police that [Ms. Li] went to [the] school and complained that [her] daughter was going to kill [her].” Id. at 10 ¶ 7. She alleges that after she returned from the Fairfield Board of Education, “the police and the principal conspired to send [her] to a mental hospital.” Id. at 10 ¶ 9. A social worker, Stephanie Sirois, also allegedly spoke with Ms. Li. Id.

Before Ms. Sirois completed her evaluation of Ms. Li, the school or the police allegedly called American Medical Response, Inc., the Town of Fairfield's Emergency Medical Response System provider. Id. at 3 ¶ 16, 10 ¶ 9. After AMR arrived at the school, Ms. Li allegedly was put on a psychiatric involuntary hold. Id. at 10 ¶ 9.

Ms. Li's husband allegedly arrived at the school, informed the police that Ms. Li had no mental health issues, and requested to take her home. Id. at 10 ¶ 10. Fairfield Police Department Officer Lance Newkirchen allegedly denied Ms. Li's husband's request and stated that she would be brought to St. Vincent's Medical Center instead. Id.

After Ms. Li finished speaking with Ms. Sirois, Officer Newkirchen, Fairfield Police Department Officer Edward Kovac, and AMR employees Mr. Zwally and Mr. Jackson allegedly “came up to [her], violently pulled [her], and . . . choked [her] by the neck.” Id. at 10 ¶ 11. Ms. Li alleges that “[s]everal men pulled [her] to the ambulance, [and] a person choked [her] neck and pressed [her] on the ambulance stretcher.” Id. Medical records allegedly show that Ms. Li subsequently had two bruises around her neck. Id. Mr. Jackson then allegedly “injected some medicine into [Ms. Li's] body” and she “lost consciousness immediately.” Id. at 10-11 ¶ 11. Ms. Li alleges that these actions inflicted “serious psychiatric trauma,” as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Id. at 11 ¶ 11.

After the ambulance arrived at St. Vincent's Medical Center, Registered Nurse Kellie Clomiro allegedly signed an AMR report. Id. at 11 ¶ 13. Ms. Li alleges that Ms. Clomiro “made multiple false medical records to cover . . . illegal actions by SVMC, the police[,] and AMR.” Id. at 11 ¶ 13; see also Id. at 13 ¶ 22, 14 ¶ 29. She further alleges that AMR falsified its report to indicate that she and her family had requested transport to SVMC, id. at 11 ¶ 15; SVMC and SVMC employee Melissa Ortiz falsified medical records and wrongfully imprisoned her as an inpatient, id. at 12 ¶ 17; Dr. Clifford Schwartz, Ms. Li's Emergency Department provider, made a false diagnosis of acute psychosis, paranoid delusion, and psychosis, ordered antipsychotic medications without her consent, and made false statements in her medical record, id. at 12 ¶ 18; SVMC's Emergency Department performed a strip search on Ms. Li without her consent, id. at 13 ¶ 20; Ms. Li may have been sexually assaulted without her knowledge, id. at 13 ¶ 21; Ms. Sirois made false statements in her evaluation report, id. at 13 ¶ 24-14 ¶ 27; and Dr. Sharon Hasbani “illegally administered harmful psychosis medicines [sic]” without Ms. Li's consent and “falsified a Physician's Emergency Certificate” by referring to Ms. Li as “disabled,” id. at 15 ¶¶ 32-33.

Later that day, Ms. Li's husband allegedly asked that she be discharged from the hospital. Id. at 14 ¶ 30. SVMC allegedly denied his request. Id. The following day, on September 27, 2016, Ms. Li's husband allegedly again requested to take Ms. Li home, and was denied. Id. at 15 ¶ 35. Ms. Li alleges that Registered Nurse Patricia Galich and several staff members subsequently “physically pushed [her] [in]to the corner of the room and gave [her] an injection of medicine,” after which she became unconscious. Id.

Ms. Galich allegedly called the Nelson ambulance service to transport Ms. Li to SVMC's Behavioral Health Services in Westport, Connecticut. Id. at 15-16 ¶¶ 36-39.

Ms. Li alleges that Dr. Dora Orosz and Dr. Bruny Jacques Germain “made an incorrect diagnosis,” “illegally prescribed psychiatric drugs” without her consent, and “ordered many other medicines [sic] under [her] name.” Id. at 16 ¶ 45, 17 ¶ 47. She alleges that Dr. Lilliana Hernandez, Dr. Rahul Gupta, and Dr. Germain also repeatedly ordered creams under her name, failed to provide her with the creams, and made “false claims to [her] insurance company.” Id. at 17 ¶ 46.

On September 30, 2016, Dr. Germain discharged Ms. Li from the hospital, allegedly under the wrong psychiatric diagnosis. Id. at 17 ¶ 48.

2. 2020 Incident

Four years later, on June 29, 2020 at 4:58 a.m., Ms. Li allegedly called 911 to request a security inspection of her house. Id. at 18 ¶ 52. Upon arrival, Fairfield Police Department Officer Richard Peck and another police officer allegedly “did not want to get to know the situation . . or inspect the house.” Id. The officers also allegedly did not permit Ms. Li's husband to translate on her behalf, and instead allegedly “restrained [her] and [her] husband separately in [their] yard.” ...