Harvey v. Mohammed

841 F.Supp.2d 164

David HARVEY, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.MOHAMMED, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 02–2476 (RCL).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Jan. 27, 2012.

Harvey S. Williams, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Robert W. Hesselbacher, Jr., Wright, Constable & Skeen, LLP, Baltimore, MD, Veronica S. Ascarrunz, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC, Steven J. Anderson, Office of Attorney General for DC, Peter J. Leininger, Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P., Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROYCE C. LAMBERTH, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff David Harvey, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Curtis Suggs, brings this case against defendants Leon Mohammed, Yvonne Mohammed,¹ Symbral Foundation for Community Services, Inc., Donald C. Egbuonu, M.D., and the District of Columbia under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, D.C.Code § 7–1301.02, et seq., federal and District of Columbia statutes regulating community residential facilities, and the common law of the District of Columbia, seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Mr. Suggs's former caretakers. Before the Court are defendants Leon Mohammed, Yvonne Mohammed, and Symbral Foundation for Community Services, Inc.'s (“Symbral defendants”) Motion [120] for Partial Summary Judgment; defendant District of Columbia's Motion [123] for Summary Judgment, or in the alternative, for Reconsideration; and plaintiff' Motion [128] for Partial Summary Judgment. Upon consideration of the Symbral defendants' Motion [120], plaintiff's opposition [141], the Symbral defendants' reply [149], the applicable law, and the entire record in this case, the Symbral defendants' Motion is granted in part and denied in part. Upon consideration of the District of Columbia's Motion [123], plaintiff's opposition [136, 138], the District of Columbia's reply [150], the applicable law, and the entire record in this case, the District of Columbia's Motion is granted in part and denied in part. Upon consideration of plaintiff's Motion [128], defendants' oppositions [148, 150], plaintiff's reply [158, 162], the applicable law, and the entire record in this case, the plaintiff's Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Curtis Suggs was born on May 12, 1932 in South Carolina and was diagnosed with cognitive and adaptive profound mental retardation, athetoid cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, scoliosisvenous stasis, presbyopnia, bilateral hearing loss, urinary incontinence, and spinal cord stenosis. Curtis lived with his mother and sister, Carrie Weaver, in the District of Columbia until 1967 when his sister applied to have him committed to the District's custody because his family could no longer care for him. The United States District Court ordered Mr. Suggs to be committed to the District's custody, finding him to be “feeble-minded,” “incapable of managing his affairs,” and a “fit subject for commitment to and treatment at the District Training School.” Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 2.

When Mr. Suggs was initially committed to the custody of the District, he resided at Forest Haven, an institution in Maryland. After the Mentally Retarded Citizens Constitutional Rights and Dignity Act of 1978 was passed, the Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities Administration (“MRDDA”) became the designated District agency responsible for the care and habilitation of persons legally committed to the District's custody. In October 1984, after the District had been ordered to place Forest Haven residents in community residential facilities, the District determined that Mr. Suggs needed an Intermediate Level of Care for Mentally Retarded Individuals (“ICF/MR”). Mr. Suggs was placed at a group home on Blair Road in Washington, D.C. operated by defendant Symbral Foundation for Community Services, Inc. (“Symbral”), where he resided until his death on June 30, 2000. Mr. Suggs was one of four residents at the Blair Road home. Defendants Yvonne Mohammed and Leon Mohammed were co-founders of Symbral. At the time of the events in this case, Yvonne Mohammed also served as Symbral's CEO, while Leon Mohammed served as Symbral's CFO. Defendant Donald C. Egbuonu, M.D. was licensed to practice medicine in the District of Columbia and rendered medical care to Mr. Suggs at the Symbral Blair Road home.

Symbral is an independent contractor that ran an intermediate care facility under annual contracts with the District of Columbia, by which Symbral agreed to provide a living facility for Mr. Suggs that satisfied the requirements for licensure in the District and provide Mr. Suggs with health-related care and services. Symbral employed two direct care staff on duty who were responsible for meeting the residents' needs for feeding, bathing, hygiene, dressing, movement exercises, and other activities. The house was under the direction of a house manager and a residential services coordinator. Symbral also employed a registered nurse as the director of nursing, a licensed practical nurse, and a qualified mental retardation professional (“QMRP”), who had overall responsibility for the coordination of services and care to residents. Under its agreement with the District, Symbral provided supervision for and control over the day-to-day operations of the employees that cared for Mr. Suggs.

Although MRDDA contractually delegated the day-to-day responsibility for the care and habilitation to the ICF/MR provider in the residential system—Symbral, in this case—MRDDA remained the agency legally responsible for Mr. Suggs. As such, Mr. Suggs's MRDDA case manager was responsible for overseeing all of the components of Mr. Suggs's individual habilitation plan (“IHP”), a written plan which detailed his strengths, weaknesses, and goals based on assessments by therapists, clinicians, and other health care professionals. The IHP is developed by the Inter–Disciplinary Team (“IDT”) comprised of clinicians such as a nurse, a speech and language pathologist, physical and occupational therapists, the MRDDA case manager, and the Symbral QMRP. Mr. Suggs's MRDDA case manager was required to coordinate and monitor the IHP and was responsible for approving the IHP document. Additionally, the case manager was responsible for following up on medical recommendations made in the IHP to ensure that Mr. Suggs received those services. If Mr. Suggs was not receiving services in accordance with his IHP, the case manager was expected to inform Symbral and the case manager's supervisor. Mr. Suggs's MRDDA case manager was required to visit him at least four times per year to carry out these responsibilities. Sarah Jenkins was Mr. Suggs's assigned MRDDA case manager until 1998, when she was replaced by Shireen Hodge.

While Mr. Suggs's MRDDA case manager oversaw all of the components of his IHP, the Symbral QMRP was responsible for implementing Mr. Suggs's IHP. The QMRP was required to attend the IDT meeting and write the IHP document for approval by Mr. Suggs's MRDDA case manager. The QMRP was also required to schedule medical appointments as recommended in the IHP.

In addition to the IDT who monitored Mr. Suggs's condition and care, a court hearing was held each year in the District of Columbia Superior Court to review Mr. Suggs's condition and continued residential placement. Mr. Suggs was also enrolled in a daycare program operated by United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), where he spent each weekday for observation and monitoring of his condition.

In the second half of the 1990s, Mr. Suggs experienced a precipitous loss of health, including a loss of motor function, increased weakness in his extremities, dehydration, decubitus ulcers, and incontinence. Mr. Suggs ultimately died on June 30, 2000 from paralysis of the diaphragm.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Summary Judgment

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party demonstrates that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, the trier of fact must view all facts, and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). In order to defeat summary judgment, a factual dispute must be capable of affecting the substantive outcome of the case and be supported by sufficiently admissible evidence that a reasonable trier of fact could find for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247–48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Laningham v. U.S. Navy, 813 F.2d 1236, 1242–43 (D.C.Cir.1987). “[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial[, and t]he moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

A party asserting that a fact cannot be genuinely disputed must support the assertion by showing that “an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). This subdivision of Rule 56 recognizes that “a party who does not have the trial burden of production may rely on a showing that a party who does have the trial burden cannot produce admissible evidence to carry its burden as to the fact.” Id., Note to 2009 Amendments. If facts are unavailable to the nonmovant, the nonmovant must show “by affidavit or declaration that, for specified reasons, it cannot present facts essential to justify its opposition.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(d).

B. Reconsideration

Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows this Court to modify interlocutory orders as justice requires. Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b); see also Hoffman v. District of Columbia, 681 F.Supp.2d 86, 90 (D.D.C.2010). “[A]sking ‘what...