Jones v. Cnty. of Fresno

1

ANNA M. JONES, individually and as mother and next of kin of ROBERT WAYNE JONES, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF FRESNO, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:23-cv-01636-KES-HBK

United States District Court, E.D. California

May 24, 2024

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT WELLPATH'S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF'S FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND DOC. 18

Defendant Wellpath moves to dismiss Plaintiff Anna M. Jones's First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) for lack of standing and failure to state a claim under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Doc. 18. The motion is fully briefed. See Docs. 19 (opposition), 20 (reply). For the reasons stated below, the Court grants the motion to dismiss for lack of standing, with leave to amend.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND^[1]

Plaintiff's son, Robert Wayne Jones, was born in 1981. FAC ¶ 8. As a young man, Mr. Jones enlisted in the Army and served for two years. Id. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Jones developed mental health issues due to his experience in the military. Id. In 2007, Mr. Jones was adjudicated to be a mentally disordered offender. Id. ¶ 9. He thereafter engaged in further unlawful activities while in mental health custody. Id. While in state mental hospital custody, Mr. Jones at all times required and received antipsychotic medication due to the severity of his condition. Id. In June 2022, Mr. Jones was involved in an incident at Coalinga State Hospital that resulted in new criminal charges, and he was transferred to the Fresno County jail for that prosecution. Id. ¶ 10.

Mr. Jones arrived at the Fresno County jail on June 20, 2022. Id. Defendant Wellpath is a medical institutional provider and employed and/or contracted for the individual mental health and medical providers who attended to, or were supposed to attend to, Mr. Jones while he was a prisoner at the Fresno County jail. Id. ¶ 6. After Mr. Jones arrived at the Fresno County jail, Wellpath and the other defendants never provided Mr. Jones with his antipsychotic medication, which resulted in the steady worsening of his condition. Id. ¶¶ 10, 21.

During Mr. Jones' criminal proceedings in Fresno County, the state court ordered on August 16, 2022, that Mr. Jones be examined by a local psychiatrist for the purpose of determining his competency. Id. ¶ 11. The court also ordered that Mr. Jones be given antipsychotic medication. Id. On September 16, 2022, the psychiatrist found Mr. Jones to be incompetent. Id. ¶ 12. On October 21, 2022, the state court authorized Mr. Jones' involuntary medication, finding that he presented a risk of self harm. Id. ¶ 13. The court also ordered that he be sent to a state mental hospital rather than remain in the Fresno County jail. Id. The minutes of the October 21 hearing reflect that Mr. Jones mentioned a desire to harm himself and stated he wanted to die by lethal injection. Id. In early November 2022, Mr. Jones attempted to hang himself with a blanket. Id. ¶ 14. This was approximately two weeks before his death. Id. On November 14, 2022, the state court ordered Mr. Jones to be transported to a state mental health facility, stating that it was probable Mr. Jones would suffer serious harm to his physical and/or mental health if he did not receive appropriate antipsychotic medication. Id. ¶¶ 15- 16.

Copies of the state court's orders were timely relayed to the Fresno County jail and to personnel of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Id. ¶ 17. Plaintiff alleges that Wellpath, Fresno County, and the other Defendants were on actual or constructive notice of Mr. Jones's serious medical needs and were aware that Mr. Jones had a 20-plus year history of mental illness and confirmed mental health diagnoses and required potent antipsychotic medications for his own safety. Id. ¶¶ 17-18. Plaintiff further alleges that the defendants were aware that Mr. Jones had attempted to hang himself in the jail in early November 2022 and was therefore being housed separately, and that it was obvious to any reasonably trained corrections officer or mental health or medical provider that Mr. Jones was severely mentally ill and required medication. Id. Wellpath was on actual or constructive notice of these facts regarding Mr. Jones, and owed him a duty, yet failed to take steps to provide competent mental health and medical care to him. Id. ¶¶ 21, 45-47. Plaintiff alleges that any reasonably competent institutional or individual mental health or medical provider with responsibility for examining or monitoring Mr. Jones would have known that he urgently needed antipsychotic medication for his safety and well-being. Id.

Early on November 22, 2022, Mr. Jones suffocated himself by ingesting and blocking his airway with plastic bags that Fresno County correctional officers had provided to him, apparently in connection with his daily meal deliveries. Id. ¶¶ 19-20. As of the date of his suicide, Mr. Jones had been in the county jail for 134 days, and notwithstanding the state court's orders, defendants had never provided him with any antipsychotic medication or treatment. Id. ¶¶ 16, 21.

Plaintiff alleges that she and other heirs of Mr. Jones have suffered losses due to the death of Mr. Jones, their son and brother. Id. ¶ 23. As to defendant Wellpath, Plaintiff brings claims for medical negligence under California Civil Code section 1714, and wrongful death under California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 et seq. See FAC at 9-10 (Doc. 7). Wellpath moves to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) for lack of standing and failure to state a claim.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Rule 12(b)(1)

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), a party may move to dismiss a claim based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction, including the absence of standing. Chandler v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 598 F.3d 1115, 1123 (9th Cir. 2010). A Rule 12(b)(1) challenge to jurisdiction may be facial or factual. Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9^th Cir. 2004).

Wellpath's motion to dismiss is facial; Wellpath asserts that the complaint's allegations fail to establish Plaintiff's standing. See generally Doc. 18. As a result, a presumption of truthfulness attaches to the allegations in the complaint, and the court is limited to the four corners of the pleading in determining whether it has jurisdiction over the matter. ThornhillPubl'g Co. v. Gen. Tel. Elec., 594 F.2d 730, 733 (9th Cir. 1979). To survive a Rule 12(b)(1) facial challenge, “the plaintiff must ‘clearly ... allege facts demonstrating' each element [of standing].” Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016) (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 518 (1975)).

B. Rule 12(b)(6)

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) tests the legal sufficiency of a complaint. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). Rule 8(a) requires that a pleading contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677-78 (2009). Under federal notice pleading standards, the complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal citation and quotations omitted). “This simplified notice pleading standard relies on liberal discovery rules and summary judgment motions to define disputed facts and issues and to dispose of unmeritorious claims.” Swierkiewicz v. SoremaN.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002).

On a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the factual allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true. Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 (1972). A court must give the plaintiff the benefit of every reasonable inference to be drawn from the “well-pleaded” allegations of the complaint. Retail ClerksInt'lAss'n v. Schermerhorn, 373 U.S. 746, 753 n.6 (1963). A plaintiff need not allege “‘specific facts' beyond those necessary to state his claim and the grounds showing entitlement to relief.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570 (internal citation omitted).

If a court dismisses a complaint for failure to state a claim, it should “freely give leave” to amend “when justice so requires.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). The “underlying purpose of Rule 15 [is] to facilitate decisions on the merits, rather than on the pleadings or technicalities.” Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (cleaned up). However, a court has discretion to deny leave to amend due to “undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendment previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, [or] futility of amendment.” Leadsinger, Inc. v. BMG Music Pub., 512 F.3d 522, 532 (9th Cir. 2008).

III. ANALYSIS

Wellpath asserts that Plaintiff does not have standing to bring either a medical negligence or wrongful death claim. Doc. 18 at 9. Plaintiff contends she is the proper party to bring both claims. Doc. 19 at 7. Under Rule 17(b)(1), capacity to sue is determined by state law.

A. Medical Negligence Claim

To the extent that Plaintiff asserts a medical negligence claim on behalf of Mr. Jones, she brings a survival action on behalf of his estate and must plead the appropriate standing requirements. “Under California law, if an injury giving rise to liability occurs before a decedent's death, then the claim survives to the decedent's estate.” Tatum v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 441 F.3d 1090, 1093 n.2 (9th Cir. 2006); see also Davis v. Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., 27 F.3d 426, 429 (9th Cir. 1994) (“In a survival action, a decedent's estate may recover damages on...