Vega v. Fox, 05 Civ. 2286(SAS).

457 F.Supp.2d 172

Felix VEGA, Plaintiff, v. Larry FOX, individually, and as a caseworker with YASL (Young Adult Supportive Living Program) of August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; Paul Green, individually, and as Site Supervisor with YASL of the August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; Mr. "John" Washington, individually, and as caseworker with YASL of the August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; Michael Pawel, individually, and as Director of August Aichorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; Carmen L. Torres, individually, and as Administrative Director of YASL of August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; Roger Younger, individually, and as Case Manager of YASL of August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc.; William Bell, individually, and as Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York; Sarah Logunleko, individually, and as caseworker for the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York; Olga Kolmanovsky, individually, and as caseworker with the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York; Maria Santiago, individually, and as the caseworker for the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York; Jeffrey Anderson, individually, and as supervisor for the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York; City of New York; Naomi Vallon, individually, and as Coordinator of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services; Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Inc., Defendants.

No. 05 Civ. 2286(SAS).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

February 21, 2006.

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Bruce A. Young, Law Office of Bruce A. Young, New York City, for Felix Vega, Plaintiff.

Edward Louis Owen, III, Nicoletti, Gonson & Spinner, LLP, New York City, for Larry Fox, individually, Paul Green, individually, Mr. "John" Washington, individually, Michael Pawel, individually, Carmen L. Torres, individually, Roger Younger, individually, August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc., Defendants.

Kimberly Dorothy Conway, New York City Law Depart. Office of the Corporation Counsel, New York City, for William Bell, individually, Sarah Logan-Laco, individually, Olga Kolmanodsky, individually, Marie Santiago, individually, City of New York, Defendants.

Frank J. Wenick, Wenick & Finger, P.C, New York City, for Jeffrey Anderson, individually, Jeffrey Anderson, as Supervisor for the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York, Naomi Vallon, individually, Naomi Vallon, as Coordinator of Independent Living After Care Services of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Jewish Board of Family and Children Services, Inc., Cross Claimants.

Edward Louis Owen, III, Nicoletti, Gonson & Spinner, LLP, New York City, for Michael Pawel, individually, Carmen L. Torres, individually, Roger Younger, individually, August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc., Larry Fox, individually, Paul Green, individually, Mr. "John" Washington, individually, Cross Defendants.

Edward Louis Owen, III, Nicoletti, Gonson & Spinner, LLP, New York City, for Michael Pawel, individually, Carmen L. Torres, individually, Roger Younger, individually, August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc., Larry Fox individually, Paul Green, individually, Mr. "John" Washington, individually, Cross Claimants.

Kimberly Dorothy Conway, New York City Law Depart. Office of the Corporation Counsel, New York City, for Olga Kolmanodsky, individually, Marie Santiago, individually, William Bell, as Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York, Olga Kolmanodsky, as caseworker for the Administration for Children's Services of the City of New York, Marie Santiago, as caseworker for the Administration for Children's Sendees of the City of New York, Cross Claimants.

OPINION AND ORDER

SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

In order to state a cause of action under section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code ("section 1983"), a plaintiff must show that the conduct complained of was committed by a person acting under color of law. This case presents the thorny issue of whether a private entity and its employees may be acting under color of state law in providing services to a young adult remaining in foster care after his eighteenth birthday, where that entity is not directly controlled by the state. Because a private entity's management or control may still be entwined with government, and because private actors have been delegated the public function of caring for mentally disabled, abused, or neglected young adults, they are not automatically immune from constitutional liability.

The claims in this litigation arise from an incident that occurred in December 2003 at the August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care's Young Adult Supportive Living Program ("YASL"). The incident involved Felix Vega and Joseph Quinones, both residents of the YASL. On February 23, 2005, Vega brought the instant suit, alleging constitutional violations and negligence. Several defendants filed cross-claims in response to his allegations.

August Aichhorn Center for Adult Residential Care, Inc. ("Aichhorn"), Michael Pawel (Director of Aichhorn), Lawrence Fox and Manengo Washington (caseworkers with the YASL), Paul Green (supervisor with the YASL), Carmen Torres (YASL Administrative Director), and Roger Younger (YASL Case Manager) (collectively "Aichhorn Defendants") now move for summary judgment with respect to the Complaint and all cross-claims. Aichhorn Defendants argue that the claims against them should be dismissed as a matter of law because they were not acting under color of state law and they owed no duty to Vega.¹ For the following reasons, the motion is denied.

II. BACKGROUND

In reviewing the evidence for the purpose of this motion, all reasonable inferences have been drawn in the plaintiffs favor.²

A. Aichhorn

Aichhorn is a not-for-profit corporation that was organized in 1977.³ It has three programs that are all supervised by the same board of directors: the Residential Treatment Facility ("RTF"), the Aichhorn School, and the YASL.⁴ The annual budget for the entire organization in 2003 was approximately five million dollars.⁵ More than ninety-nine percent of this funding comes from government sources.⁶ According to the founder and Executive Director, "[t]he vast majority of [Aichhorn's funding] is Medicaid per diem payments to the residential people of the facility. The next largest amount [is] reimbursement for educational costs from the State Education Department."⁷ Most of the remaining funds consist of grants from the New York State Office of Mental Health ("OMH") for operation of the YASL.⁸

The RTF, which opened in 1991, is a long-term psychiatric treatment facility for teenagers, with thirty-two beds.⁹ It is funded by Medicaid and accredited by the Joint Commission For Youth Accreditation Health Care Organizations.¹⁰ Residents must be referred by the New York City Pre-Admission Certification Committee ("PACC"),¹¹ which is operated by the New York State OMH.¹² The OMH was the source of capital funding and loan funds for the construction of the Aichhorn RTF.¹³ It also inspects and licenses the RTF, provides supportive services, and generally oversees its operation.¹⁴

The YASL began operations in 1998.¹⁵ It is described on the Aichhorn website as follows:

The YASL is a co-educational supported living `home' with 12 beds intended for young men and women (roughly 18 to 25) who have spent extended parts of their adolescence in congregate care settings (generally foster care or psychiatric facilities). It is located in a small brownstone on a rapidly `gentrifying' residential block. It was developed, with support from the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), in response to the difficulties that many `graduates' of the RTF program found in making the transition from the highly nurturing and protected program in which they had `grown up' to the completely unstructured life of `adults' with little or no family support....

The YASL is considerably less closely structured than the RTF. It is not a licensed or accredited treatment program, but it does provide 24-hour onsite staff supervision, and extensive individual case management and counseling] services.¹⁶

The case management and counseling services provided at the YASL include concrete assistance "in such activities as getting up in the morning, making an appropriate appearance ..., budgeting personal funds, shopping, cooking washing clothes ..., [and] attendance at medical appointments or other kinds of treatment services," among other things.¹⁷ The YASL receives "lump sum funding for supportive services" from the OMH four times a year—the checks are made out to Aichhorn.¹⁸

About half of YASL residents are admitted directly from Aichhorn's RTF, and half from outside referrals.¹⁹ Residents must have some means of paying a subsidized rent and meeting their own living expenses.²⁰ Most YASL residents are eligible for Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") benefits, in which case they are required to designate Aichhorn as their representative payee.²¹ Aichhorn receives and deposits the SSI checks and maintains an account for each resident.²² Thirty percent of each SSI payment is withdrawn and spent as a rent payment to the YASL—this rate is set by government regulation as "an appropriate contribution that residents should be making toward their maintenance."²³ Other withdrawals from the residents' accounts are made in consultation with YASL case managers, who help the residents budget and manage their expenditures.²⁴

B. Plaintiffs Claim

Felix Vega has been in the New York City foster care system since he was seven years old.²⁵ On June...