Estate of Joseph Murphy v. State of Alaska, Department of Corrections et al
Filing
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ORDER granting 100 Motion for Court Approval of Settlement. Signed by Judge John W. Sedwick on 6/22/2020. (GMM, CHAMBERS STAFF)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF ALASKA
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ESTATE OF JOSEPH MURPHY,
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Plaintiff,
vs.
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STATE OF ALASKA, DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, et al.,
Defendants.
1:17-CV-00010 JWS
ORDER AND OPINION
[Re: Motion at docket 100]
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I. MOTION PRESENTED
At docket 100 plaintiff Estate of Joseph Murphy (the “Estate”) and Defendants
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State of Alaska, Department of Corrections (“DOC”), Michael Schramm (Schramm), and
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Robert Corcoran (Corcoran; collectively “the State”) jointly request court approval of
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their settlement and for an order permitting immediate disbursement of the settlement
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proceeds. Defendant Jill Robinson (“Robinson”), who was not a party to the settlement,
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opposes the motion at docket 117. The Estate replies at docket 120, and the State
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replies separately at docket 121. Oral argument was requested but would not be of
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assistance to the court.
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II. BACKGROUND
Joseph Murphy (“Murphy”) was sent to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center
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(“Lemon Creek”) from Bartlett Regional Hospital on August 13, 2015, to be temporarily
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detained for alcohol detoxification and suicide monitoring pursuant to AS 47.37.170.
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Early the next morning he complained to Robinson, a nurse at Lemon Creek, of chest
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pains and requested his medication. Plaintiff alleges that Robinson did not obtain
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Murphy’s medication and did not follow-up or monitor his condition. Plaintiff alleges that
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Murphy made two subsequent requests for medication to other Lemon Creek staff
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members but his requests went unheeded. According to Plaintiff, a Lemon Creek video
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shows Murphy collapsing in his cell twenty-six minutes after he first requested his
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medications from Robinson. He was declared dead about an hour later, after
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resuscitation efforts failed.
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The Estate filed suit, alleging various state law medical negligence claims and
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negligent training and supervision claims against the DOC. It brought § 1983 claims
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against Robinson, Schramm, and Corcoran individually, asserting they each violated
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Murphy’s Fourteenth Amendment Rights to Due Process by acting with deliberate
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indifference to his medical needs.
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On January 17, 2020, the Estate and the State successfully mediated and settled
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all of the Estate’s claims against the DOC, Schramm, and Corcoran—Counts 1-5 and
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Counts 7-8—for and in consideration of the total sum of $550,000 to be paid by the
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State to the Estate. This leaves only the § 1983 claim against Robinson, in Count 6, for
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trial. The State argues that it has no further duty of indemnification as to the claim
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against Robinson, because the Estate has conceded that this claim requires it to prove
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deliberate indifference, which is more than common law negligence and along the lines
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of reckless disregard. The State and Estate request that the court approve their
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settlement and order immediate distribution of the proceeds.
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Robinson opposes the request. She argues that the settlement inappropriately
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resolved claims on her behalf without her consent and that the State of Alaska violated
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certain duties owed to her under her employment contract. She also asserts that there
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are unresolved claims and compensation issues between the parties to this action
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which preclude settlement. She opposes any immediate disbursement of funds,
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arguing that disbursement runs counter to the state probate court’s order.
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III. DISCUSSION
Settlement approval
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Robinson asserts that the settlement should not be approved because the State
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did not have her consent to settle. As noted above, the State settled the claims against
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the DOC, which include the claims for medical recklessness and negligence in Counts 1
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and 3. She contends that Counts 1 and 3 against the DOC actually constitute claims
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against her because they are founded upon allegations of her conduct during her
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interaction with Murphy. A plain reading of the complaint, however, shows that these
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two claims were not, in fact, brought against Robinson. The named defendant for each
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of these counts is “State of Alaska, Department of Corrections.” It is the DOC that is
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alleged to have breached a duty of care owed to Murphy. The allegations asserted
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therein of course refer to Robinson’s actions—the DOC cannot act or fail to act in and of
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itself but rather can only operate through its employees. However, the reference to
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Robinson and her conduct does not make the claims individual ones against Robinson.
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Rather, they are standard employer vicarious liability claims brought solely against the
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DOC.
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The settlement releases the State of Alaska from “any and all” actions or claims
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arising out of the death of Murphy. The parties understand this to include any common
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law negligence claim that the Estate may have or will have against Robinson that could
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trigger indemnification obligations under Robinson’s employment contract. To fully
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effectuate the release, the Estate conceded that Count 6, the § 1983 “deliberate
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indifference” claim brought individually against Robinson, is not tantamount to a
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common law negligence claim under the applicable legal precedent and therefore does
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not trigger indemnity obligations under the employment contract.1 This agreement does
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not equate to an unauthorized settling of a medical malpractice claim against Robinson
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Doc. 101-1 at pp. 2-3.
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that must be reported under 42 U.S.C. § 11131(a).2 It simply affirms the understanding
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between the State and the Estate that there was never any medical negligence claim
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brought against Robinson and that there never will be. To be clear, the State believes
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that Robinson did not act outside the scope of her employment with deliberate
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indifference and stresses that the settlement does state otherwise.
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Robinson also asserts that the State cannot settle and leave her to defend the
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remaining § 1983 action without her co-defendants. The Estate and State however
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adequately persuade the court that there is no joint defense obligation or ethics violation
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preventing the settlement. Assistant Attorney General (“AAG”) Ali Moser Rahoi and
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AAG Aisha Tinker Bray, as well as their AAG predecessors in this case, never
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represented Robinson. They entered appearances on behalf of the DOC, Schramm,
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and Corcoran. Robinson had separate, independent counsel assigned to her from the
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Special Litigation Section within the Civil Division of the Alaska Attorney General’s
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Office. Robinson also retained private counsel to represent her, who has since
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assumed the role of lead counsel. The state AAG from the Special Litigation Section
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still represents her as co-counsel.3 Nothing in the record or applicable rules suggests
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that there is any conflict with this arrangement or that professional rules of conduct have
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been violated in relation to her representation or the settlement.4
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Robinson also argues that remaining indemnification issues prevent the Estate’s
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settlement. The argument is without merit. The indemnity provision of the applicable
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collective bargaining agreement limits coverage to certain types of claims, namely those
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for common law negligence occurring within the scope of employment. It states that the
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State of Alaska “will indemnify [Robinson] for a judgment or legal obligation if the
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judgment or legal obligation arose from [her] action within the scope of [her] office or
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See 42 U.S.C. § 11151(7) (defining the term “medical malpractice action or claim”).
Doc. 118-2.
See doc. 120 at pp. 9-10; doc. 121 at pp. 4-5.
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employment[.]”5 By definition, an employee can only act within the “scope of office or
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employment” when his or her conduct does not “constitute willful, reckless, or intentional
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misconduct, gross negligence, or malicious conduct.”6 The Estate’s § 1983 claim
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against Robinson falls outside the indemnity provision because it avers that she was
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deliberately indifferent, which, under the applicable case law, requires a plaintiff to
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“prove more than negligence but less than subjective intent—something akin to reckless
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disregard.”7 The Estate has acknowledged its heightened burden and conceded any
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argument to the contrary by explicitly releasing any potential claim it may have for
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common law negligence. The Estate is able to define its case as it wishes and has
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done so in a manner that makes it absolutely clear that its only remaining claim is the
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§ 1983 deliberate indifference claim against Robinson. In any event, as noted by the
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State, if a judgment is entered against Robinson that she believes is covered by the
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indemnity provision, she may assert her claim at that time. “Nothing in DOC’s
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settlement deprives [her] of her rights. The risk of judgment against Robinson for a
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covered claim requiring indemnification is entirely the State of Alaska’s risk.”8
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Robinson also contends that settlement is not proper because she has claims
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against the State. To the extent those claims are based on its failure to defend her
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adequately, there is no merit to such claims. Robinson has state-provided co-counsel in
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this case. The fact that she has retained private counsel to take the lead in her defense
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does not diminish the state provided one. It is not clear what additional claims she has
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against DOC or its attorneys, but any such claims are distinct from the settlement of the
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Estate’s claims against the DOC, Schramm, and Corcoran. Robinson “cannot be
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Doc. 101-2 at p. 28.
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Doc. 101-2 at pp. 28-29.
Gordon v. Cnty of Orange, 888 F.3d 1118, 1125 (9th Cir. 2018).
Doc. 121 at p. 10.
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permitted to prohibit settlement of co-defendants by threatening spurious litigation
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against their counsel.”9
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Immediate disbursement
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Robinson argues that the request for immediate disbursement of the settlement
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funds should be denied because it violates the probate court order that “all distributions”
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from the Estate should be put on hold until “the resolution of [this federal lawsuit] or until
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such time as the court can make a full determination of all costs and expenses as may
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be owed to [Robinson].”10 For the reasons set forth in the Estate’s briefing, the court
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concludes that immediate disbursement is warranted. The court is not restricted by the
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jurisdiction of the probate court to enter an order on the question of disbursement of
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settlement funds. Furthermore, there is no remaining dispute as to fees. The
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settlement resolves all claims against the DOC, Schramm, and Corcoran, as well as any
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issues of fees. The settlement does not resolve any claims against Robinson and thus
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she cannot be deemed a prevailing party for purposes of claiming attorneys’ fees from
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the proceeds. The sole claim remaining is a § 1983 claim, and Robinson can only
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recover attorneys’ fees on that claim in the “exceptional circumstance” where the court
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finds that the claim, at the time of filing, was “frivolous, unreasonable, or without
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foundation.”11 The court concludes that it was not. Therefore, Robinson has no
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potential claim to the settlement funds now owed to the Estate.
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IV. CONCLUSION
Based on the preceding discussion, the joint motion for approval of the
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settlement between the Estate and Defendants DOC, Schramm, and Corcoran is
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hereby GRANTED; all claims between these parties are dismissed in their entirety with
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Doc. 121 at p. 10.
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Doc. 119-1.
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Harris v. Maricopa Cnty. Superior Court, 631 F.3d 963, 986-69, 976 (9th Cir. 2011);
see also Braunstein v. Ariz. Dep’t of Transp., 683 F.3d 1177, 1187 (9th Cir. 2012).
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prejudice. The Estate’s further request for the immediate disbursement of settlement
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proceeds is GRANTED.
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DATED this 22nd day of June 2020.
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/s/ JOHN W. SEDWICK
SENIOR JUDGE. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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