Manuel Arreola v. Randy Grounds et al

Filing 35

ORDER re 8 Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. Signed by Judge James Donato on March 31, 2017. (jdlc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/31/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MANUEL ARREOLA,

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Plaintiff,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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ORDER RE MOTION FOR JUDGMENT
ON THE PLEADINGS

v.
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION,
et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 16-cv-03133-JD

Plaintiff Manuel Arreola has sued the California Department of Corrections and

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Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), Warden R. Grounds, Dr. R. Bright, Dr. Moon, Officer J. Lower-

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Brodersen, and Officer J. Cruz for claims arising out of medical care while he was incarcerated in

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the California state prison system. Dkt. No. 1-9. Each individual is sued in his official and

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individual capacity. Id. ¶ 9. Defendants have filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings for

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Arreola’s second cause of action, which alleges violations of Title II of the Americans with

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Disabilities Act (“ADA”) under 42 U.S.C. § 12132. Dkt. No. 8. The motion is granted with leave

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to amend.

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BACKGROUND
While the complaint is not entirely clear on a number of points, the salient allegations are

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that on July 10, 2013, Arreola went to the San Joaquin General Hospital for a “femoral-to-femoral

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arterial bypass” while housed at the Salinas Valley State Prison (“SVSP”). Dkt. No. 1-9 ¶ 14. A

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stent was placed inside his left femoral artery, “tunneled under his skin above his groin,” and

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connected to his right femoral artery. Id. The vascular surgeon instructed Arreola “not to bend at

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the waist … or do any activity that would constrict the blood flow to his right leg in the femoral

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area for at least three to four weeks.” Id.

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On July 19, 2013, Officers Cruz and Lower-Brodersen, Correctional Officers at SVSP,

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arrived at the hospital to drive Arreola back to prison in a passenger van. Id. ¶¶ 18, 20. Arreola

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told the officers that he needed transport in an ambulance, and that his surgeon had warned about

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severe complications if he did not comply with the movement restrictions. Id. ¶¶ 20-21. Officer

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Cruz said they “had not been given such orders,” and they made Arreola get in the van because

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they were “due back to work at 6:00 a.m. the following day.” Id. ¶¶ 20-25. Arreola was in a

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seated position for four hours before the group stopped, for some unexplained reason, at the

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Corcoran State Prison. Id. ¶¶ 25-26. During this time, the incision on his left leg reopened and he

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“developed a large, golf-ball-sized lump” under the incision on his right leg. Id. ¶ 26.

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At Corcoran, Arreola was taken to the prison infirmary and put on a gurney. Id. ¶ 27.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Officer Cruz then moved Arreola into a holding cell to wait for hospital staff. Id. ¶ 29. “Despite

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outward signs of pain and distress, [Arreola] was left to lie down on the concrete floor” of the

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holding cell until he was transferred to “the Acute Care Hospital.” Id. ¶¶ 30-31. Arreola went

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back to the San Joaquin General Hospital on July 23, 2013, in an ambulance. Id. ¶ 38.

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A few weeks later, Officers Molar and Johnson arrived at the hospital to return Arreola to

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SVSP. Id. ¶ 41. He again told the officers that he was “not supposed to sit up or bend at the waist

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for long periods at a time.” Id. After reviewing his records and transportation instructions, the

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officers found no transport restrictions noted and they transferred him in a regular vehicle. Id.

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Arreola was in a seated position for nine hours, and when he arrived at the prison, his “entire right

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leg was numb and swollen.” Id. ¶¶ 41-42. From September 2013 until his release from prison on

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August 14, 2014, his symptoms worsened and he developed “severe muscle stiffness and tightness

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in his right leg.” Id. ¶ 44. His right leg was amputated on June 30, 2015. Id. ¶ 46.

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Arreola filed this action pro se in Monterey County Superior Court in July 2014, while he

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was an inmate. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 1-9 ¶ 12. In December 2015, after being released from

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custody and retaining a lawyer, he filed an amended complaint for negligence. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 3;

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Dkt. No. 1-8. In May 2016, the Superior Court granted Arreola’s motion to file a second amended

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complaint and he amended to add claims for violations of the ADA and deliberate indifference to

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serious medical needs under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 1-9. On June 9, 2016,

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defendants removed the case to this court. Dkt. No. 1.

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In the current motion, all of the defendants seek dismissal of the ADA claim. Dkt. No. 8.

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That claim, however, is directed only to CDCR, Dkt. No. 1-9 at 13, and this order resolves the

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motion on that basis.

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LEGAL STANDARD

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A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c)

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challenges the legal sufficiency of the claims asserted in the complaint. “The principal difference

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between motions filed pursuant to Rule 12(b) and Rule 12(c) is the time of filing. Because the
motions are functionally identical, the same standard of review applicable to a Rule 12(b) motion

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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applies to its Rule 12(c) analog.” Dworkin v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 867 F.2d 1188, 1192 (9th

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Cir. 1989); see also Lyon v. Chase Bank USA, N.A., 656 F.3d 877, 883 (9th Cir. 2011). To survive

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a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible

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on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “A claim has facial

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plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable

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inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662,

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678 (2009). Judgment on the pleadings is therefore appropriate when, taking all the allegations in

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the complaint as true, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Dunlap v.

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Credit Prot. Ass’n, L.P., 419 F.3d 1011, 1012 n.1 (9th Cir. 2005).

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DISCUSSION

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The gravamen of the ADA claim is that the bypass left Arreola disabled within the

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meaning of the ADA and that CDCR discriminated against him “by failing to reasonably

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accommodate his disability during transportation and temporary housing on July 19, 2013.” Dkt.

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No. 1-9 ¶¶ 60, 76. Defendants urge dismissal of the ADA claim because Arreola’s “[t]emporary

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recovery from vascular surgery is not a qualifying disability” and because he has not alleged

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exclusion from services or discrimination on the basis of a disability. Dkt. No. 8 at 2-5.

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To state an ADA claim under Title II, Arreola must allege facts plausibly showing that:
(1) he is an individual with a disability, (2) he is otherwise qualified to participate in or receive the
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benefit of some public entity’s services, programs, or activities, (3) he was either excluded from

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participation in or denied the benefits of the public entity’s services, programs, or activities, or was

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otherwise discriminated against by the public entity, and (4) such exclusion, denial of benefits, or

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discrimination was by reason of his disability. McGary v. City of Portland, 386 F.3d 1259, 1265

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(9th Cir. 2004). A qualifying “disability” is “(A) a physical or mental impairment that

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substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an

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impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment.” 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1).

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Even assuming, purely for discussion and without actually holding, that Arreola had a
qualifying disability from the bypass and that CDCR is the responsible defendant, the complaint

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fails to allege that he was denied participation in prison programs or services for being disabled.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Arreola says that CDCR “knew of [his] disability” and should have provided reasonable care or

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accommodations on July 19, 2013, such as an ambulance for transport and a medical bed in the

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holding cell. Dkt. No. 1-9 ¶¶ 75-78. While these allegations might point to indifference or

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negligence, they do not show Arreola was discriminated against, or denied benefits, by reason of a

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disability. Weinreich v. L.A. Cty. Metro. Transp. Auth., 114 F.3d 976, 978-79 (9th Cir. 1997).

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“The ADA prohibits discrimination because of disability, not inadequate treatment for disability.”

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Simmons v. Navajo Cty., Ariz., 609 F.3d 1011, 1022 (9th Cir. 2010); see also Calloway v. Contra

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Costa Cty. Jail Corr. Officers, No. 01-cv-2689-SBA, 2007 WL 134581, at *34 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 16,

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2007) (ADA “not violated by a prison’s failure to adequately address the medical needs of

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disabled inmates”). Simply alleging a need for services is not enough. Arreola must plausibly

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allege that he was denied benefits or programs, or discriminated against, because of a disability.

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Consequently, the ADA claim is dismissed. Since this is Arreola’s first attempt to allege

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an ADA cause of action, he will have an opportunity to amend. For the guidance of the parties in

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the event this claim returns in a motion, CDCR should provide support for its position that the

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definition of a “qualifying disability” in the Armstrong Remedial Plan should control over the

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ADA’s statutory definition. See Dkt. No. 8 at 2-4; Dkt. No. 13 at 1-4. If Arreola chooses to

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amend, he should allege the time period when he was disabled and facts showing why CDCR is an

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appropriate public entity defendant for the ADA claim.
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Arreola may file an amended complaint on the ADA claim consistent with this order by

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April 20, 2017. No new claims or parties may be added. To the extent the parties still wish to

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postpone discovery, they may file another stipulation for the Court’s consideration.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 31, 2017

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JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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