Davis v. Norwegian American Hospital

Filing 4

ORDER directing plaintiff to file an amended complaint, on or before 6/19/2015, that provides the Court with sufficient information for the Court to determine whether it has personal jurisdiction over Defendant Norwegian American Hospital and whether venue is appropriate in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Failure to comply with this Order shall result in dismissal of this action pursuant to Local Rule 41.3A(2). Signed by Judge William S. Duffey, Jr on 5/21/2015. (adg)

the parties are citizens of different states and the damages being claimed exceed a
million dollars.” (Id.).
Plaintiff, in his Complaint, alleges that, on July 11, 2013, he experienced a
“stroke like event” and was taken to the emergency room at Norwegian American
Hospital (“Defendant”). (Complaint at 1). Plaintiff alleges that Defendant, upon
learning that Plaintiff did not have health insurance, refused to provide him with
any medical care but permitted him to stay in the waiting room overnight. (Id.).
Plaintiff alleges that, on July 12, 2013, Defendant forced Plaintiff, under threat of
arrest, to leave the hospital and to get into a van that took him to a homeless
shelter. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges further that he fell three times on the way to the
van, but Defendant still provided no treatment. (Id. at 1-2). Plaintiff alleges that
the van drove Plaintiff to a homeless shelter and left him. (Id. at 2). Plaintiff
contends that Defendant engaged in “medical dumping” by forcing him to go to a
homeless shelter instead of treating his injuries. (Id.). Plaintiff demands damages
in the amount of $25 million. (Id. at 2).
42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and
Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”), “was enacted to prevent ‘patient dumping,’ the
publicized practice of some hospitals turning away or transferring indigent patients
without evaluation or treatment.” Harry v. Marchant, 291 F.3d 767, 768 (11th Cir.

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2002). “Under EMTALA, when an individual presents for treatment at the
emergency department of a hospital, the hospital must provide an appropriate
medical screening to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists. If
an emergency medical condition is determined to exist, the hospital ordinarily must
provide stabilization treatment before transferring [or discharging] the patient.”
Id.2 To the extent that Plaintiff seeks to assert a claim pursuant to the EMTALA,
the Court has federal-question jurisdiction, and need not determine whether
Plaintiff and Defendant are citizens of different states. See 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (“The
district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the
Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.”).
Plaintiff, however, did not plead sufficient facts for the Court to determine if
it has personal jurisdiction over Defendant and whether venue is appropriate in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The Court notes
that Plaintiff does not allege where this incident occured, and the Court, in
searching for an entity named “Norwegian American Hospital,” has located only
one hospital, located in Chicago, Illinois.3 The Court thus assumes, based on the
allegations in the Complaint, that the incident occurred in Chicago, Illinois, and
2

18 U.S.C. § 2255 provides a civil cause of action for victims of childhood
sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse, and does not appear to be relevant
Plaintiff’s claims.
3
http://www.nahospital.org/index.php/contact-us
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that Defendant operates in Chicago, Illinois, and not in Georgia. The Court, thus,
requires further information regarding Defendant to determine whether Plaintiff’s
Complaint should be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).4
Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Larry D. Davis, Sr. shall file, on
or before June 19, 2015, an amended complaint that provides the Court with
sufficient information for the Court to determine whether it has personal
jurisdiction over Defendant Norwegian American Hospital and whether venue is
appropriate in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Failure to comply with this Order shall result in dismissal of this action pursuant to
Local Rule 41.3A(2).

SO ORDERED this 21st day of May, 2015.

_______________________________
WILLIAM S. DUFFEY, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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The Court notes further that Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to comply with Rule
10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, insofar as Plaintiff’s Complaint is not
broken into numbered paragraphs, “each limited as far as practicable to a single set
of circumstances.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(b).
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