Thomas v. Corizon Medical et al

Filing 22

MEMORANDUM DECISION - Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (cjs)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO
SANDRA THOMAS
Plaintiff,
Case No. 4:14-CV-464-BLW
v.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
CORIZON MEDICAL, DR. GILBERT,
PA MALOOLY, MRS. THOMAS,
BRENT REINKE, and RENEE JAMES
Defendants.
Plaintiff Thomas, an inmate at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, filed
this action under § 1983 alleging that jail officials and medical providers were
deliberately indifferent to her stomach pains while she was imprisoned. She sued
Corizon Medical, Dr. Robert Gilbert, Leanne Malooly NP, Kimberly Thomas, Brent
Reinke and Renee James. Defendants Reinke and James were dismissed in an earlier
decision. See Initial Review Order (Dkt. No. 7).
The remaining defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on April 8, 2016.
The Court allowed the parties to do discovery and set a deadline for the plaintiff to file a
responsive brief on July 11, 2016. Since that date, the Clerk of the Court has attempted
on three occasions to mail material to Thomas but the mail has been returned as
undeliverable. Thomas has never filed a response to the motion for summary judgment
or filed anything in this case since filing the complaint in October of 2014.

The summary judgment motion and supporting documents establish that Thomas
failed to exhaust the grievance procedure set up by the jail. Exhaustion is a mandatory
requirement for filing a § 1983 action, and defendants’ showing shifts the burden to
Thomas to rebut that showing. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81,
85 (2006). She has failed to carry her burden. Following an independent examination of
the motion for summary judgment, the Court finds that it should be granted. The Court
will grant the motion in a separate Judgment.

DATED: December 12, 2016

_________________________
B. Lynn Winmill
Chief Judge
United States District Court