Wilcoxen v. Aramark Correctional Services LLC et al
Filing
61
OPINION entered by Judge Sue E. Myerscough on 2/17/2017. The motions for summary judgment by Defendants are denied 41 and 50 , with leave to renew 30 days after the settlement conference is held, if no settlement is reached. This case is referred to the Magistrate Judge for a settlement conference. (MAS, ilcd)
E-FILED
Friday, 17 February, 2017 10:37:08 AM
Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
RICKY A. WILCOXEN,
Plaintiff,
v.
STEVE DREDGE, et al.,
Defendants.
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11-CV-3339
OPINION
SUE E. MYERSCOUGH, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiff proceeds pro se from his detention in the Rushville
Treatment and Detention Center pursuant to the Illinois Sexually
Violent Persons Act. He pursues a constitutional claim that the
facility provided him inedible food by serving mechanically
separated chicken which arrived in boxes marked “for further
processing only.” He also pursues a constitutional claim arising
from the alleged unsanitary food storage, preparation, and serving
practices at the facility.
Before the Court are Defendants’ motions for summary
judgment. The motions are denied with leave to renew because the
Court needs more information and briefing.
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Background
On December 20, 2010, four residents detained in the
Rushville Treatment and Detention Center filed a purported class
action challenging, as is relevant to this case, the serving of
mechanically separated chicken from boxes marked “for further
processing only.” Smego v. Ill. Dept. of Human Serv., 10cv3334
(C.D. Ill.). On June 2, 2011, the plaintiffs’ motion for class
certification in that case was denied because they were pro se.
(10cv3334, d/e 43, p. 2.) A flood ensued of over 60 additional cases
filed by some 80 other residents regarding the same issues.
The additional plaintiffs were joined into the original case, and
Plaintiff Richard Smego was designated as spokesperson. Id. d/e
336. The Court was eventually able to recruit pro bono counsel,
but only for the plaintiffs in the original case. The claims of the rest
of the plaintiffs were severed and stayed, with the hopes that the
resolution of the original case might resolve the other cases or help
guide the Court in resolving the other cases.
Summary judgment was denied in the original case, and then
the original case settled in July 2014. Part of the settlement was an
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agreement that the mechanically separated chicken labeled “for
further processing only” would no longer be served at the facility.
After the original case settled, the plaintiffs in the other cases
were given an opportunity to file an amended complaint if they still
wished to proceed with their claims. Six of those cases remain,
including this one, which is now at the summary judgment stage.
Legal Standard Applicable to Civil Detainee’s Claim
The Fourteenth Amendment due process clause governs rather
than the Eighth Amendment because Plaintiff is a civil detainee, not
a prisoner serving a sentence. The Supreme Court stated in
Youngberg v. Romeo that "[p]ersons who have been involuntarily
committed are entitled to more considerate treatment and
conditions of confinement than criminals whose conditions of
confinement are designed to punish." 457 U.S. 307, 322 (1982).
This difference was reiterated by the Seventh Circuit in Hughes v.
Scott, 816 F.3d 955, 956 (7th Cir. 2016); see also McGee v. Adams,
721 F.3d 474, 480 (7th Cir. 2013)(citing Youngberg but noting that
“the Supreme Court has not determined how much additional
protection civil detainees are entitled to beyond the protections
afforded by the Eighth Amendment bar on cruel and unusual
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punishment.”); Rice ex rel. Rice v. Correctional Medical Services,
675 F.3d 650, 664 (7th Cir. 2012)( "[T]he Supreme Court has not
yet determined just how much additional protection the Fourteenth
Amendment gives to pretrial detainees.").
In application, the Fourteenth Amendment standard thus far
appears indistinguishable from the Eighth Amendment standard on
conditions of confinement claims. For example, the Seventh Circuit
has stated that a conditions of confinement claim by a civil detainee
requires an objectively serious deprivation and deliberate
indifference by the defendant. Sain v. Wood, 512 F.3d 886, 894
(7th Cir. 2008). This is the same standard governing an Eighth
Amendment conditions of confinement claim by a prisoner. The
Seventh Circuit more recently confirmed in Smith v. Dart, 803 F.3d
304, 310 (7th Cir. 2015), that “[w]e have held that there is little
practical difference, if any, between the standards applicable to
pretrial detainees and convicted inmates when it comes to
conditions of confinement claims, and that such claims brought
under the Fourteenth Amendment are appropriately analyzed under
the Eighth Amendment test.”
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However, the Seventh Circuit has also recently acknowledged
the difficulty of defining the legal standard applicable to detainees,
noting the “shifting sands of present day case authority.” Werner v.
Wall, 836 F.3d 751, 759 (7th Cir. 2016). In Smith v. Dart, even
though confirming the appropriateness of relying on Eighth
Amendment cases, the Seventh Circuit stated in dicta that the
subjective element requires a “‘purposeful, a knowing, or a possibly
reckless state of mind,’” arguably a lower hurdle than deliberate
indifference. 803 F.3d 304 n. 2 (quoted cite omitted). That dicta
was ultimately referring to the Supreme Court case of Kingsley v.
Hendrickson, 135 S.Ct. 2466, 2473 (2015), which held that a
defendant’s subjective state of mind in a pretrial detainee’s
excessive force claim was relevant only to the extent that the
defendant’s actions were “purposeful or knowing.” After Kingsley,
though, the Seventh Circuit has continued to rely on the deliberate
indifference standard to pretrial detainees’ claims for lack of
medical care. See, e.g., Daniel v. Cook County, 833 F.3d 728, 73233 (2016).
This case may require the Court determine what “additional
protections” are afforded a civil detainee as compared to a prisoner
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in relation to conditions of confinement. The question might be
avoided as to the Defendants employed by the State if they are
entitled to qualified immunity, but Defendant Dredge, an employee
of a private contractor, does not appear to be entitled to assert
qualified immunity. Zaya v. Sood, 836 F.3d 800, 807 (7th Cir.
2016)(“The Supreme Court has held that employees of privately
operated prisons may not assert a qualified-immunity defense. . . .
We have construed that holding to extend to employees of private
corporations that contract with the state to provide medical care for
prison inmates.)(citations omitted). Defendants will be directed to
address this issue in more detail in their renewed motions for
summary judgment, addressing not only cases in this Circuit but
also any cases on point in other Circuits.
Summary Judgment Motions
At the summary judgment stage, evidence is viewed in the
light most favorable to the nonmovant, with material factual
disputes resolved in the nonmovant's favor. Anderson v. Liberty
Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A genuine dispute of
material fact exists when a reasonable juror could find for the
nonmovant. Id.
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Plaintiff testified in his deposition that he twice ate the
mechanically separated chicken marked “for further processing
only,” which smelled like “wet chicken coop,” each time
experiencing stomach cramps about 20 minutes later and
ultimately vomiting. (Pl.’s Dep. 39, 40, 42, 66.) Plaintiff was
sometimes able to eat the product, though, without problem, and
he also testified that he could not be certain exactly what caused
the reaction he had, and he lost no weight. (Pl.’s Dep. 36, 44, 56.)
Plaintiff also testified in his deposition that the food trays are
frequently not properly washed and dried, that he saw bugs on the
trays of other residents twice, that the trays are wet, that food
which is supposed to be hot is often cold, and that the trays are
stacked on top of each other when delivered, with only the top tray
covered with a lid. (Pl.’s Dep. 47-49.)
Before determining whether a jury trial is necessary, the Court
needs more information on the division of responsibilities between
DHS and Aramark regarding the food service. Additionally, the
Court needs more information on the procedures, training, and
supervision in place to ensure that food is prepared, served, and
stored in a sanitary manner. The Court also needs extensive
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briefing on the legal standard debate discussed above. Defendants
will be given an opportunity to renew their motions with this
information.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) This case is referred to the Magistrate for a settlement
conference.
(2) The motions for summary judgment by Defendants are
denied (41, 50), with leave to renew 30 days after the settlement
conference is held, if no settlement is reached.
(3) The clerk is directed to notify the Magistrate Judge of
the referral.
(4) The clerk is directed to send Plaintiff a copy of Local
Rule 7.1(D).
ENTER:
February 17, 2017
FOR THE COURT:
s/Sue E. Myerscough
SUE E. MYERSCOUGH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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