Waltrip v. Shah et al
Filing
66
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS: For the reasons set forth in the attached Memorandum and Order, the R&R submitted by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Williams 62 is ADOPTED in full. The summary judgment motions filed by Defendants Sha h, Wexford, and Spiller (Docs. 34 and 35 ) are GRANTED. Plaintiff's claims against Shah, Wexford, and Spiller are DISMISSED with prejudice, and the Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate them from the docket. By contrast, the case remains active as to Defendant Els. Signed by Chief Judge Michael J. Reagan on 8/1/2017. (rah)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
FRANK WALTRIP, K02188,
Plaintiff,
vs.
VIPIN SHAH,
THOMAS SPILLER,
DENNIS ELS, and
WEXFORD HEALTH SOURCES, INC.,
Defendants.
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Case No. 16–cv–0468–MJR–SCW
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
REAGAN, Chief District Judge:
This matter is now before the Court on a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”)
submitted by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Williams, recommending that this Court
grant summary judgment in favor of Defendants Shah, Spiller, and Wexford Health
Source, Inc. (“Wexford”) (Doc. 62). The underlying case is a Section 1983 civil rights
suit against the Defendants regarding care Plaintiff received for an eye injury at
Pinckneyville Correctional Center (“Pinckneyville”).
Magistrate Judge Williams
conducted an evidentiary hearing prior to issuing his R&R to assess the weight and
credibility of the evidence regarding Plaintiff’s exhaustion of administrative remedies
for his medical needs, and additional evidence was also submitted to the Court at
Magistrate Williams’ request (Doc. 60). In the R&R, Magistrate Judge Williams found
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that Plaintiff was not credible, and that Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative
remedies.
Plaintiff filed a timely objection to the R&R (Doc. 65).
The R&R and
Plaintiff’s objection are now before the Court for consideration.
For the reasons explained below, the undersigned overrules Plaintiff’s objections,
adopts in full Judge Williams’ R&R, and grants summary judgment to Defendants Shah,
Spiller, and Wexford.
PROCEDURAL & FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff alleges that on July 14, 2014, he sustained an eye injury during a
basketball game at Pinckneyville (Doc. 1 at 6-7). Shortly after the injury occurred,
Plaintiff saw doctor Vipin Shah, who examined his eye and directed him to drink more
water (Id.). Shah later prescribed eye drops, though Plaintiff claims the drops did not
help (Id.).
Later, Plaintiff saw Pinckneyville’s eye doctor, Dennis Els, who also
prescribed ineffective eye drops. Plaintiff complained of pain and nausea to no avail
(Id.). He also experienced a visual impairment or a loss of vision in the injured eye (Id.).
Finally, on September 16, 2014, he saw an outside optometrist, who recommended
sunglasses and/or follow-up care, but neither of these measures was taken (Id.).
Plaintiff alleges that he informed Defendant Spiller of his injury and was told to “man
up.” (Id).
Along with his complaint, Plaintiff submitted a copy of a grievance dated
October 22, 2014, which reflected a response from Pinckneyville on December 14, 2014
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(Doc. 1 at 26-27). In the grievance, Plaintiff expressed dissatisfaction with the care he
received for his eye from Defendant Els (Id.). Plaintiff also appended an emergency
grievance dated June 4, 2015, which reflected a response denying emergency status
from Pinckneyville on the same date (Id. at 29-30). The emergency grievance reiterated
Plaintiff’s belief that he was not receiving adequate care from Defendants Els and Shah,
but made no mention of Defendants Spiller or Wexford (Id.). At the Pavey hearing,
Plaintiff testified that he submitted additional grievances regarding his eye care, to no
avail. He also provided testimony about the dates and methods of submission he used
for these two grievances and additional grievances, which Magistrate Judge Williams
ultimately characterized as conflicting with Plaintiff’s own prior submissions and
Defendants’ records (Doc. 62 at 14-17).
In support of their assertion that Plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative
remedies, Defendants supplied the Court with testimony, grievance logs, and an
affidavit from a grievance counselor at Pinckneyville.
The logs and grievance
counseling documentation reflect Plaintiff’s October 22, 2014 grievance, but they do not
indicate that Plaintiff ever submitted this grievance to the Administrative Review Board
(“ARB”). The logs also do not reflect that Plaintiff ever submitted his June 4, 2015
grievance thru normal grievance channels once it was deemed a non-emergency.
Magistrate Judge Williams took care to note that Pinckneyville’s grievance log
record-keeping was disconcerting, but ultimately found that despite the procedural
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infirmities, the records were sufficient to support a finding that Plaintiff did not exhaust
his alleged grievances as to Defendants Shah, Wexford, or Spiller. Thus, Magistrate
Judge Williams recommended that the undersigned grant summary judgment for
failure to exhaust as to those three Defendants (Doc. 62 at 19).
Plaintiff objected to the recommendation, alleging that Magistrate Judge
Williams should not make credibility determinations or resolve factual conflicts at the
summary judgment phase (Doc. 65). Additionally, he contended that Magistrate Judge
Williams’ recommendation was incorrect because Pinckneyville’s record-keeping was
poor and unreliable.
The R&R is now before the Court for a ruling.
LEGAL STANDARDS
When a party timely objects to a magistrate judge’s R&R, the district court—
giving deference to the magistrate judge’s findings of fact and credibility
determinations as noted below—must undertake de novo review of the portions to
which an objection has been made. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).
As an inmate, Plaintiff’s lawsuit is governed by the PLRA, which requires a
prisoner to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing suit. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. In
Illinois, the grievance process requires a prisoner to speak with his counselor, file a
written grievance, and then appeal that grievance through the institutional and state
levels. 20 Ill. Admin. Code §§ 504.810–850. Though the Seventh Circuit requires strict
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adherence to the PLRA’s exhaustion requirement, Dole v. Chandler, 438 F.3d 804, 809
(7th Cir. 2006), the PLRA’s plain language is clear: an inmate must exhaust only those
administrative remedies that are available to him, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Administrative
remedies become “unavailable” when prison officials fail to respond to a properly filed
inmate grievance, Lewis v. Washington, 300 F.3d 829, 833 (7th Cir. 2002), or, when
prison employees thwart a prisoner from exhausting, Dole, 438 F.3d at 809.
In Pavey v. Conley (Pavey I), the Seventh Circuit set forth the procedures for
tackling the exhaustion issue. The first step is for the judge to conduct “a hearing on
exhaustion and [permit] whatever discovery relating to exhaustion he deems
appropriate.” Pavey I, 544 F.3d 739, 742 (7th Cir. 2008). Upon conducting the hearing,
a court may credit the testimony of one witness over another. See Pavey v. Conley
(Pavey II), 663 F.3d 899, 904 (7th Cir. 2011) (affirming the factual findings of a
magistrate judge, whose R&R included factual findings that plaintiff was not
credible). Thus, unlike other summary judgment motions, the very purpose of Pavey I
is to allow a judge to resolve swearing contests between litigants on the limited issue of
exhaustion of administrative remedies. See Pavey I, 544 F.3d at 741 (“Juries decide
cases, not issues of judicial traffic control.”).
determinations are afforded great deference.
A magistrate judge’s credibility
Pavey II, 663 F.3d at 904; see also
Goffman v. Gross, 59 F.3d 668, 671 (7th Cir. 1995) (“[D]e novo determination is not the
same as a de novo hearing. The district court is not required to conduct another
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hearing to review the magistrate judge’s findings or credibility determinations.”)
(emphasis added).
ANALYSIS
Here, Plaintiff asserts that he filed two grievances regarding the care he received
for an eye injury—one on October 22, 2014 (via normal channels), and, one on June 4,
2015 (as an emergency grievance). He claims that he submitted the October grievance
to the ARB, and that he resubmitted the June 2015 grievance thru normal channels once
emergency status was denied.
However, Magistrate Judge Williams found the
Plaintiff’s testimony inconsistent and lacking credibility.
In objection to the R&R,
Plaintiff argues that Magistrate Judge Williams should not make credibility
determinations at the summary judgment phase, but Pavey II clearly indicates that this
is precisely the purpose of the Pavey/exhaustion phase of prisoner litigation. See Pavey
II, 663 F.3d at 904.
Plaintiff does not point to any information persuading the
undersigned that Magistrate Judge Williams’ credibility determinations were erroneous
or unsupported. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s objections to the R&R are denied, and the R&R
is adopted in full.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the R&R submitted by Magistrate Judge Stephen C.
Williams (Doc. 62) is ADOPTED in full. The summary judgment motions filed by
Defendants Shah, Wexford, and Spiller (Docs. 34 and 35) are GRANTED. Plaintiff’s
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claims against Shah, Wexford, and Spiller are DISMISSED with prejudice, and the
Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate them from the docket. By contrast, the case remains
active as to Defendant Els.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: August 1, 2017
s/ Michael J. Reagan
MICHAEL J. REAGAN
United States District Judge
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