EDWARDS v. STATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS et al
Filing
109
MEMORANDUM OPINION filed. Signed by Judge Michael A. Shipp on 12/13/2012. (eaj)
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
ROBERT LEE EDWARDS,
Civil Action No. 09-3979 (MAS)
Plaintiff,
v.
CORRECTIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES, :
INC., et al.,
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Defendants.
SHIPP, District Judge
This matter comes before the Court upon Defendants Corizon, Inc., f/k/a Correctional
Medical Services, Inc. ("CMS"), Dr. Allan Martin ("Martin"), and David Meeker's ("Meeker")
(collectively, "the CMS Defendants") Motion to Dismiss for failure to produce an expert medical
report filed on March 9, 2012. (Defs.' Mot., ECF No. 101.) On March 29, 2012, prose Plaintiff
Robert Lee Edwards ("Plaintiff') filed Opposition to the Motion. (Pl.'s Opp'n Br., ECF No.
102.) 1 Defendants filed a Reply Brief on April 13, 2012. (Defs.' Reply Br., ECF No. 103.) The
issue before the Court is whether Plaintiff requires an expert witness to establish malpractice,
therefore subjecting the matter to dismissal based on Plaintiffs inability to procure an expert
witness. The Court has carefully considered the Parties' submissions and decided the matter
without oral argument pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78. For good cause shown,
Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.
1
This response was originally filed as a cross-motion that was administratively terminated, and
will be addressed and construed herein as an Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.
I.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Robert Lee Edwards filed a complaint against Defendants CMS on August 10,
2009. (Pl.'s Compl., ECF No. 1.) On October 14, 2009, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint
adding numerous additional parties, including Defendants Meeker and Martin. (Pl.'s Am. Compl.
ECF No. 4.) Following a partially granted motion to dismiss, (Mar. 9th Ct. Op., ECF No. 29),
Plaintiff filed his Second and Third Amended Complaints. (2d Am. Compl. and 3d Am. Compl.,
ECF Nos. 33, 53.) In Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint, he alleges, pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:6-2 (West 2012), that the CMS
Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth
Amendment and the New Jersey Constitution. (3d Am. Compl. <][<][ 35-49.) He also alleges that
the CMS Defendants are liable for various state law tort claims. (/d. B 34, 43-51.)
The following allegations are set forth in Plaintiff's original Complaint and Third
Amended Complaint. 2 For over ten years, while incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison,
Plaintiff suffered from severe back and leg pain that CMS medical staff treated with only heat
packs and over-the-counter medication. (Pl.'s Compl.
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