Villalpando v. City of Denver ( 2003 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 14 2003
TENTH CIRCUIT
__________________________ PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
ESPERANZA VILLALPANDO, on behalf of
deceased Jesus Villalpando, and as the personal
representative of the estate of Jesus Villalpando,
Plaintiff-Appellant, No. 01-1450
(Colo.)
v. (D.Ct. No. 00-B-1737)
DENVER HEALTH AND HOSPITAL
AUTHORITY,
Defendant-Appellee.
and
CITY OF DENVER; SIMON SHAKUR, Dr.,
individually and as agent for the City of Denver
& Denver Health and Hospital Authority; PAUL
SURI, Dr., individually and as agent for the City
of Denver and Denver Health & Hospital
Authority; KATHY THIGPEN, Dr., individually
and as agent for the City of Denver and Denver
Health & Hospital Authority; CARROLL, Dr.,
individually and as agent for the City of Denver
and Denver Health & Hospital Authority, and
unnamed defendants yet to be determined,
Defendants.
____________________________
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Peter J. Schaffer of Smith & Schaffer, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-
Appellant.
Elizabeth C. Moran of Pryor Johnson Montoya Carney & Karr, P.C., Englewood,
Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before HENRY, Circuit Judge, BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judge, and LUCERO,
Circuit Judge.
This is an appeal from the district court’s dismissal of Esperanza
Villalpando’s claims against Denver Health and Hospital Authority (“Hospital
Authority”). Esperanza Villalpando, on behalf of her deceased husband, Jesus
Villalpando, and as personal representative of Mr. Villalpando’s estate, brought
two 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims in United States District Court for the District of
Colorado alleging the Hospital Authority violated Mr. Villalpando’s constitutional
rights. Mrs. Villalpando also brought various state law claims.
All Mrs. Villalpando’s claims are based on her belief Mr. Villalpando
would not have died of a heart attack if he had received proper treatment from the
Hospital Authority. According to the complaint, Mr. Villalpando visited the
hospital and its doctors on numerous occasions, but the procedures and
medication they prescribed did not improve his heart condition. Mr. Villalpando
complained he felt worse after treatment. In spite of this, Denver Health and
Hospital Authority doctors did not recommend bypass surgery and refused to
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certify he was disabled for Social Security purposes. Ultimately, Mr. Villalpando
suffered a fatal heart attack, which the complaint asserts would not have occurred
if the Hospital Authority and its employees had provided adequate treatment.
Mrs. Villalpando originally brought suit against a number of defendants,
including the City of Denver and various health care workers. This appeal,
however, concerns only the Hospital Authority.
In response to Mrs. Villalpando’s complaint, the Hospital Authority filed a
motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6). It argued the § 1983 claims should be dismissed because
Mrs. Villalpando’s allegations of negligence and medical malpractice did not
amount to a federal constitutional violation. In addition, the Hospital Authority
asked the court to dismiss the state law claims because Mrs. Villalpando did not
comply with Colorado Revised Statute § 24-10-109(3) requiring her to provide
written notice of Mr. Villalpando’s injuries to the Hospital Authority’s governing
board or attorney within 180 days of the injury.
The district court purportedly granted summary judgment on Mrs.
Villalpando’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims and her state law claims. The court held
the first § 1983 claim failed because it was improperly based on allegations the
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Hospital Authority was responsible for the actions of its employees under a
respondeat superior theory. The court dismissed the second § 1983 claim after
concluding Mrs. Villalpando’s allegations amounted only to a medical malpractice
tort claim. The district court also dismissed Mrs. Villalpando’s state law claims
because “the [Colorado] statutory notice requirements were not met.”
In reviewing the Hospital Authority’s motion to dismiss, the district court
noted both the Hospital Authority and Mrs. Villalpando appended documents to
their legal memoranda. The parties appended the documents to show whether
Mrs. Villalpando had met Colorado’s notice requirements. Consequently, the
district court converted the Hospital Authority’s motion to dismiss to a motion for
summary judgment.
After the district court summarily dismissed her motion to reconsider, Mrs.
Villalpando filed this appeal. She requests we reverse the district courts ruling
based on three perceived errors. First, she asserts “the District Court erred in
determining that [she] did not allege a constitutional violation in support of her
42 U.S.C. § 1983 Claim for Relief.” Second, Mrs. Villalpando argues “the
District Court erred in determining Mrs. Villalpando did not strictly comply with
[Colorado’s statutory] notice requirements.” Third, she believes “the District
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Court erred in converting [the Hospital Authority’s] motion to dismiss into a
motion for summary judgment without giving [Mrs. Villalpando] notice of its
intention to do so.”
DISCUSSION
We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm in part and
reverse in part. We will first address Mrs. Villalpando’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims
and then address her state law claims.
I. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Claims
Mrs. Villalpando argues “the District Court erred in determining [she]
failed to allege a constitutional violation in support of her 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim
against [the Hospital Authority].” Mrs. Villalpando’s complaint contains two
§ 1983 claims for relief. The district court dismissed both claims. While Mrs.
Villalpando repeatedly refers only to her “§ 1983 claim” or “cause of action,” she
apparently disagrees with the district court’s ruling on both of the § 1983 claims.
Before we can consider the substance of the §1983 claims, we must first
consider an argument Mrs. Villalpando raises concerning the appropriate standard
of review. She asserts “it is unclear from the District Court’s Order what
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standard the court applied to [these claims].” She believes we should apply “the
standard for determining the merits of a 12(b)(6) motion” because the district
court relied solely on the pleadings in ruling on the § 1983 claims. The Hospital
Authority agrees the district court did not consider any material outside the
complaint in ruling on the § 1983 motions.
After reviewing the district court order, we conclude the standard of review
for a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)6 applies. In
ruling on each of the §1983 claims, the court specifically stated it was granting
“summary judgment.” “However, an opinion’s plain language does not always
mirror its plain logic.” Maldonado v. Dominguez, 137 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 1998).
If we “look[] past the terminology employed by the court” in this case, we
discover “an opinion illustrating the legal insufficiency of the pleadings for each”
§ 1983 claim. Id. We will, therefore, consider whether the complaint has
allegations sufficient to support the § 1983 claims.
The legal sufficiency of a complaint is a question of law we review de
novo. Wark v. United States, 269 F.3d 1185, 1190 (10th Cir. 2001) (citation
omitted). Our “‘function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential
evidence that the parties might present at trial, but to assess whether the plaintiff's
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complaint alone is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be
granted.’” Sutton v. Utah State Sch. for the Deaf & Blind, 173 F.3d 1226, 1236
(10th Cir. 1999) (quoting Miller v. Glanz, 948 F.2d 1562, 1565 (10th Cir. 1991)).
Under this standard, we conclude the district court properly dismissed both 42
U.S.C. § 1983 claims.
The first § 1983 claim alleged Mr. Villalpando’s “wrongful death occurred
under the care and supervision of” several doctors acting “as agents for ... the
Hospital Authority.” The complaint states the doctors “fail[ed] to provide
adequate medical attention to [Mr.] Villalpando” and consequently deprived him
of his “right to life,” “right to freedom for physical abuse and death,” and “right
to continuation of the family relationship.” The district court rejected this claim
concluding the Hospital Authority could not be liable for its employees’ acts
under a respondeat superior theory. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S.
658, 694 (1978) (holding “a local government may not be sued under § 1983 for
an injury inflicted solely by its employees or agents”). We wholeheartedly agree
with the district court’s analysis on this point.
On appeal, Mrs. Villalpando argues the district court “misread” the
complaint. She now claims she did not raise a respondeat superior theory.
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Instead, she asserts the Hospital Authority “may be held liable for actions of its
employees conducted in furtherance of [the Hospital Authority’s] customs,
policies or uses” pursuant to Monell. Rather than relying on allegations contained
in her first § 1983 claim, she directs us to allegations in her second § 1983 claim
to show she believes the doctors’ actions were the “consequence of the execution
of the official policies, customs, or usage of [the Hospital Authority].” Mrs.
Villalpando’s belated attempt to salvage her first § 1983 claim by using her
appellate brief to direct us to another claim in her complaint fails. The first claim
in her complaint did not incorporate the portion of her complaint discussing the
existence of an official policy or custom. Thus, Mrs. Villalpando is not entitled
to relief on her first claim. Even were we to allow Mrs. Villalpando’s attempt on
appeal to rewrite her complaint, we would still dismiss this claim for the same
reasons we dismiss her second § 1983 claim.
Mrs. Villalpando’s second § 1983 claim alleges the Hospital Authority’s
“customs, policies, and procedures regarding the administration of proper medical
attention” caused the death of Mr. Villalpando and “represent a deliberate
indifference to the constitutional rights and liberties of persons utilizing the
facilities of [the hospital].” Specifically, Mrs. Villalpando argues the Hospital
Authority had “a policy of providing inadequate medical attention to all of its”
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patients and condoning or encouraging discrimination in treatment based on
economic status.Again, Mrs. Villalpando asserts these actions deprived Mr.
Villalpando of his “right to life,” “right to freedom from physical abuse and
death,” and “right to continuation of the family relationship.”
The district court dismissed this claim holding “Mrs. Villalpando’s claim is
negligence, and mere negligence is not a tort of constitutional dimension.” The
court noted, while ordinary negligence is generally not actionable under § 1983,
deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s medical needs is a Constitutional violation
redressable under § 1983. Assuming this same deliberate indifference standard
applied to ordinary citizens, the district court held Mrs. Villalpando’s complaint
did not allege deliberate indifference because Mrs. Villalpando acknowledged her
husband had received some treatment. Therefore, the district court concluded
Mrs. Villalpando’s claim was for inadequate medical treatment rather than for a
constitutional violation actionable under § 1983.
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Mrs. Villalpando must allege the
Hospital Authority, acting under color of law, deprived Mr. Villalpando of
“rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution” or other federal
law. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. An entity like the Hospital Authority may be responsible
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for the unconstitutional act of an employee if “the unconstitutional actions of an
employee were representative of an official policy or custom of the municipal
institution.” Camfield v. City of Okla. City, 248 F.3d 1214, 1229 (10th Cir. 2001)
(quotation marks and citation omitted). The Hospital Authority may not be held
liable for its policies or customs under § 1983 unless there is an underlying
constitutional violation by its employees or agents. See Thompson v. City of
Lawrence, 58 F.3d 1511, 1517 (10th Cir. 1995).
Here, Mrs. Villalpando asserts the Hospital Authority violated Mr.
Villalpando’s constitutional rights, including his right to life, by “failing to
provide adequate medical attention.” She argues there is “a substantive due
process right to adequate medical care, and a complementary cause of action
under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for those deprived of this right.” She believes the
Hospital Authority deprived Mr. Villalpando of his right to adequate medical care
by its “total disregard of [his] serious medical condition.” Our own research,
however, convinces us there is no categorical constitutional right to adequate
medical care.
“The Due Process Clause does protect an interest in life. It does not
follow, however, that the state necessarily has a constitutional duty to take
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affirmative steps to preserve life.” Johnson ex. rel. Johnson v. Thompson, 971
F.2d 1487, 1495 (10th Cir. 1992) (citations omitted). See also DeShaney v.
Winnebago County Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 195 (1989) (holding the
Due Process “Clause is phrased as a limitation on the State’s power to act, not as
a guarantee of certain minimum levels of safety and security.... [I]ts language
cannot fairly be extended to impose an affirmative obligation on the State to
ensure that [constitutional] interests do not come to harm through other means.”).
The Tenth Circuit recognizes a constitutional right to adequate medical treatment
only in “narrow circumstances” – “when the State takes a person into its custody
and holds him there against his will.” Johnson, 971 F.2d at 1496. We have
specifically refused to expand this right to the circumstance when an unconfined
plaintiff voluntarily availed himself of medical services. Id. (holding infants born
with spina bifida do not have a substantive due process right to adequate medical
treatment). In cases where the unconfined plaintiff voluntarily seeks medical
treatment, “‘negligent or even wilfully indifferent or reckless [conduct does not]
take on the added character of violations of the federal Constitution.’” Id.(quoting Monahan v. Dorchester Counseling Ctr., Inc., 961 F.2d 987, 993 (1st
Cir. 1992)). 1
1
Mrs. Villalpando also directs our attention to an unpublished Sixth Circuit
opinion, Drew v. University of Tennessee Regional Medical Center Hospital, No. 99-
5070, 2000 WL 572064 (6th Cir. May 1, 2000). In Drew, the Sixth Circuit suggests a
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Mrs. Villalpando’s complaint indicates her husband voluntarily sought
medical care from the doctors at the Hospital Authority. Mr. Villalpando was, at
all times, free to discontinue his treatment at the Hospital Authority and seek
treatment elsewhere. Therefore, the state had no constitutional duty to take
affirmative steps to protect his life. See Johnson, 971 F.2d at 1495. Mr.
Villalpando had no constitutional right to adequate medical care. It does not
matter whether the Hospital Authority acted with negligence, gross negligence, or
deliberate indifference, the Hospital Authority and its doctors did not violate Mr.
Villalpando’s constitutional rights. See id. at 1496. Because there was no
violation of constitutional rights, the § 1983 claims fail. See Thompson, 58 F.3d
at 1517. We accordingly affirm the district court’s dismissal of these claims.
II. State Law Claims 2
Since Mrs. Villalpando’s § 1983 claims were properly dismissed, her state
medical malpractice claim brought by an ordinary hospital patient might amount to a
constitutional due process violation if the conduct is so egregious it shocks the
conscience. Id. at * 2. The opinion contains little analysis on the issue and would be of
little precedential value even in the Sixth Circuit. See 6th Cir. R. 28(g). Furthermore, we
are bound to follow our contrary holding in Johnson, 971 F.2d at 1495-096. See In re
Smith, 10 F.3d 723, 724 (10th Cir. 1993).
2
Mrs. Villalpando’s complaint contains five state law claims: (1) wrongful death;
(2) negligence; (3) negligent hiring, training and retention; (4) negligent infliction of
emotional distress; and (5) breach of contract/detrimental reliance.
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law claims are no longer supplemental to any federal question claim. We
conclude the district court should have declined to exercise supplemental
jurisdiction over the state law claims.
We review a district court’s decision to exercise supplemental jurisdiction
over state law claims for abuse of discretion. See Gold v. Local 7 United Food &
Commercial Workers Union, 159 F.3d 1307, 1310 (10th Cir. 1998). By statute,
federal district courts have supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims that
are part of the “same case or controversy” as federal claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).
“[W]hen a district court dismisses the federal claims, leaving only supplemented
state claims, the most common response has been to dismiss the state claim or
claims without prejudice.” United States v. Botefuhr, 309 F.3d 1263, 1273 (10th
Cir. 2002) (quotation marks, alterations, and citation omitted). See also 28
U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3) (“The district courts may decline to exercise supplemental
jurisdiction over a claim ... if ... the district court has dismissed all claims over
which it has original jurisdiction.”). When “the parties have already expended a
great deal of time and energy on the state law claims,” it is appropriate for the
“district court to retain supplemented state claims after dismissing all federal
questions.” Botefuhr, 309 F.3d at 1273. If, however, the parties have not shown
they have spent a great deal of time on the state law claims, the “district court
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should normally dismiss supplemental state law claims after all federal claims are
dismissed ... before trial.” Id. Courts should be cautious when exercising
supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims because “‘[n]otions of comity and
federalism demand that a state court try its own lawsuits, absent compelling
reasons to the contrary.’” Ball v. Renner, 54 F.3d 664, 669 (10th Cir. 1995)
(quoting Thatcher Enters. v. Cache County Corp., 902 F.2d 1472, 1478 (10th Cir.
1990)).
In this case, there was no compelling reason for the district court to retain
jurisdiction over the state law claims after dismissing the § 1983 claims. At the
time the district court dismissed the state law claims, neither the parties nor the
district court had expended a great deal of time or energy. The district court
dismissed the state law claims on summary judgment after considering a motion
originally styled as one to dismiss for failure to state a claim; there was little, if
any, discovery.
Furthermore, there is a compelling reason to let the Colorado state courts
resolve these claims. The district court’s ruling was based on its determination
Mrs. Villalpando had not given the Hospital Authority’s board or attorney notice
of her claims as required under Colorado statute. See Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-10-
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109(3). The parties disagree as to who bears the burden of proof on this issue.
Colorado courts originally required the plaintiff to prove this notice requirement
was satisfied under the theory that it was jurisdictional in nature. See, e.g.,
Bauman v. Colo. Dep’t of Health, 857 P.2d 499, 501 (Colo. Ct. App. 1993); Aetna
Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Denver Sch. Dist. No. 1, 787 P.2d 206, 207 (Colo. Ct. App.
1989). Although the Colorado Supreme Court has since held the notice
requirement is not jurisdictional, see Brock v. Nyland, 955 P.2d 1037, 1044 (Colo.
1998) (en banc); Regional Transp. Dist. v. Lopez, 916 P.2d 1187, 1193-94 (Colo.
1996), that court has not directly addressed which party has the burden to prove
compliance or noncompliance with this notice requirement, see Brock, 955 P.2d at
1039 n.1, 1044. “Where a state law ... is thus in a process of current evolution, it
is particularly appropriate for the federal courts to leave the continuing
development of ... that [law] to the state courts.” Ball, 54 F.3d at 669.
Accordingly, we conclude the district court abused its discretion in
retaining supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. We express no
opinion on whether Mrs. Villalpando met the statutory notice requirements for her
state law claims. We simply reverse the summary judgment entered by the district
court on the state law claims, and we remand the claims with instructions to
dismiss them without prejudice. Mrs. Villalpando will remain free to pursue her
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state law claims in Colorado state courts. 3
CONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal of Mrs. Villalpando’s 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 claims. We REVERSE the grant of summary judgment on her state law
claims, and we REMAND the state law claims to the district court with
instructions to dismiss them without prejudice. Appellant’s motion for leave to
file a supplemental brief is granted.
Entered by the Court:
WADE BRORBY
United States Circuit Judge
3
In addition to the arguments already addressed, Mrs. Villalpando also argues
“the district court erred by converting [the Hospital Authority’s] motion to dismiss into a
motion for summary judgment with out notifying Mrs. Villalpando of its intention to do
so.” Mrs. Villalpando claims if the district court had given proper notice she would have
conducted limited discovery on her state law claims. Because we reverse the district
court’s grant of summary judgment on other grounds, we need not address this argument.
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