Loaded on July 15, 2023 by Jayson Hawkins published in Prison Legal News July, 2023, page 59
Filed under: Settlements, Wrongful Death, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. Location: Delaware.
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by Jayson Hawkins
After a long run of bad news,formerDelaware prison health care contractor Connections Community Support Programs (CCSP) caught a break when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit involving a prisoner’s withdrawal death after a CCSP nurse lied about providing methadone. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit then affirmed that decision on April 4, 2023.
The suit was filed on behalf of Tiffany Reeves, 37, who died not long after her 2018 arrest for $177 in outstanding fines. The mother of three was on methadone while withdrawing from heroin. But a CCSP nurse at Sussex Correctional Institution (SCI), Erin Clark-Penland, failed to administer the medication, and she then attempted a cover-up with falsified records and false statements to law enforcement. She was convicted on misdemeanor record-tampering charges in August 2021. [See: PLN, Dec. 2021, p.61.] In October 2021, she received a six-month probated sentence, and her license was suspended for two years.
With the aid of Wilmington attorney Christofer Curtis Johnson of the Johnson Firm LLC, Reeves’ mother, Janice Grossnickle, filed suit in federal court for the District of Delaware, alleging her daughter’s civil rights were violated by CCSP; state Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Perry Phelps; DOC Bureau of Correctional Healthcare Services Chief Marc Richman; and SCI Warden Robert May.
On January 28, 2022, a visibly frustrated Judge Stephanus Bilbus dismissed the suit without prejudice, placing the blame squarely on Johnson’s shoulders for failing to serve Defendants within 120 days, and also failing to serve state legal officials, as required by rules of the state court where the case was originally filed.
“The mother’s lawyer shirked both requirements,” the Court noted. “He served the prison officials two months late … To boot, he neglected to serve the Attorney General, her Chief Deputy, or the State Solicitor.” Once the case was removed to federal court, the Court continued, “the lawyer could have cured the defect,” as provided under 28 U.S.C. § 1448.
“He did not,” the Court declared. “Because he has not shown good cause for these missteps,” the complaint was dismissed without prejudice under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), 12(b)(5).
“This tragic suit makes serious allegations about an inmate’s mistreatment in jail,” Judge Bilbus noted. “It deserves equally serious lawyering, but the mother’s lawyer fell short.”
Meanwhile, DOC dropped CCSP as its healthcare provider. The firm was also hit with a $15.4 million judgment for narcotics fraud and Medicare fraud. CCSP then filed for bankruptcy, first attempting to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code before eventually deciding to liquidate under Chapter 7 in September 2021. [See: PLN, Dec. 2021, p.22.]
Johnson, a former candidate for state attorney general and former deputy legal counsel to Gov. John Carney (D), then turned to Third Circuit. But again the case sank on procedural error; the district court’s order was not appealable, the Court said, because only the individual defendants were dismissed, not CCSP. The bankruptcy court’s stay of all proceedings against the firm didn’t automatically change that, the Court added, noting also that Johnson could have done so by seeking a certificate of appealability under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54b. But he didn’t, so the district court’s judgment was affirmed. See: Grossnickle v. Connections Cmty. Support Programs Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 7942 (3d Cir.).
The litany of failures at CCSP might be bad press for DOC and other state officials, but thus far it does not appear that any policy makers are ready to start questioning the use of for-profit medical providers for state-run programs in prisons or disadvantaged communities.
Additional source: AP News
More from this issue:
- Despite #MeToo, Celebrity Justice Remains Massively Unjust, by Matthew Clarke
- Georgia Prison Smuggling Ring Busted, Warden and Former Guard Arrested, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Pennsylvania Jail Hit With Over $1.5 Million in Overages for Guards, Healthcare, by Kevin Bliss
- $50,000 Settlement to Texas Prisoner for Feces-Covered Cell
- New Jail Healthcare Provider Coming to Albuquerque – Again, by Kevin Bliss
- Third Connecticut Prison Lockdown in Five Months, by Kevin Bliss
- Guantanamo Prison Down to 30 Detainees, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fifth BOP Staff Conviction and Sixth Arrest in California Prison ‘Rape Club’, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Tennessee DOC Coughs Up Video of Condemned Prisoner Who Severed Own Penis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- California LGBTQ Pardon Initiative Falls Short, by Chuck Sharman
- Florida Returning Canteen Funds for Prisoner Programming, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Detainee Dies in 2023 at California’s Santa Rita Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ohio Makes Sweeping Changes to Criminal Justice
- New York City Stops Reporting Rikers Island Deaths Amid Rampant Guard Misconduct, by Benjamin Tschirhart, Chuck Sharman, Kevin Bliss
- New York Prisoner Is Released After Conviction Is Vacated, Reinstated and Vacated Once More, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit: Attorney’s Submission of Illinois Prisoner’s Grievance Exhausts Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
- $142,500 Settlement After Pennsylvania Jail Guard Allegedly Knocked Out Detainee and Broke Her Jaw, by Matthew Clarke
- L.A. County Watchdog Takes Aim at “Deputy Gangs”, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Prison Work Injury, by Matthew Clarke
- Newly Released Government Records Reveal Horrible Neglect of Terminally Ill Woman in Federal Prison, by C.J. Ciaramella
- Prisoner Who Reached $11,400 Retaliation Settlement with South Dakota Jail Tries Again with DOC, by Keith Sanders
- Seventh Circuit: Low IQ and Segregation Placement May Render Administrative Remedies Unavailable to Indiana Prisoner, by David Reutter
- More Success for Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs in Prisons and Jails, by Keith Sanders
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of North Carolina Prisoner’s ADA Claim for Failure to Show Deliberate Indifference, by Douglas Ankney
- California Appeals Court Affirms Rate Caps and Fee Limitations for Prison Telecoms, by Douglas Ankney
- $120,000 Settlement Reached With Long Island Detainee Assaulted by Jail Guards, by Jacob Barrett
- $500,000 Settlement for Texas Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Child Sex Abuse, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- New York Bail Reform Laws Reduced Recidivism, Contrary to Critics’ Claims, by Chuck Sharman
- $150,000 Verdict for South Carolina Jail Detainee’s Groin Injury During Pat-Down, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Texas Prisons are Fire Traps, by Edward Lyon
- Over $7,600 Awarded to Tennessee Prisoner for Retaliatory Cell Search and Transfer
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Prisoner’s Injury Requiring Medical Treatment Not De Minimus, by David Reutter
- FCC Granted Broader Authority to Regulate Prisoner Call Costs, by Chuck Sharman
- California Prisoners Embracing Arts, by Kevin Bliss
- $15,001 Verdict Against Delaware Guard for Gaping Prisoner’s Butt During Strip Search, by Keith Sanders
- Almost 800 Deaths in South Carolina Jails and Prisons Six Years
- Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to Discipline for Allegedly Sexually Harassing Guard, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoner Allowed to Proceed on Section 1983 Claim Seeking Execution by Firing Squad, by David Reutter
- States Take Legislative Action to Address Family Separation by Incarceration, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Iowa DOC Changes Policy After Ombudsman Calls Out Unfair Prisoner Discipline, by Kevin Bliss
- Biden Granting More Pardons Than Trump, Fewer Than Obama, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, by Jayson Hawkins
- California Appellate Court: Time Spent in Mental Hospital to Restore Competency is Time Served, by David Reutter
- FCC Requires Prison Telecoms to Provide Services for Deaf Prisoners, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $1.325 Million Settlement after Virginia Detainee’s Opiate Withdrawal Ignored in Jail, by David Reutter
- Nebraska Parole Board Members Showing Up to Work More Often, by Chuck Sharman, Jordan Arizmendi
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- News in Brief
More from Jayson Hawkins:
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, July 15, 2023
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, June 15, 2023
- Financial Pressure Finally Brings Police Reform, June 15, 2023
- “Slap On the Wrist” for California Bail Agents Who Hired Bounty Hunter Who Killed Their Client, May 1, 2023
- MTV Documentary Shines Light on Art Behind Bars, May 1, 2023
- Arizona Prisoner Condemned Again for Cellmate’s Murder, May 1, 2023
- U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, April 1, 2023
- Former State Prison Guards in Georgia Sentenced for Prisoner Assaults and Cover-Up, April 1, 2023
- After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity, March 15, 2023
- Accused War Criminals Training Cops: What Could Go Wrong?, March 15, 2023
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