IN RE CIM-SQ TRANSFER CASES

Background

Odell, a California prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that 12 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials were responsible for his contracting COVID-19 in July 2020 after a transfer of prisoners from the California Institution for Men to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. He also alleged that Dr. Bing Xu/Tzue, his primary care provider, was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs after his COVID-19 infection.

The court had previously dismissed the complaint with permission to amend. It found that the original complaint stated a legally sufficient claim against Dr. Xu/Tzue concerning treatment of COVID-19 and other medical problems, but directed Odell to add allegations concerning the other defendants. Odell filed an amended complaint addressing the other defendants but omitting the allegations against Dr. Xu/Tzue. The court treated the amended complaint as a supplement to the original complaint and reviewed both together under the prisoner-screening statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

This action is part of consolidated cases concerning the 2020 prisoner transfer. The individual case docket, No. 23-cv-04795, had been closed, and the case was stayed except for service of the complaint.

Claims and Screening Results

Odell alleged that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 7, 2020, experienced severe symptoms, and was hospitalized after passing out in the shower. He said doctors diagnosed a seizure, fractured ribs, nerve damage, a heart condition, and prediabetes, and recommended evaluations by a neurologist and cardiologist. He alleged that Dr. Xu/Tzue gave him only aspirin, did not provide effective medication as his condition worsened, and that a later hospital visit found a lesion on his brain. He also stated that he was diagnosed with post-COVID-19 syndrome two years later.

The court concluded that, read liberally, these allegations stated a cognizable claim against Dr. Xu/Tzue for deliberate indifference to medical needs.

In the supplemental complaint, Odell alleged that prison officials approved or participated in transferring more than 100 inmates, some infected with COVID-19, despite known risks. He alleged that Ron Davis, Ron Bloomfield, Ralph Diaz, Kathleen Allison, the Estate of Dr. R. Steven Tharratt, Dr. Joseph Bick, Dr. L. Escobell, and Dean Borders approved the transfer, and that Dr. Pachynski, Clarence Cryer, and Dr. Shannon Garrigan failed to implement emergency health orders at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. The court concluded that these allegations stated a cognizable claim for deliberate indifference to safety against those defendants.

The court dismissed Clark Kelso, the federal medical receiver, because it found that he had quasi-judicial immunity.

Order

The court ordered service to proceed on Dr. Xu/Tzue, Ron Davis, Ron Bloomfield, Ralph Diaz, Kathleen Allison, the Estate of Dr. R. Steven Tharratt, Joseph Bick, Dr. L. Escobell, Dean Borders, Dr. Pachynski, Clarence Cryer, and Dr. Shannon Garrigan through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s electronic service program. The order described the process for obtaining service waivers and, when necessary, arranging service through the United States Marshals Service.

The court cautioned defendants about the potential costs of refusing to waive service and directed Odell to send copies of his filings to defendants or their counsel. It also stated that the case would remain stayed for every purpose other than service. Future motions were to be filed in Case No. 5:20-cv-06326-EJD and were to include Odell’s original case number, 23-cv-04795.