Opinion
C. A. 20-305 Erie
04-15-2024
VARIAN C. CALLAHAN, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL CLARK, et al., Defendants.
RICHARD A. LANZILLO, MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiff Varian C. Callahan, an inmate formerly incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Albion, Pennsylvania (“SCI-Albion”), brings this action to recover damages and other relief for alleged violations of his rights under the first and eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq., and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Rehab Act"), 29 U.S.C. § 794. This matter was referred to Chief United States Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo for report and recommendation in accordance with the Magistrates Act, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), and Rules 72.1.3 and 72.1.4 of the Local Rules for Magistrates.
All of Plaintiff s claims arise from alleged deficiencies in the medical care Plaintiff received at SCI-Albion. Defendants include, inter alia, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (“DOC”), Joseph Silva, Director of the Bureau of Health Care Services, and the following DOC employees staffed at SCI Albion: Michael Clark, Superintendent; Jeri Smock, SCI-Albion's Chief Healthcare Administrator; Ruth Wisniewski, Licensed Practical Nurse (all of the foregoing Defendants are collectively referred to as “DOC Defendants”). The operative pleading in this case is Plaintiffs second amended complaint, which was filed on September 18, 2023 [ECF No. 80].
The other named Defendants are Wellpath LLC f/k/a Correct Care Solutions, LLC (" Wellpath), a private entity under contract the DOC to provide healthcare services to DOC inmates, and the following Wellpath employees: Morgan Oliver, Dr. Rekha Halligan, Physician Assistant (" PA") Matthew Riley, and an unnamed optometrist identified as "Jane Doe."
On October 2, 2023, after filing an answer to Plaintiffs second amended complaint [ECF No. 82], the DOC Defendants filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings [ECF No. 83], seeking dismissal of Plaintiff s Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Wisniewski. The motion was fully briefed by the parties.
On March 27, 2024, Judge Lanzillo issued a Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) recommending that the DOC Defendants' motion be denied. [ECF No. 92], Objections to the R&R were due by April 10, 2024; however, no objections have been filed.
After de novo review of the relevant documents in this case, together with the report and recommendation, the following order is entered:
AND NOW, this 15th day of April, 2024;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the DOC Defendants' motion for partial judgment on the pleadings [ECF No. 83] is DENIED. The report and recommendation of Chief Magistrate Judge Lanzillo, issued March 27, 2024 [ECF No. 92], is adopted as the opinion of the court.