PHILADELPHIA – Delaware County and the GEO Group are denying liability for injuries sustained by a Montgomery County woman after she was allegedly assaulted at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, arguing that she has not supported her claims.
Christina Grinevich of King of Prussia first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on April 30 versus Delaware County of Media, the GEO Group, Inc. and Jane Doe correctional officers, both of Thornton.
Grinevich said she was arrested on May 25, 2019, brought to the facility and while being processed, added she was assaulted by the four Jane Doe officers while she was being processed.
Grinevich said handcuffs were ripped off her hands with such force that it caused bone fractures, and that she was pepper-sprayed in the face after screaming in pain due to her fractured hand.
The plaintiff further accused the defendants of denying her feminine hygiene products during her menstrual cycle.
Grinevich’s fractured hand was allegedly ignored for almost eight weeks, and the suit claims it is permanently disfigured as a result.
According to the complaint, Delaware County and the GEO Group have been sued multiple times for medical negligence and civil rights violations of inmates.
UPDATE
Delaware County and the GEO Group filed a motion to dismiss the case on May 25, for failure to state claims upon which relief could be granted.
“Plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action against the moving defendants in Counts I and III in the complaint because they cannot be liable for the acts of yet unnamed individual defendants for excessive force or deliberate indifference to medical needs,” the dismissal motion said.
“Plaintiff has failed to specifically identify the individuals who were involved in the alleged wrongs, and cannot allege that answering defendants, who are not individuals, can be liable for this conduct. Entities such as answering defendants cannot be liable as these alleged acts were conducted by unknown individuals, and there is no such liability for corporations or municipal entities because there is no respondeat superior liability for such claims.”
Additionally, the defendants in question say the plaintiff had not shown evidence of a Monell violation of a given policy or custom.
“Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate facts, which if proven would establish that insufficient training, supervision, or medical care caused her alleged constitutional deprivation. This is merely another attempt to bring this claim within the ambit of Section 1983 when, at most, plaintiff is essentially making a claim for vicarious liability, which is, by its nature, impermissible under Section 1983,” the motion stated.
“Plaintiff should not be permitted to advance a Monell claim in the absence of detailed factual allegations of the existence of a policy and/or custom of deliberate indifference. Therefore, defendants CEC and Delaware County should be dismissed from Count IV of the complaint.”
For counts of civil rights violations, excessive force, denial of medical care and failure to protect, Monell violations and conspiracy, the plaintiff is seeking in excess of $300,000, plus compensatory damages, delay damages, interest, costs, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
The plaintiff is represented by Brian J. Zeiger of Levin & Zeiger, in Philadelphia.
Defendants Delaware County and the GEO Group are represented by Matthew H. Fry and Robert M. DiOrio of DiOrio & Sereni, in Media.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:21-cv-02003
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com