LEWIS v. SUTHERLAND et al

OCR transcription for search; preserved printed pages are authoritative

Case 1:24-cv-00043-SPB-RAL Document56- Filed 12/12/25 Page1of3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

SYLVESTER LEWIS, )
Plaintiff, ) C.A. No. 24-43 Erie
)
V. ) District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter
) Chief Magistrate Judge Richard Lanzillo
MARK SUTHERLAND, et al., )
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM ORDER

Plaintiff Sylvester Lewis, an inmate formerly incarcerated at the State Correctional

‘commenced this pro se civil rights action in the

Facility at Forest in Marienville, Pennsylvania,
Court of Common Pleas of Forest County, Pennsylvania. The action was removed to this Court
by Notice of Removal filed on February 15, 2024 [ECF No. 1], and 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.

Plaintiff generally asserts that several medical providers and prison officials at SCI-
Forest were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs because they disregarded his
complaints of skipped heartbeats and arrythmia and prescribed medications that were either
ineffective or made things worse. The Defendants include three employees of the Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections (“DOC”) staffed at SCI-Forest: Superintendent Irwin, Kimberly L.

Smith, and Jana Smith (collectively, “DOC Defendants”); five members of the medical staff at

SCI-Forest: Mark Sutherland, CRNP, Andrew Leslie, CRNP, Eleanor Dorrian, CRNP, Celinda

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Plaintiff is currently incarcerated at SCI-Rockview in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

AUTHENTICATED
U.S. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GPO

Case 1:24-cv-00043-SPB-RAL Document56- Filed 12/12/25 Page 2 of 3

Austin-Strict, P.A., and Lisa Baird, D.O. (collectively, “Medical Defendants’); and Wellpath, the
private company contracted to provide medical care to inmates at SCI-Forest.

On May 13, 2024, the DOC Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a
claim [ECF No. 12]. Subsequently, on June 12, 2024, the Medical Defendants filed their own
motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 20]. Both
motions were fully supported and briefed by the parties.

On October 18, 2024, Judge Lanzillo issued a report and recommendation (“R&R”) with
regard to the DOC Defendants’ motion to dismiss recommending that the motion be granted and
that Plaintiff's claims against the DOC Defendants be dismissed without prejudice and with
leave to amend. [ECF No. 40]. In particular, Judge Lanzillo notes that Plaintiff's allegations are
“so confused, ambiguous, and rambling that the DOC Defendants and the Court cannot identify
the conduct upon which he bases his claim against any DOC Defendant,” and “fail to support
that any DOC Defendant was personally involved in any conduct that was deliberately
indifferent to his serious medical needs.” (ECF No. 40, at pp. 7, 9). Timely objections to the
R&R were originally due by November 4, 2024, which deadline was subsequently extended by
this Court to December 5, 2024 [ECF No. 43].

In the interim, on November 15, 2024, Defendant Wellpath filed a suggestion of
bankruptcy and notice of automatic stay advising the Court that Wellpath and its related entities
had filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code with the

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. [ECF No. 44]. As a result,

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On the same date, Chief Magistrate Judge issued a separate report and recommendation addressing the Medical
Defendants’ motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, motion for summary judgment. [ECF No. 41], which will
likewise be addressed by separate Order of this Court.

Case 1:24-cv-00043-SPB-RAL Document56- Filed 12/12/25 Page 3of3

this Court issued an Order staying this case pending relief from or lifting of the automatic stay
mandated by Section 362(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). [ECF No. 45]. This
stay was ultimately lifted by Order of this Court dated June 2, 2025. [ECF No. 49]. At that time,
the motions filed by the DOC Defendants and the Medical Defendants were reactivated, as were
the two R&R’s addressing such motions. (Id.).

No objections to the R&R were filed before the entry of the stay on November 19, 2024,
nor were any objections filed after the lifting of the stay on June 2, 2025.

Thus, after de novo review of all relevant documents and pleadings in this case, together
with the report and recommendation, the following order is entered:

AND NOW, this 12 day of December, 2025,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the DOC Defendants’ motion to dismiss [ECF No. 12]
is GRANTED and Plaintiffs claims against the DOC Defendants are DISMISSED, without
prejudice to Plaintiff's right to file an amended complaint to correct the deficiencies noted in the
R&R within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order. In the event Plaintiff fails to file an
appropriate amended complaint within such time, the Court’s dismissal of all claims against the
DOC Defendants will be converted to a dismissal with prejudice without further notice. The
report and recommendation of Chief Magistrate Judge Lanzillo, issued October 18, 2024 [ECF

No. 40], is adopted as the opinion of the court.

LOLA VN Gh Lae Land

USAN PARADISE BAXTER
United States District Judge

ce: The Honorable Richard A. Lanzillo
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge