Opinion ID: 780359
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendant Eagan

Text: 27 Brock does not dispute Eagan's testimony that he was a nonvoting member of the committee that reviewed Brock's appeal of Berbary's decision. Nor does Brock challenge Eagan's testimony that his usual role on the committee is only to provide information asked for by the voting members. But since Eagan's signature appears at the top of the committee's affirmance of Berbary's decision, since Eagan does recall attending the meeting at which Brock's appeal was discussed, and since Eagan is the director of the committee, Brock asserts that Eagan was involved in the decision to deny the appeal and should have done more to evaluate Brock's condition. In these respects, however, Brock has only alleged — and perhaps adduced evidence of — negligence on Eagan's part. In the circumstances of this case, it was not deliberate indifference for Eagan to defer to the committee's decision to rely on O'Connell's medical judgment. 28 Of course, Eagan could also be held liable if Brock could prove that the members of the committee were Eagan's subordinates and that Eagan was grossly negligent in failing to prevent them from committing an Eighth Amendment violation. See Colon v. Coughlin, 58 F.3d 865, 873 (2d Cir.1995). But no evidence has been proffered to support this basis of liability. Thus, although Eagan signed the decision of the committee, there is nothing in the record that indicates that Eagan had the power to withhold his signature, or otherwise to overrule, a decision reached by the committee. And Brock's attorneys failed to elicit any testimony from Eagan or to produce any documents demonstrating the degree of control over the selection or retention of committee members that Eagan may have had. 4 Moreover, there has been no showing that the individual committee members acted with deliberate indifference. There is, for example, no evidence that the committee members had medical training or were otherwise aware that the decision to defer to O'Connell might not be responsive to Brock's true medical needs. Nor is there any claim by Brock that, from the documents the committee had before it, it should have been obvious to the committee that outside consultation was necessary to deal adequately with Brock's condition. We conclude that summary judgment was properly granted to Eagan.