Opinion ID: 73631
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: General Access to the Methodist Home

Text: 6 The district court also correctly dismissed GAO’s claim for general access to the Methodist Home, albeit for the wrong reason. The PAIMI Act provides that a state protection and advocacy system “shall . . . have access to facilities in the State providing care or treatment.” 42 U.S.C. § 10805(a)(3). Thus, GAO contends that it has a right of access to certain facilities covered by the PAIMI Act for the purpose of performing certain ombudsman-type functions under the PAIMI Act and regulations.2 The district court dismissed GAO’s claims for access to the Methodist Home generally on the basis that GAO offered no evidence that Methodist Home residents other than D.M. would qualify as “individuals with mental illness” for the protection of the PAIMI Act. We conclude that the district court erred in making this evidentiary finding because there was sufficient evidence to indicate that a case or controversy exists about whether the Methodist Home did have other residents “with mental illness” who would qualify for the protection of the PAIMI Act. The PAIMI Act defines an “individual with a mental illness” as someone: (A) who has a significant mental illness or emotional impairment, as determined by a mental health professional qualified under the laws and regulations of the State; and (B)(i) who is an inpatient or resident in a facility rendering care or treatment, even if the whereabouts of such inpatient or resident are unknown. 42 U.S.C. § 10802(4) (emphasis supplied). The record contains evidence that a psychiatrist and a psychologist each visit the Methodist Home at least three times a week and that the Methodist Home 2 For example, in certain circumstances a system “shall have reasonable unaccompanied access to residents at all times necessary to conduct a full investigation of an incident of abuse or neglect.” 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(b). In addition, a system “shall have reasonable unaccompanied access to facilities . . . and to programs and their residents” for the purposes of (1) providing information and training about individual rights and about the services available from the protection and advocacy system, (2) monitoring compliance with respect to the rights and safety of residents, and (3) inspecting, viewing, and photographing all areas of a facility which are used by or accessible to residents. § 51.42(c). 7 provides mental health services including screening and evaluation, counseling, medication supervision, and education. Since the § 10802(4) definition includes significant “emotional impairment,” we find the evidence was sufficient to create a case or controversy over whether the Methodist Home was a facility covered by the PAIMI Act and over whether the Methodist Home rendered care and treatment to residents “with a mental illness” as defined by the PAIMI Act. We emphasize, however, that our conclusion on this point simply would have allowed the case to proceed to be considered on the merits and would not have constituted any finding or indication of the merits of the issues of whether the Methodist Home is “a facility” covered by the PAIMI Act or has residents who qualify for PAIMI Act protection. Although this finding is erroneous, the district court, nonetheless, correctly dismissed GAO’s complaint for lack of a live case or controversy. There was no allegation or evidence that GAO had requested access to the Methodist Home generally for purposes of providing information to or assisting residents outside of the context of D.M. No such evidence was introduced with the summary judgment motions or at any other time in the record. Moreover, it is not clear how the Methodist Home and other Defendants would respond to such a request. In other words, GAO’s general-access claim involves merely an abstract or hypothetical dispute. Thus, we find that GAO’s general-access claim is not ripe for judicial review. See Socialist Workers Party v. Leahy, 145 F.3d 1240, 1244-47 (11th Cir. 1998) (explaining the “[t]hree strands of justiciability doctrine–standing, ripeness, and mootness”). As this circuit repeatedly has stated, to determine whether a claim is ripe, a court must examine “‘“whether there is sufficient injury to meet Article III’s requirement of a case or controversy, and if so, whether the claim is sufficiently mature, and the issues sufficiently defined and concrete to permit effective decisionmaking by the 8 court.”’” Id. at 1244 (quoting Digital Properties, Inc. v. City of Plantation, 121 F.3d 586, 589 (11th Cir. 1997) (quoting Cheffer v. Reno, 55 F.3d 1517, 1524 (11th Cir. 1995))). GAO has not shown sufficient injury and its general-access claim is not sufficiently mature to permit effective decisionmaking by the court. Thus, although for a different reason than stated by the district court, we conclude that GAO’s general-access claim at this juncture is “too speculative to create a substantial justiciable controversy” and should be dismissed. In dismissing GAO’s general-access claim, the district court did not specify whether the dismissal was with prejudice or without prejudice. However, we clarify that the dismissal of this claim should be considered a dismissal without prejudice. Because the general-access claim was not ripe for review, the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the claim. See Digital Properties, Inc. v. City of Plantation, 121 F.3d 586, 591 (11th Cir. 1997) (“The determination of ripeness ‘goes to whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case.’” (citing Greenbriar, Ltd. v. City of Alabaster, 881 F.2d 1570, 1573 n.7 (11th Cir. 1989))). Thus, the district court could not have adjudicated the merits of the general-access claim or dismissed that claim with prejudice. See Crotwell v. Hockman-Lewis Ltd., 734 F.2d 767, 769 (11th Cir. 1984) (changing a dismissal “with prejudice” to a dismissal “without prejudice” on the basis that “the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action” and hence “had no power to render a judgment on the merits”).3 3 We also note that the Methodist Home contends that GAO’s general-access claim lacks merit because the Methodist Home already has existing systems in place to protect the rights of its residents, that GAO may supply such services but not supplant existing services, that there was no evidence of any abuse or neglect at the Home to justify any access by GAO, that GAO failed to follow the PAIMI Act’s regulations that require each system, like GAO, to attempt first to resolve disputes through negotiation and mediation before commencing litigation, and that GAO failed to establish other jurisdictional requirements for their claims. Nothing herein should 9 AFFIRMED. be construed as any ruling on those issues raised in this case. 10