Aaron Davis, a hearing-impaired prisoner at North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, filed suit alleging that prison officials failed for years to provide him with auxiliary aids — including a CapTel phone, a beacon or pager to alert him to events and emergencies, and a sign outside his cell identifying him as hearing-impaired. Davis alleges he was diagnosed at birth with hearing loss that will become progressively worse over time and has relied on hearing aids throughout his life. He was transferred in September 2021 from Maryland Correctional Institution–Jessup, a facility that he alleges caters to deaf and hearing-impaired inmates, to NBCI, a maximum security prison that he contends cannot meet his needs. In May 2023, audiologist Dr. Ross Cushing recommended that Davis receive all three of those auxiliary aids.
Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the District of Maryland, ruling on motions to dismiss filed by three groups of defendants — state correctional officials, and employees of contracted medical providers YesCare Corporation and Centurion Health — held that Davis stated viable ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims, but only against the state defendants in their official capacities. The court dismissed those statutory claims against all defendants in their individual capacities, and dismissed them entirely against the medical provider defendants, because the entity responsible for providing the auxiliary aids was NBCI itself.
On the Eighth Amendment, the court declined to dismiss the deliberate-indifference claims against the five state defendants — former Warden and current Assistant Commissioner Jeffrey Nines, Warden Keith Arnold, Assistant Warden Bethany Cornachia, Case Management Supervisor Richard Roderick, and DPSCS ADA Coordinator Michelle Gardner — finding that Davis had adequately alleged each was aware of his requests and that the audiologist had recommended the aids. The court noted that Fourth Circuit precedent recognizes that failure to accommodate a prisoner's hearing impairment can, in certain circumstances, constitute cruel and unusual punishment, pointing to cases involving denial of wheelchairs and hearing aids. The Eighth Amendment claims against the medical defendants were dismissed because Davis pleaded no facts showing those defendants had authority to provide the aids or that state officials relied on any medical recommendation in denying them.
The court also rejected the state defendants' qualified immunity arguments at this stage. On the First Amendment retaliation claim — which survived as to Nines, Arnold, and Roderick — the court noted that it was clearly established during the relevant period that the First Amendment prohibits retaliation against a prisoner for filing a grievance, and that the state defendants offered no meaningful engagement with that precedent. The Eighth Amendment qualified immunity argument fared no better; the court declined to dismiss without first giving Davis the opportunity to have appointed counsel address the issue.
All remaining claims against YesCare and Centurion defendants were dismissed. The due process, equal protection, and civil rights conspiracy counts were dismissed as to all defendants. The court also granted Davis's motion for additional time to conduct discovery under Rule 56(d), determining that summary judgment would be premature before any discovery, and treated the motions as motions to dismiss only. Finding that Davis has colorable claims and, as an incarcerated individual, lacks the ability to litigate the case effectively going forward, the court appointed counsel.