Congratulations to Samantha E. Quinn for a summary judgment win in the Southern District!
Plaintiff in this matter asserted violations of a minor’s rights under the Fourth Amendment and the parent’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment after defendant physicians examined him in the emergency department following a report of child abuse. The January 3, 2026 Order of the Honorable Judge Gregory H. Woods (2026 WL 27606) accepted and adopted the 26-page Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Robyn Tarnofsky (2025 WL 3845274) in its entirety, which held that the examination of the child was medically necessary based on his complaints, in order to rule out occult injuries, and that no reasonable factfinder could conclude that defendant doctors were functioning as state actors when they performed their examination. Judge Tarnofsky rejected plaintiffs’ claim that the doctors were state actors since ACS brought the child to the hospital for examination, noting that “a private doctor does not become a state actor by examining or testing a child at the request of the state, as long as the doctor’s actions are medically indicated.” This decision is a great win and a just result in accord with controlling Second Circuit precedent, Kia P. v. McIntyre, 235 F.3d 749 (2nd Cir. 2000).