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Articles in Verdict1

Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period for Individual Damages Actions Tolled

Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period
for Individual Damages Actions Tolled

by Mark Wilson

On April 6, 2004, the Class Action suit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) for failing to properly diagnose and treat the hepatitis C virus (HCV), was resolved by entry of a comprehensive settlement. ...

Alabama Settles Class Action Medical Suit; Institutes HCV Treatment Protocol

Alabama Settles Class Action Medical Suit;
Institutes HCV Treatment Protocol

by John E. Dannenberg

In a major milestone along the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) march towards gaining humane medical care in Alabama's prisons, a Settlement Agreement was signed in June, 2004 that commits the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) ...

$15 Million Class Settlement In Sacramento Jail Strip-Search Suits

The Sacramento California Sheriff's Department agreed to a record $15 million settlement on June 4, 2004 to resolve federal and state lawsuits for damages and injunctive relief regarding illegal strip-search practices at the Sacramento County Jail. The suits stemmed from a policy of mixing felony and misdemeanant detainees together in ...

County Must Disclose Detention Center Settlement to Newspaper

The New Mexico State Court of Appeals has ruled that Dona Ana County must disclose to the Las Cruces Sun-News records relating to a civil suit settlement between the County and female jail detainees who were sexually abused by jail guards. Sun-News attorney fees were also awarded.


In 1999 a ...

Alabama DOC Settles Mental Health Class Action

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama approved a settlement agreement between a class of prisoners, defined as "all acutely or severely mentally ill male inmates who are presently or will in the future be incarcerated in the Alabama Department of Corrections" (ADOC), and the defendant state ...

$4.47 Million in Washington Negligent Supervision Settlements and Verdicts

Washington State recently settled or was found liable in three separate law suits alleging that it negligently supervised probationers or parolees. Negligent supervision cases are not new in Washington. Since 2000, the State either settled or was ordered to pay more than $100 million in similar suits.

The family of ...

$10 Million Settlement in Boston Strip Search Suit

On July 8, 2002, both Suffolk County and the City of Boston entered into a settlement agreement to pay $10 million for violating the equal protection rights of female detainees at the Suffolk County Jail who, unlike similarly situated male detainees, were strip-searched when being booked. The settlement includes costs, ...

Texas' Historic Ruiz Lawsuit Settled

by Donna Brorby and Meredith Martin Rountree


One of the biggest prison class actions of our time is over. As appeals by both sides were pending in the Fifth Circuit, the historic Ruiz class action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) was dismissed by agreement of the ...

PLRA Does Not Apply to Juvenile Facilities; $379,000 Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded

by David M. Reutter


A federal district court in South Dakota has held the PLRA attorney fees provision does not apply to juvenile facilities, and awarded $379,000 in attorney fees and costs. The court had before it the plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and costs after a Settlement Agreement (SA) ...

Motion Accepted as Appeal Notice; Damage Award Set Off Against Costs

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a pro se motion must be accepted as a notice of appeal if it states the intent to appeal, and that a jury's damage award could be set off against a plaintiff's liability for costs awarded to defendants when the plaintiff ...