In a strongly worded opinion chastising Massachusetts officials for over 1itigating a case in which a prisoner's constitutional right of access to courts was clearly violated, a federal district court awarded attorneys' fees and costs of $99,981 to the plaintiff. Plaintiff's counsel, a commercial law firm, had volunteered to represent ...
Loaded on
Aug. 15, 2005
published in Verdict1
August, 2005, page 23
The California Department of Cor¬rections (CDC) settled an employee whistleblower retaliation suit for $500,000 in October, 2004. CDC admitted it had additionally spent $300,000 in legal fees fighting the claim.
Richard Krupp, formerly the chief of CDC’s Personnel Automation Section, after being rebuffed by his supervisors on his plan to ...
The Washington Department of Corrections has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a contempt action stemming from alleged violations of a consent decree governing medical care at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Pending approval by the court, roughly half of the money will be used to pay attorneys' ...
Loaded on
Aug. 15, 2005
published in Verdict1
August, 2005, page 32
By Matthew T. Clarke
On November 19, 2004, a Texas prisoner who was raped by a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) guard settled his suit against the guard and TDCJ for a total of $118,318.56 and the guard’s beach property.
Nathan Essary, 22, a Texas state prisoner of slight ...
In August 2004, two teenage girls raped by guards at a Colorado juvenile prison settled their lawsuits for $165,000 apiece. Both girls had been imprisoned at the Youthful Offender System (YOS), which is operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections. Their lawsuits were identical and involved the same defendants. The ...
Loaded on
May 15, 2005
published in Verdict1
May, 2005, page 35
$12,003.74 in Fees/Costs Awarded in Excessive Force Use; PLRA Fee Cap Inapplicable to Stipulated Settlements
A federal court in New York awarded attorneys' fees of $10,858 and costs of $1,144.95 for a total of $12,003.74 against a guard in an excessive force case.
New York prisoners Lorenzo Romaine brought suit ...
Loaded on
April 15, 2005
published in Verdict1
April, 2005, page 31
In September, 2004, the Los Angeles County Claims Board (Board) agreed
to pay $40,000 to settle an excessive force claim brought by a prisoner injured at the L.A. County Main Jail.
On March 17, 2002, prisoner Joseph Amezola was protectively housed in the 2500 Module of the Main Jail because ...
Loaded on
March 15, 2005
published in Verdict1
March, 2005, page 8
On March 10, 2004, the parties involved in a class action lawsuit over unlawful strip-searches performed during intake at the Rensselaer County (New York) Jail agreed to settle the case for $2.7 million.
On various occasions between June 26, 1999 and July 1, 2002, the 11 named plaintiffs in this ...
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
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) ...