Plaintiffs filed this case on behalf of pre and post-trial detainees in West Virginia's regional jail facilities, seeking injunctive relief requiring Defendants to promptly provide appropriate and necessary medical and mental health treatment, as required under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Plaintiffs claimed they suffered physical, mental, and emotional injuries, as well as being denied the ability to participate in the daily activities of jail life. The Court partially granted Defendant's motion for summary judgment regarding the ADA claims, but denied the motion for all other claims.
Baxley v. Jividen, 508 F.Supp.3d 28 (S.D. W. Va. Dec. 12, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
12/21/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Improved Conditions, Preliminary Injunction (PI)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
West Virginia
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
3:18-cv-1526-RCC
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D. W. Va.
Decision
Motions Partially Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
West Virginia's regional jail facilities
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference, Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
The Court granted the Defendants' motions for summary judgment to dismiss several of the Plaintiffs' American with Disabilities Act claims. The Court denied the Defendants' other motions for summary judgment, allowing Plaintiffs to keep their claims of deliberate indifference. In making that decision, the Court found that the Plaintiffs' claims were not moot and the Plaintiffs did not fail to exhaust their administrative remedies.
Age (54) years old; Asthma (very severe); SPMI (suicidal)
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
The class is defined as pretrial detainees and convicted inmates housed at West Virginia's regional jail facilities needing medical and mental health treatment.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not Discussed
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
Potential Research
Inmates' health problems, poor prison conditions, prisoner's rights
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
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