Two individuals brought a class action suit on behalf of medically vulnerable and disabled individuals in pretrial detention at Shelby County Jail, seeking improved conditions. The court granted preliminary approval of the parties' settlement agreement, which required improved ventilation, improved hygiene and PPE, testing and quarantining procedures, and social distancing, all of which would be enforced via unannounced inspections by a court-appointed Independent Inspector.
Improved Conditions, Other, Preliminary Injunction (PI), preliminary approval of settlement
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Tennessee
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
2:20-cv-2359-SHL-atc
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
W.D. Tenn.
Decision
Other
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Shelby County Jail
Legal Authority
Other, Fed. R. Civ. P. 23
Case Status
Decision Made
Improved Conditions Ordered
The judge preliminarily approved the parties' settlement agreement. The settlement agreement required COVID-19 testing, reporting of testing results, quarantining procedures, social distancing, and adequate hygiene and personal protective equipment. The agreement further requires regular unannounced inspections by a Court-appointed Independent Inspector.
Age (65 and older); medication-related immunocompromise (corticosteroids etc.); obesity (BMI 40 or higher).
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
"The Class consists of all:
1. People 65 years and older;
2. People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma (including chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (including emphysema and chronic
bronchitis), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis);
3. People who have serious heart conditions (including heart failure, coronary artery
disease, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathies and pulmonary hypertension);
4. People who are immunocompromised (including cancer treatment, smoking, bone
marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or
AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening
medications);
5. People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher);
6. People with diabetes;
7. People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis;
8. People with chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis; and
9. People with hemoglobin disorders, including sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
"The subclass consists of:
All persons currently or in the future held at the Jail in pretrial custody during
the COVID19 pandemic who are at increased risk of COVID-19
complications or death because of disabilities as defined in the Americans
With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The
Subclass includes everyone in the Class except those people who are
vulnerable solely due to age or BMI. People with all other conditions listed in
paragraph (1) above are people with disabilities as defined under federal law."
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not Discussed
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.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.