The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants (1) violated the Eighth Amendment by acting with deliberate indifference to their health and safety by failing adequately to protect them from COVID-19 through social distancing, testing, sanitizing, medical treatment, masking, and vaccines, and (2) were negligent in failing to carry out proper preventative measures. Now before the court is the plaintiffs’ request to compel the defendants to produce the names of any adults in custody who have received positive COVID-19 antibody test results. The court grants the plaintiffs’ request to compel the defendants to disclose a list of adults in custody who have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. The court also denied in part and granted in part defendants' motion to dismiss; it dismissed the claims of the vaccine class due to mootness, but found the plaintiffs had standing to sue Governor Brown and Director Allen.
6:20-cv-00570-SB
DETAILS
Decision
Date
09/28/2021
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Discovery, Monetary Relief, Preliminary Injunction (PI)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Oregon
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
6:20-cv-00570-SB
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Or.
Decision
Motions Partially Granted
Place of Incarceration
State Prison
Name of Facility
Oregon Department of Corrections facilities
Legal Authority
Eighth Amendment - Deliberate Indifference
Case Status
Initial Filing Made
Motions Partially Granted
The court denied the defendants' motions to strike and dismiss plaintiffs' claims against Governor Brown and Director Allen. However, the court granted the motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claim for injunctive relief related to the COVID-19 vaccine, as the claim was moot. The court granted the defendants' request to take additional depositions, as well as plaintiffs' motions to dismiss plaintiff Micah Rhodes and their request to compel defendants to disclose a list of AICs who have tested positive for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
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.