Petitioners were immigration detainees with medical conditions that made them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and they were housed in various ICE facilities in Pennsylvania. The court denied the motion for class certification on the grounds that petitioners' claims are different in their factual circumstances based on medical condition, facility and COVID mitigation procedures, and criminal histories. The court stated that Covid-19 affects people in many ways depending on physical conditions and external conditions where they live. As a result, petitioners could not be treated as a unit, so a class action was not appropriate.
Thakker v. Doll, 336 F.R.D. 408 (M.D. Pa. 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
09/24/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Class Certification
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Pennsylvania
Type of Case
Class Action
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-480
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
M.D. Pa.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
ICE detention facilities across central Pennsylvania
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
Other, Federal Rule of civil procedure 23(b)(2)
Convictions
Thakker (theft); Stubbs (conspiracy to distribute marijuana); Gomez-Hernandez (domestic assault).
People who are advanced in age or suffer from 30 listed comorbid conditions.
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.