Filed Date: Dec. 4, 2008
Closed Date: 2018
Clearinghouse coding complete
On December 4, 2008, a class of pregnant women who gave birth while incarcerated in the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Cook County in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiffs asked the court for compensatory and punitive damages, claiming that their Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights and state law had been violated. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that defendants' policy of shackling pregnant women to their birthing tables for several days surrounding birth, without breaks to walk or use the bathroom, violated the women’s constitutional rights.
Between December 2007 and December 2008, the Cook County Jail transported pregnant female prisoners to Stronger Hospital when they went into labor. The Sheriff allowed the practice of shackling women to their obstetric tables before, during, and after birthing. The purported justification for this practice was the repeated escape attempts of mothers during childbirth. The plaintiffs alleged that this practice not only endangered the health of the mother and child, but also led to indignity and humiliation for the mothers because the shackles would not be removed for any purpose, forcing mothers to soil the beds. This practice, plaintiffs claimed, also greatly increased the chances of infection. One plaintiff had been shackled for two days to the hospital bed. Another plaintiff was shackled to the bed, without permission to use the bathroom or to leave for five days. Other class representatives alleged similar experiences involving shackling between December 2007 and December 2008.
On December 9, 2009, the court (Judge Amy J. St. Eve) denied the plaintiffs' motion for class certification, finding that the proposed plaintiffs did not fulfill the adequacy of representation requirement for class action certification. The court also found that class action would not be superior to other available methods for adjudicating the controversy. The plaintiffs attempted to bring an interlocutory appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court denied leave to appeal on March 23, 2010.
On May 10, 2010, after the plaintiffs' attorneys filed a myriad of individual claims against Cook County, the plaintiffs made an amended motion to certify a class. The Court certified the class on June 22, 2010. Thereafter, the defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim. The defendants argued that supervisory liability could not attach unless the plaintiffs could prove that the Sheriff was personally involved in enforcement of the policy.
The court denied the defendants' Motion to Dismiss on December 29, 2010. The court found that the plaintiffs' allegations in the complaint were sufficient in alleging that the defendant Sheriff knew of and was involved in the enforcement of the shackling policy sometime after December 2007. Thereafter the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.
On December 20, 2011, the Court granted the defendant Sheriff's motion for summary judgment as to damages against him in his individual capacity but denied the defendants and plaintiffs' motions for summary judgment on the Substantive Due Process and state law negligence claims.
Following a series of settlement conferences, the plaintiffs submitted a settlement agreement to the court for approval on May 17, 2012. The agreement provided that a total settlement fund of $4.1 million would resolve all class liability for the shackling policy and would be allocated to class members via a point distribution system that took account of the nature and duration of the shackling each class member endured.
On August 30, 2012, Judge St. Eve approved the settlement and the court dismissed the case without prejudice with leave to reinstate by August 30, 2013. Judge St. Eve granted the plaintiff's motion to expedite first payout to class members.
At the conclusion of all settlement payments, almost $900,000 remained in the settlement fund. So, on December 14, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a motion to close out administration, requesting the remaining funds be used for a substance abuse and mental health treatment program for women. Within the Cook County Circuit Court, Haymarket Center and the Maternal Objectives Management (MOMS) program oversaw such programs. The defendant refused to release the remaining funds, and so the Haymarket Center filed a motion to intervene on September 22, 2017, arguing entitlement to the funds as part of the settlement agreement.
On October 19, 2017, Judge St. Eve granted the defendant's motion for relief and denied the Haymarket Center's motion for intervention and enforcement. As Cook County cancelled the contract with Haymarket Center in September 2016, any such funds diverted to the Haymarket Center would not be allocated to members of the class. Instead, Judge St. Eve ruled that the defendant could retain the money in a special fund to provide in-house treatment and counseling services for women in Cook County custody.
The plaintiffs filed a motion on October 31, 2017 requesting reconsideration and a stay of judgment regarding Judge St. Eve's order granting defendant's relief. On April 9, 2018, Judge St. Eve granted the motion for reconsideration and denied the plaintiffs' motion for a stay as moot. The Court held that it had failed to properly incorporate the terms of the settlement agreement in its 2012 dismissal of the case, and therefore lacked jurisdiction to alter the settlement agreement—even though the County had ended its contract with Haymarket. Thus, the defendants were required to comply with the Payout Procedure of the settlement and allocate the remaining settlement funds to Haymarket. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Blase Kearney (9/27/2012)
Nichollas Dawson (11/18/2017)
Richa Bijlani (11/24/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4258638/parties/zaborowski-v-sheriff-of-cook-county/
Abt, E Jay (Illinois)
Acosta, Matthew C (Illinois)
Ademi, Shpetim (Illinois)
Ademi, Guri (Illinois)
Ainsworth, Jennifer Parker (Illinois)
St. Eve, Amy Joan (Illinois)
Block, Sarah Michelle (Illinois)
Brinckerhoff, Matthew D. (Illinois)
Creighton, Catherine (Illinois)
Flaxman, Kenneth N. (Illinois)
McGillivary, Gregory K. (Illinois)
McGlothlin, Lauren B. (Illinois)
Morrissey, Thomas Gerard (Illinois)
Morrissey, Patrick William (Illinois)
Pordy, Hope Allison (Illinois)
Saylor, Elizabeth S. (Illinois)
Ainsworth, Jennifer Parker (Illinois)
Albrecht, Sharon Renae (Illinois)
Anderson, Erik Joseph (Illinois)
Aronowitz, Edmund S (Illinois)
Arsenault, Richard J (Illinois)
Auerbach, Melissa J. (Illinois)
Baish, Anthony Scott (Illinois)
Barrett, Richard Runft (Illinois)
Bartow, Daryl Stuart (Illinois)
Bates, Joseph Henry (Illinois)
Beard, Brooks Michael (Illinois)
Beckman, Suzanne Havens (Illinois)
Berre, Edgar L. III (Illinois)
Bessinger, Heather M (Illinois)
Bhangare, Manisha S. (Illinois)
Bibb, John Randolph (Illinois)
Billhorn, John William (Illinois)
Bittner, Michael Andrew (Illinois)
Blau, Steven Bennet (Illinois)
Blount, Rebecca Cameron (Illinois)
Bond, Aaron Richard (Illinois)
Boodell, Thomas Joseph (Illinois)
Bornstein, Scott J. (Illinois)
Bouckenooghe, Lisa R (Illinois)
Brauerman, Stephen B. (Illinois)
Breedlove, Scott Wayne (Illinois)
Bronte, Patricia Ann (Illinois)
Bruce, Julia Suzanne (Illinois)
Buchanan, Brie L.b. (Illinois)
Bulgarelli, Mark Anthony (Illinois)
Bumgardner, Brent Nelson (Illinois)
Burke, Daniel Christopher (Illinois)
Burke, Alexander Holmes (Illinois)
Burke, Kevin Francis (Illinois)
Burnside, Christopher S (Illinois)
Byrne, Katharine Crane (Illinois)
Caddell, Michael A. (Illinois)
Caisman, Lauren Jennifer (Illinois)
Caixeiro, Manny Joseph (Illinois)
Caldwell, Bradley Wayne (Illinois)
Campbell, John Bruce (Illinois)
Campbell, Andrew B. (Illinois)
Carbone, Christian D. (Illinois)
Carlston, Richard G (Illinois)
Carrigan, Catherine Suzanne (Illinois)
Casamento, Gregory Thomas (Illinois)
Casieri, Christopher Stephen (Illinois)
Cassetta, Richard P. (Illinois)
Castiglione, Paul Anthony (Illinois)
Catania, Francis J. (Illinois)
Cavanaugh, Colleen Bernadette (Illinois)
Cecil, Thomas Christopher (Illinois)
Chapman, Cynthia B. (Illinois)
(Chicago), US Bankruptcy (Illinois)
Chinnery, Patrick William (Illinois)
Chizewer, David Joel (Illinois)
Christiansen, Erik A. (Illinois)
Ciardullo, Jean-paul (Illinois)
Ciccarelli, Massimo (Illinois)
Clayman, John Daniel (Illinois)
Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy (Illinois)
Clutter, Patrick Colbert (Illinois)
Coffin, Christopher L. (Illinois)
Coggins, Christopher M. (Illinois)
Cohen, Scott Michael (Illinois)
Cohen, Eric Charles (Illinois)
Cole, Donald Alexander (Illinois)
Collado, Victoria R. (Illinois)
Collins, Christopher (Illinois)
Condron, David Richard (Illinois)
Cormier, Christopher (Illinois)
Corrections, Illinois Department (Illinois)
Correspondence, Notices to (Illinois)
Cotchett, Joseph W. (Illinois)
Creighton, Andrew Joseph (Illinois)
Cummings, Jeffrey Irvine (Illinois)
Cummings, Nicholas E (Illinois)
Cunningham, Merritt Elizabeth (Illinois)
Cushing, Thomas William (Illinois)
Czapski, Michelle Thurber (Illinois)
Dahlin, Bryna Joyce (Illinois)
Dahlstrom, Patrick Vincent (Illinois)
Dampier, M. Stephen (Illinois)
Davenport, Carrie E. (Illinois)
Davenport, Elaine Cindy (Illinois)
Davidson, Stuart Andrew (Illinois)
Davidson, James Lee (Illinois)
Davis, Kristopher R. (Illinois)
Davis, Joseph Alfred (Illinois)
Delano, Barbara Carroll (Illinois)
Deming, Mark Thomas (Illinois)
Dickerson, Brian Edward (Illinois)
Dirba, Juliet Mitchell (Illinois)
Doan, Jennifer Haltom (Illinois)
Dockterman, Michael R. (Illinois)
Dombrowski, Gerald Michael (Illinois)
Dorsey, Christopher K. (Illinois)
Dougherty, George Robert (Illinois)
Douglass, Thomas E. (Illinois)
Ducayet, James Wallace (Illinois)
Duczynski, John Michael (Illinois)
Edwards, John Timothy (Illinois)
Engel, Jason Alexander (Illinois)
Engelmann, Holly Elin (Illinois)
Erdman, Rachel Lillian (Illinois)
Ernstberger, Kenny Bryan (Illinois)
Fabick, Elizabeth E. (Illinois)
Fahlgren, Daniel J. (Illinois)
Fallon, Patricia Maria (Illinois)
Fegan, Elizabeth A. (Illinois)
Ferrara, Jill Vosicky (Illinois)
Findlay, Michael D. (Illinois)
Finkelstein, Burton H. (Illinois)
Finney, Christopher R. (Illinois)
Fowkes, Scott William (Illinois)
Fowler, Johanna Searle (Illinois)
Freed, Michael Jerry (Illinois)
Frey, Kevin William (Illinois)
Friedman, Hal Daniel (Illinois)
Friedman, Arthur Weil (Illinois)
Froemel, Jonathan Paul (Illinois)
Frost, Claudia Wilson (Illinois)
Fuller, Michael Scott (Illinois)
Gaffney, Brian James (Illinois)
Gainer, Brian Patrick (Illinois)
Gallagher, Daniel Francis (Illinois)
Gallagher, Michael L. (Illinois)
Garcia, David Sturgeon (Illinois)
Gardner, Allen Franklin (Illinois)
Gearing, Brian Paul (Illinois)
Geller, Paul Jeffrey (Illinois)
General, United States (Illinois)
Gennari, Paul Andrew (Illinois)
Genson, Edward Marvin (Illinois)
Georges, Mara Stacy (Illinois)
Gilbert, Jeffrey Todd (Illinois)
Gilreath, Dana Michele (Illinois)
Glassman, Eydie Rachel (Illinois)
Goodhart, Bruce Jay (Illinois)
Goplerud, John Barton (Illinois)
Gottschlich, Thomas (Illinois)
Graves, Christine R. (Illinois)
Gray, Matthew Scott (Illinois)
Green, Jonathan Clark (Illinois)
Greene, Francis Richard (Illinois)
Gross, Stuart George (Illinois)
Grunfeld, Kenneth J. (Illinois)
Gruwell, Matthew Robert (Illinois)
Guaragna, John Michael (Illinois)
Guolee, Terrence Franklin (Illinois)
Gustafson, Daniel E (Illinois)
Haddock, Alison Marie (Illinois)
Haimovici, Randall D (Illinois)
Halperin, Karl Lewis (Illinois)
Hansen, Jeffrey Michael (Illinois)
Harshman, R Christopher (Illinois)
Hauselman, Martin F. (Illinois)
Hayes, Wendell Derek (Illinois)
Hayes, Steven Michael (Illinois)
Heather, Justin Lee (Illinois)
Heck, Raymond Christopher (Illinois)
Heneghan, Patrick Joseph (Illinois)
Herndon, Randolph K. (Illinois)
Heygood, Michael E. (Illinois)
Hill, Reginald Juvann (Illinois)
Hilliard, Robert C. (Illinois)
Hise, David Nathaniel (Illinois)
Hohn, Christopher M. (Illinois)
Holland, Gregory G. (Illinois)
Hopkins, Dennis Cecil (Illinois)
Hulshizer, Robin M. (Illinois)
Huyck, William Thomas (Illinois)
Imprevento, Michael F. (Illinois)
Ireland, John Craig (Illinois)
JACKSON, GARY WALKER (Illinois)
Jakubowski, Matthew M (Illinois)
Jameson, Louis Norwood (Illinois)
Janecek, Frank James (Illinois)
Johnson, Jeffrey Lance (Illinois)
Johnston, Lee Frederick (Illinois)
Kamber, Matthias Andreas (Illinois)
Kanovitz, Michael I (Illinois)
Kaufman, Susan Rebecca (Illinois)
Keeling, Kevin Alan (Illinois)
Kiger, Christopher Ray (Illinois)
King, Laurence David (Illinois)
King, Alan Sterling (Illinois)
Kleinman, Robert B. (Illinois)
Knapp, Moyenda Mutharika (Illinois)
Kochankovska, Pavlina (Illinois)
Kovacs, Caitlin Alejandrina (Illinois)
Kowalczyk, Lawrence S. (Illinois)
Koziol, Peter Andrew (Illinois)
Kreitenberg, Avi Melech (Illinois)
Lanzito, Dominick L (Illinois)
Latturner, James O. (Illinois)
Layng, Patrick Sean (Illinois)
Levine, Howard Mark (Illinois)
Levine, Laurence Harvey (Illinois)
Levy, Richard Bruce (Illinois)
Lewis, Michael Paul (Illinois)
Lindsey, Christie Brow (Illinois)
London, William Henry (Illinois)
Lovelace, Dewitt M. (Illinois)
Lowery, Michelle S. (Illinois)
Lyerla, Bradford P. (Illinois)
Maher, Michael John (Illinois)
Malia, Sarah Garner (Illinois)
Martin, John Conroy (Illinois)
Matthis, Jordan Lane (Illinois)
May, Theodore Joseph (Illinois)
McBride, Melanie Grace (Illinois)
McCollum, Michael B (Illinois)
Mcconville, Francis P. (Illinois)
Mcelroy, Lisa Marie (Illinois)
McKool, Mike McKool (Illinois)
Mear, Richard Wayne (Illinois)
Merrill, Cynthia Ann (Illinois)
Mester, Mark Steven (Illinois)
Meyer, Christopher Kenneth (Illinois)
Miller, Cassandra P. (Illinois)
Miller, Matthew Crane (Illinois)
Miltenberger, Timothy D. (Illinois)
Mitchell, Timothy P. (Illinois)
Mitchell, Kimberly M. (Illinois)
Mitchell, Gregory T. (Illinois)
Molster, Charles Bennett (Illinois)
Moreland, Matthew B. (Illinois)
Mottek, Jacqueline E (Illinois)
Murer, Matthew Joseph (Illinois)
Murray, John Edward (Illinois)
Nelson, David Aaron (Illinois)
Nicholson, Melinda Ann (Illinois)
Niro, Raymond Pardo (Illinois)
O'Brien, Marc William (Illinois)
Olivier, Kelly Michelle (Illinois)
Only, Prisoner Correspondence (Illinois)
Oppenheim, David Max (Illinois)
Oswald, Craig Arthur (Illinois)
Pala, Sudhir Anantrai (Illinois)
Papadopoulos, Athanasios (Illinois)
Patterson, John Bledsoe (Illinois)
Pavich, Robert James (Illinois)
Peet, Alexander Wells (Illinois)
Pendley, Patrick Wayne (Illinois)
Pestine, Zachary Adam (Illinois)
Peterson, Kathleen Flynn (Illinois)
Plasz, Andrew Nicholas (Illinois)
Pontikes, Rachael George (Illinois)
Pope, LeAnn Pedersen (Illinois)
Porter, Andrew Eliot (Illinois)
Pullos, James Charles (Illinois)
Rabinovitz, Joshua Z (Illinois)
Raines, Shawnte Miaundra (Illinois)
Rastegar, Jonathan Hart (Illinois)
Reilly, Jonna McGinley (Illinois)
Richardson, Michael Ernest (Illinois)
Richardson, Elliot S. (Illinois)
Richetti, Joseph Jack (Illinois)
Robertson, Dean Charles (Illinois)
Robertson, Edward D. (Illinois)
Robinson, Aron David (Illinois)
Rockforte, Nicholas R. (Illinois)
Rodrigues, Ruben Jose (Illinois)
Rogers, Kevin Barry (Illinois)
Romanenko, Victoria (Illinois)
Rosenblum, Elisha S. (Illinois)
Rothstein, Ronald Y (Illinois)
Rourk, Christopher John (Illinois)
Russell, Stephen M. (Illinois)
Sammataro, Carmelo B (Illinois)
Sanchez, Christopher B (Illinois)
Sanderson, Scott A. (Illinois)
Saunders, Michael Y. (Illinois)
Sawyer, Donald Lewis (Illinois)
Scarborough, Theodore R. (Illinois)
Schaffer, Michelle I. (Illinois)
Schaffer, Charles E. (Illinois)
Scharff, Christopher Michael (Illinois)
Schenck, Christopher (Illinois)
Schlichter, Jerome J (Illinois)
Schlueter, Tobias Edward (Illinois)
Schulman, Jeffrey A. (Illinois)
Schuurman, Willem G. (Illinois)
Schwartz, Andrew Charles (Illinois)
Scolnick, Judith S. (Illinois)
Serv, General Counsel, (Illinois)
Shapiro, Robert Eliot (Illinois)
Shead, James Daniel (Illinois)
Sheean, Christopher T. (Illinois)
Sheehan, Jamie Melissa (Illinois)
Shelquist, Robert Kinney (Illinois)
Shonson, Elizabeth A. (Illinois)
Sidbury, Benjamin F. (Illinois)
Siebman, Clyde Moody (Illinois)
Siegel, Steven Mark (Illinois)
Silverman, Joshua B. (Illinois)
Sinkfield, Richard H (Illinois)
Slaughter, Stacey P (Illinois)
Smith, James Michael (Illinois)
Smith, Patrick Stephen (Illinois)
Smith, Christopher C (Illinois)
Smollar, Leigh Handelman (Illinois)
Sonnenschein, Craig Britson (Illinois)
Sorich, Michael Jude (Illinois)
Southerland, John Isaac (Illinois)
Sprengel, Jennifer Winter (Illinois)
STAFFORD, MARK ANDREW (Illinois)
Stainthorp, John Ladell (Illinois)
Stephens, Paul Bryan (Illinois)
Stevens, David Erik (Illinois)
Stewart, Edward Craig (Illinois)
Stewart, Courtney Thornton (Illinois)
Stewart, Ellen Gusikoff (Illinois)
Stewart, Gretchen Wehrenberg (Illinois)
Stinson, Andrew William (Illinois)
Stockwell, Mitchell G (Illinois)
Straka, Brianne McNicholas (Illinois)
Stretz, Frank James (Illinois)
Sues, Allison Patricia (Illinois)
Swedlow, Stephen A. (Illinois)
Tallitsch, Daniel Alan (Illinois)
Tamburelli, Adam M. (Illinois)
Tarpey, Leo Michael (Illinois)
Third, Earl Neville (Illinois)
Thompson, Roderick M (Illinois)
Totaro, Martin Vincent (Illinois)
Travelstead, Timothy Carl (Illinois)
Trustee, United States (Illinois)
Tuck, Thomas Christopher (Illinois)
Vanderporten, Steven Lawrence (Illinois)
Veenstra, Matthew R. (Illinois)
WAICHMAN, HERBERT L. (Illinois)
Wakefield, Samuel Brent (Illinois)
Walker, Joseph Wayne (Illinois)
Warner, Curtis Charles (Illinois)
Warner, Kirk Gibson (Illinois)
Warshawsky, Kimberly A. (Illinois)
Wedoff, Eugene Robert (Illinois)
Weickhardt, George G. (Illinois)
Weiss, Jamie Elisabeth (Illinois)
White, Meghan Domenica (Illinois)
Widman, Stuart Michael (Illinois)
Wiegand, Thomas Joseph (Illinois)
Williams, Darrin L. (Illinois)
Williams, Steven N. (Illinois)
Williamson, Nick E. (Illinois)
Wirken, Christopher Burke (Illinois)
Wurth, Stephen Michael (Illinois)
Yanovsky, Michael D. (Illinois)
Yarusso, Amanda Sunshine (Illinois)
Yokich, Stephen Anthony (Illinois)
Yoo, S. Christopher (Illinois)
Young, Stacey Ilene (Illinois)
Yungwirth, Matthew S. (Illinois)
Zecchin, Anthony E. (Illinois)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4258638/zaborowski-v-sheriff-of-cook-county/
Last updated March 12, 2024, 3:01 a.m.
State / Territory: Illinois
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Post-WalMart decisions on class certification
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 4, 2008
Closing Date: 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Plaintiffs were women in the custody of the Sheriff of Cook County immediately before, during, and after she gave birth.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Sheriff of Cook County (Cook), County
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: $41,000,000
Issues
Reproductive rights:
Reproductive health care (including birth control, abortion, and others)
General:
Affected Sex or Gender:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: