Filed Date: Aug. 23, 2012
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 2010, the United States Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section) began an investigation into the provision of services to individuals with mental illness in North Carolina. On July 28, 2011, the DOJ issued a letter of findings to the State Attorney General detailing violations of the ADA, Section 504, and the Olmstead v. L.C. integration mandate. The DOJ found that North Carolina unnecessarily placed individuals with mental illness in "adult care homes" rather than in community-based settings, and that the state's policies cause individuals with mental illness who receive some services outside of institutions to face a risk of unnecessary institutionalization.
After a year of negotiations, the DOJ concurrently filed a complaint and settlement agreement on August 23, 2012. Through this court-enforceable settlement agreement, North Carolina promised to increase its community-based services available to individuals with mental illness and to offer additional supports so that these individuals can stay out of institutions. Specifically, North Carolina was required to put transition programs in place to move individuals out of adult care homes and divert individuals from those placements where possible. The State also agreed to create additional opportunities for individuals with mental illness to live in supported housing, and to put programs in place to expand employment opportunities. The settlement also mandated that the State improve its community-based mental health services, with an emphasis on "Assertive Community Treatment" teams and crisis services. The parties selected an independent reviewer to monitor the State's progress in complying with the agreement. The Court retained jurisdiction for purposes of enforcing the settlement.
For the next five years, the parties monitored North Carolina's progress toward the terms of the settlement agreement. On January 9, 2017, the United States submitted a motion for the court to enforce the settlement agreement. The DOJ alleged that the State had repeatedly failed to comply with the agreement's housing and employment provisions, and had redefined ways to measure its own compliance with those provisions without the agreement of the DOJ. Specifically, the DOJ found that the State was far below the housing and employment services benchmarks that had been set for the year 2016, and that, because of its shortcomings, had decided to reevaluate the way it measured its progress toward those benchmarks to artificially boost the number of individuals who had received services. The DOJ stated that because of these failures, hundreds of mentally ill North Carolinians remained needlessly segregated in adult care homes.
The State opposed the motion, arguing that the DOJ's motion for court enforcement violated terms of the settlement agreement that called for collaborative dispute resolution. It also argued that its means of evaluating progress were consistent with the terms of the agreement.
On June 22, 2017, the case was reassigned to Chief Judge James C. Dever. On September 21, 2017, Judge Dever granted the DOJ's motion in part. Finding that the United States had satisfied its dispute resolution obligations under the settlement agreement and that its interpretation of the State's obligations was correct, he ordered the parties to meet and negotiate a modified timeline for the State's compliance obligations. 2017 WL 4238866. The parties met and agreed to extend the term of the agreement from July 2020 to July 2021, finding the State needed additional time to meet its obligations. The court granted an order approving of this modification on November 1, 2017.
The parties entered into a consent protective order on June 6, 2018. The order governs the confidential information exchanged during the course of compliance with the settlement. As of April 18, 2020, the only other entry in the docket since then has been a substitution of counsel on January 17, 2020. This case is ongoing for enforcement purposes.
Summary Authors
Beth Kurtz (11/9/2012)
Lauren Latterell Powell (11/1/2017)
Alex Moody (4/18/2020)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4303514/parties/united-states-v-state-of-north-carolina/
Abernathy, Terri J (North Carolina)
Abrams, David Gordon (North Carolina)
Acker, G Norman III (North Carolina)
Addington, Gregory W. (North Carolina)
Alexander, Keith S (North Carolina)
Abernathy, Terri J (North Carolina)
Abrams, David Gordon (North Carolina)
Acker, G Norman III (North Carolina)
Addington, Gregory W. (North Carolina)
Alexander, Keith S (North Carolina)
Allen, Julie Jackson (North Carolina)
Altman, Stephen D (North Carolina)
Androphy, Joel (North Carolina)
Armijo, Rumaldo R (North Carolina)
Armstrong, Samuel D. (North Carolina)
Arthur, Elizabeth G. (North Carolina)
Atkinson, Harold O. (North Carolina)
Attorney, Noticing 2255 (North Carolina)
Auchterlonie, Jennifer D (North Carolina)
Auerhan, Arnold M. (North Carolina)
AUSA, Jesse M (North Carolina)
Babu, Kavitha J (North Carolina)
Baka, Gregory (North Carolina)
Barbeau, Jason T (North Carolina)
Barkoff, Alison (District of Columbia)
Barr, Russell D. (North Carolina)
Barrett, David K (North Carolina)
Bartlett, Anastasia D. (North Carolina)
Beato, Andrew Michael (North Carolina)
Beck, Matthew (North Carolina)
Bennett, Jared C. (North Carolina)
Berger, Michael M. (North Carolina)
Bernstein, Bruce D. (North Carolina)
Bhandari, Rishi (North Carolina)
Bigelow, Jason M. (North Carolina)
Blesi, Samuel D (North Carolina)
Bogden, Daniel G. (North Carolina)
Borichewski, Lisca N (North Carolina)
Bortnick, Yael (North Carolina)
Branda, Joyce R (North Carolina)
Brandon, Susan S. (North Carolina)
Brito, Olga Eugenia (North Carolina)
Brooker, Renee (North Carolina)
Brown, Aimee Woodward (North Carolina)
Brown, Adrian L. (North Carolina)
Brown, Geoffrey J.L. (North Carolina)
Burianek, Lisa M. (North Carolina)
Burke, Matthew (North Carolina)
Burke, John W. (North Carolina)
Burnim, Ira Abraham (District of Columbia)
Burrell, Meredith (North Carolina)
Butcher, Daniel Everett (North Carolina)
Byron, Paul G. (North Carolina)
Camacho, Renee L (North Carolina)
Campbell, Scott J (North Carolina)
Carlson, Deborah (North Carolina)
Carman, Sean Kevin (North Carolina)
Carolina, State of (North Carolina)
Castaldi, Lauren Marie (North Carolina)
Chan, Priscilla To-Yin (North Carolina)
Chanoine, Hannah W (North Carolina)
Chmelar, Michael J (North Carolina)
Chorpening, Jennifer (North Carolina)
Clark, John E (North Carolina)
Clark, Caroline Jane (North Carolina)
Clarke, Ellen Rebecca (North Carolina)
Clayton, Lindsay Laurie (North Carolina)
Cohen, Richard Edward (North Carolina)
Cohen, Mary Louise (North Carolina)
Coles-Huff, Doris Denise (North Carolina)
Cooney, Nigel B (North Carolina)
Corcoran, Thomas F (North Carolina)
Costello, James (North Carolina)
Cueto, Christopher F. (North Carolina)
Daniels, Howard F (North Carolina)
Darmstadter, Henry C (North Carolina)
D'Arruda, Kimberley (North Carolina)
Davis, Evan J (North Carolina)
Davis, Patricia R. (North Carolina)
Deiss, Ila Casy (North Carolina)
Dimock, Christina Nicole (North Carolina)
DOJ, Michelle Bennett (North Carolina)
Dougherty, Burtis M (North Carolina)
Drake, Daniel R (North Carolina)
Dubal, Malisa Chokshi (North Carolina)
DuBois, James Joseph (North Carolina)
Durham, Jessie Huff (North Carolina)
Dworkin, Howard Sheldon (North Carolina)
Eichenholtz, Seth D. (North Carolina)
England, Travis W (District of Columbia)
Epperley, Linda A. (North Carolina)
Epperson, Jennifer L. (North Carolina)
Euliss, Richard D. (North Carolina)
Evans, Neil J. (North Carolina)
Ewalt, Andrew J. (North Carolina)
Farmer, Gary Michael (North Carolina)
Farringer, Craig S. (North Carolina)
Finlator, W. Wallace (North Carolina)
Fisher, Douglas M. (North Carolina)
Fisherow, W Benjamin (North Carolina)
Flake, Troy K. (North Carolina)
Foran, Sheila (District of Columbia)
Franze-Nakamura, Francis (North Carolina)
Freeman, Mark R (North Carolina)
Frein, Kevin C. (North Carolina)
Friel, Gregory (District of Columbia)
Fuchs, Siegmund F. (North Carolina)
Gallagher, Mark A. (North Carolina)
Gardey, David A. (North Carolina)
Garland, Liam J (North Carolina)
Glaser, Danica A. (North Carolina)
Gold, I. Randall (North Carolina)
Goldberg, Arthur R (North Carolina)
GOVT, Kevin Christopher (North Carolina)
GOVT, Louisa K (North Carolina)
Graff, Julia (District of Columbia)
Granston, Michael D (North Carolina)
Greenberg, Todd (North Carolina)
Greene, Gavin L (North Carolina)
Groom, Deborah Fennell (North Carolina)
Grossenbacher, Gary M (North Carolina)
Grossenbacher, Glenn D (North Carolina)
Guadagnino, Charles A (North Carolina)
Gurland, Harvey W. (North Carolina)
Guthrie, Robert Gay (North Carolina)
Habeas, US Attorney (North Carolina)
Hall, Jennifer Lynne (North Carolina)
Hanower, Patricia L (North Carolina)
Harrington, Quinn Patrick (North Carolina)
Harrod, Jennifer T (North Carolina)
Harwell, Lacy R. (North Carolina)
Heavener, Mac D. (North Carolina)
Hebert, Janice E. (North Carolina)
Hecker, Elizabeth Parr (North Carolina)
Held, Jessica M (North Carolina)
Hendry, Melanie Dyani (North Carolina)
Hertz, Michael F (North Carolina)
Hikida, Katherine M (North Carolina)
Hill, Eve L. (District of Columbia)
Hirst, Michael Andrew (North Carolina)
Hoang, Anthony P (North Carolina)
Hoffman, Grayson A (North Carolina)
Hollis, Christopher W (North Carolina)
Holton, Dwight C. (North Carolina)
Horwitz, Matthew Joseph (North Carolina)
Houten, Kathryn E (North Carolina)
Howlette, Jordan David (North Carolina)
Hurley, Daniel R. (North Carolina)
Hurley, Ann C (North Carolina)
Hurtado, Samuel A. (North Carolina)
Iannarone, Liberatore Joseph (North Carolina)
Iv, Berkley Carrington (North Carolina)
Jackson, E. Fletcher (North Carolina)
Janove, Jathan W. (North Carolina)
Jennings, David Reese (North Carolina)
Jensen, Michelle D. (North Carolina)
Johnson, Creecy (North Carolina)
Johnson, Kristin Berger (North Carolina)
Johnson-DOJ, T J (North Carolina)
Jordan, Aaron O (North Carolina)
Jr, James Bernier (North Carolina)
JR, Joseph Patrick (North Carolina)
Kaminski, Gerald Francis (North Carolina)
Kaplan, Robert N. (North Carolina)
Kaufman, Paul (North Carolina)
Kaufman-Cohen, Eric (North Carolina)
Kawakami, Kent A (North Carolina)
Keefe, Kerry Jane (North Carolina)
Keegan, Ruth Fuess (North Carolina)
Keehn, Douglas (North Carolina)
Keller, John Timothy (North Carolina)
Kennebrew, Delora (North Carolina)
Kern, Charles Douglas (North Carolina)
Kinner, Russell B (North Carolina)
Kipnis, Brian C (North Carolina)
Kirby, Freeman Edward (North Carolina)
Kirkman, David M. (North Carolina)
Kirwan, Tanya I. (North Carolina)
Kiziah, Katherine Ann (North Carolina)
Kline, Regina (District of Columbia)
Klovers, Christelle (North Carolina)
Knepel, Susan M (North Carolina)
Kono, Michiko (North Carolina)
Kotz, Stephen R. (North Carolina)
Krueger, Matthew Dean (North Carolina)
Kuehler, Natalie Nancy (North Carolina)
Kwaterski, Laura Schulteis (North Carolina)
Lagarde, Andre Jude (North Carolina)
Lammens, Philip R. (North Carolina)
Landau, Scott R. (North Carolina)
Langworthy, Nancy Fay (North Carolina)
Larkin, William F. (North Carolina)
Larsen, Christian R (North Carolina)
Larson, Kari Madrene (North Carolina)
LaVerne, Darren (North Carolina)
Lawrence, Kathleen O'Malley (North Carolina)
Layton, Daniel W (North Carolina)
Lee, Ralph J. (North Carolina)
Lehman, Lennie (North Carolina)
Lehman, Philip A. (North Carolina)
Leiderman, Joel David (North Carolina)
Lennington, Daniel P (North Carolina)
Lesperance, Karen Folster (North Carolina)
Levesque, Christian (North Carolina)
Levingston, Luttrell (North Carolina)
Lindquist, Susan J. (North Carolina)
Lipari, Vincent (North Carolina)
Littleton, Judson Owen (North Carolina)
Long, Kenneth Gordon (North Carolina)
Lowe, Virginia Cronan (North Carolina)
Lucero, Manuel (North Carolina)
Majeed, Sameena Shina (North Carolina)
Majmundar, Amar (North Carolina)
Majors, Jay D (North Carolina)
Mantell, Laura D. (North Carolina)
Maragani, Goud P (North Carolina)
Marinelli, Matthew M (North Carolina)
Mark, Carolyn G (North Carolina)
Markopoulos, Amy (North Carolina)
Maroldy, Laura M (North Carolina)
Martin, Sean E. (North Carolina)
Matthews, Ann Wilkinson (North Carolina)
Maurer, Michael Stuart (North Carolina)
McCabe, Brian J (North Carolina)
McClanahan, Cathryn Dawn (North Carolina)
McCord, Stacey Elise (North Carolina)
McCormack, Timothy P. (North Carolina)
McCulloch, Christine J (North Carolina)
McEldrew, James Joseph (North Carolina)
McElvain, Joel (North Carolina)
McEvoy, Lauren Mary (North Carolina)
McFadden, Lane M. (North Carolina)
Messec, Paige (North Carolina)
Miller, Eugene L (North Carolina)
Miller, Damon C. (North Carolina)
Miller, Monica L (North Carolina)
Moran, Timothy J (North Carolina)
Morris, Brian D. (North Carolina)
Mosteller, Daniel Paul (North Carolina)
Murphy, Michael D (North Carolina)
Murray, Jeffrey (North Carolina)
Mustokoff, Michael M. (North Carolina)
Mysliwiec, Paul (North Carolina)
Nance, Lars Franklin (North Carolina)
Nannis, Veronica Byam (North Carolina)
Nathanson, John Alexander (North Carolina)
Neal, John K. (North Carolina)
Nelson, Anne Elizabeth (North Carolina)
Nesler, Robert D. (North Carolina)
Nitze, Samuel P. (North Carolina)
Norris, Evan M. (North Carolina)
O'Brien, Thomas Peter (North Carolina)
Office, United States (North Carolina)
O'Neil, Erica N (North Carolina)
Ong, Marisa A (North Carolina)
Orent, Jonathan D. (North Carolina)
O'Rourke, Steven R (North Carolina)
Ostiller, Cathy J (North Carolina)
O'Toole, David A. (North Carolina)
Owen, Jay David (North Carolina)
Pahl, Michael R (North Carolina)
Palmer, R. Scott (North Carolina)
Palombo, Lisa A (North Carolina)
Park, Scott H. (North Carolina)
Paxton, Lauren Mary (North Carolina)
Pease, William H. (North Carolina)
Pence, Richard M. (North Carolina)
Perez, Alfred Juarez (North Carolina)
Perez, Thomas E. (District of Columbia)
Perros, Nicholas C. (North Carolina)
Peters, Alexander McClure (North Carolina)
Phillips, Cristine Irvin (North Carolina)
Phillips, Heather (North Carolina)
Piropato, Marissa A (North Carolina)
Podolak, Stephanie (North Carolina)
Poliakoff, Steven J (North Carolina)
Pomeroy, Richard L. (North Carolina)
Potter, Amy E. (North Carolina)
Powell, Kelly (North Carolina)
Pribe, Andrew (North Carolina)
Purcell, Joseph J (North Carolina)
Quinn, Elias L (North Carolina)
Race, Stacy M. (North Carolina)
Radice, John Daniel (North Carolina)
Raish, Anne (District of Columbia)
Riklin, Rand J (North Carolina)
Roberts, Darwin P (North Carolina)
Robinson, Stuart Justin (North Carolina)
Rosenbaum, Steven H (North Carolina)
Rudman, Samuel Howard (North Carolina)
Rush, Regan (District of Columbia)
Russell, Bruce T. (North Carolina)
Sadowski, Robert Wayne (North Carolina)
Sampson, Colin C. (North Carolina)
Sandberg, Justin Michael (North Carolina)
Santelle, James L (North Carolina)
Schachner, Elliot M. (North Carolina)
Schmelzer, Eric (North Carolina)
Schmidt, H Lee (North Carolina)
Schnieders, Kathleen Kelly (North Carolina)
Schwab, Mikel W. (North Carolina)
Schwartz, Richard Adam (North Carolina)
Schweiner, Dianne (North Carolina)
Scott, Olivia R (North Carolina)
Seff, Daniel A. (North Carolina)
Sgarlata, AnneMarie (North Carolina)
Sharinn, Harvey (North Carolina)
Simmons, Timothy W. (North Carolina)
Simpson, W Scott (North Carolina)
Slade, Shelley R. (North Carolina)
Smiley, Tiare B. (North Carolina)
Smith, Sharon Denise (North Carolina)
Smith, James Peeler (North Carolina)
Smith, Bruce C (North Carolina)
Spina, Thomas Spina (North Carolina)
Stanford, Jon K (North Carolina)
Starita, Paul L (North Carolina)
Steinacker, Andrea K (North Carolina)
Stengle, Linda Jeffries (North Carolina)
Stoll, Kenneth F. (North Carolina)
Strong, James C. (North Carolina)
Sutton, Jessica V. (North Carolina)
Swiney, Elijah W (North Carolina)
Tait, Monica E (North Carolina)
Taylor, Brock (North Carolina)
Taylor-Phillips, LaQuita J (North Carolina)
Tingle, Michal (North Carolina)
Torres, Susan (North Carolina)
Torres, Valerie (North Carolina)
Tribuiani, Rinku Talwar (North Carolina)
Underhill, R Michael (North Carolina)
Uzeta, Michelle (North Carolina)
Valdman, Rika (North Carolina)
Valerino, Gary J. (North Carolina)
Vogel, Robert Lawrence (North Carolina)
Vyas, Nisha N (North Carolina)
Waldorf, James J (North Carolina)
Walker, Thomas G. (North Carolina)
Walle, Erin McCarthy (North Carolina)
Ward, Stacy C (North Carolina)
Warwick, Lisa T (North Carolina)
Weintraub, J. Max (North Carolina)
Welan, Joy Levin (District of Columbia)
Welsh, Blaine T (North Carolina)
Wenthe, Roger W. (North Carolina)
Westphal, Leslie J. (North Carolina)
Whitehead, Charles G. (North Carolina)
Wiethe, Donetta Donaldson (North Carolina)
Wilcove, Michael N (North Carolina)
Willing-FLU, Patricia A. (North Carolina)
Wilson, Edward Bryan (North Carolina)
Wiseman, David B. (North Carolina)
Wogaman, Paul J (North Carolina)
Woods, Phillip Kevin (North Carolina)
Woods, James C. (North Carolina)
Woods, Thomas M (North Carolina)
Woodward, Sara D. (North Carolina)
Yanchunis, John Allen (North Carolina)
Yeh, Teresa (District of Columbia)
Yim, Deborah E (North Carolina)
Yoo, Danny Young-In (North Carolina)
Young, Brian R. (North Carolina)
Young, James Dennis (North Carolina)
Younts, Diana J (North Carolina)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4303514/united-states-v-state-of-north-carolina/
Last updated May 2, 2025, 12:42 a.m.
State / Territory: North Carolina
Case Type(s):
Public Benefits/Government Services
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 23, 2012
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
The United States filed this complaint on behalf of individuals with mental illness in North Carolina who are unnecessarily housed in adult care homes or placed at risk of such institutionalization by the state's policies.
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
State of North Carolina, State
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Content of Injunction:
Order Duration: 2012 - 2021
Issues
General/Misc.:
Benefits (Source):
Disability and Disability Rights:
Discrimination Basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Deinstitutionalization/decarceration
Placement in mental health facilities
Medical/Mental Health Care: