Case: Hernandez v. County of Monterey

5:13-cv-02354 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: March 23, 2013

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

On May 23, 2013, prisoners and recently released prisoners from Monterey County Jail filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs sued the County of Monterey and the California Forensic Medical Group (CFMG) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law. The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, the ACLU National Prison Project, the Monterey Public Defender, and private attorneys, asked for declaratory and injunctive relief. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the conditions in the Monterey County Jail (the "Jail") violated federal and state law due to failures to protect prisoners from violence, provide adequate medical and mental health care, and provide reasonable accommodations to prisoners with disabilities.

On April 25, 2015, the County and Sheriff's Office filed a motion to dismiss, and the CFMG filed a motion to dismiss on May 2, 2014. The District Court (Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal) denied both motions on September 29, 2014. 2014 WL 4843945 (N.D. Cal. 2014). First, the Court found that the plaintiffs had standing even if they were no longer incarcerated, due to the short average length of stay of prisoners in the putative class and the slow speed of legal action. Second, the Court addressed the issue of whether a private provider of jail medical facilities are "services" that can face scrutiny under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that the plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded that CFMG was subject to Title III of the ADA because it operates a "professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or other service establishment" within the jail. The Court further explained that, although the "place" of a jail fell under Title II of the ADA as a public entity, courts had consistently found that Title III applied to "places of public accommodation" within places that normally don't fit under Title III either because they are owned by or operated for other purposes by a public entity.

On April 29, 2014, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking certification of a prisoner class consisting of all current and future prisoners in the jail, and a subclass of prisoners with disabilities, consisting of all current and future prisoners who have a qualifying disability. Then, on August 26, 2014, the plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction, requesting that the Court order defendants to fix six of the conditions at the Jail that placed the plaintiffs and class members at risk of serious injury and death.

On January 29, 2015, Magistrate Judge Grewal certified the class. 2015 WL 399975 (N.D. Cal. 2015). Then on April 14, 2015, Magistrate Judge Grewal also granted the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction.

On May 11, 2015, the parties settled the case. The jail agreed to set new standards for the medical and mental health care provided to inmates and to expand accessibility for prisoners with disabilities. The parties agreed to retain experts as neutral monitors for a limited term of oversight. The parties planned for the jail to come into compliance with the Settlement Agreement within five years, unless they moved for an extension. The court was to retain jurisdiction over the settlement for this five year period.

On August 18, 2015, Magistrate Judge Grewal approved the settlement. Litigation continued over attorneys' fees as the settlement agreement only set upper limits for attorneys' fees of $4.8 million. On November 6, the parties stipulated to an agreement of how they would address the issue of interest on attorneys' fees.

The parties then litigated the implementation plan. After briefing and hearings, the court approved an implementation plan on May 27, 2016.

On June 6, 2016, the case was reassigned to Judge Beth Labson Freeman.

In 2017 and 2018, there was some litigation over compliance issues. On March 19, 2018, the plaintiffs proposed an order regarding the use of telepsychiatry by the defendants, as per the settlement agreement. The court had instructed the parties that the defendants needed to have standards for when they could deviate from the typical in-person encounter and instead use “telemedicine or telepsychiatry.” After counsel met and decided on these issues, plaintiffs’ proposed order was signed and ordered by the judge on March 22, 2018. (ECF 632). Over the following months, parties handled various settlement agreement enforcement issues, such as attorneys fees and costs, the production of medical records, and neutral monitors. The docket remains active with these issues as of March 6, 2020.

	Document
5:13-cv-02354	Docket [PACER] Hernandez v. Monterey	March 17, 2020	March 17, 2020 Docket
1 5:13-cv-02354	Civil Class Action Complaint [For Declaratory and Injunctive Relief]	May 23, 2013	May 23, 2013 Complaint
25 5:13-cv-02354	Stipulation and [Proposed] Order	Jan. 14, 2014	Jan. 14, 2014 Pleading / Motion / Brief
41 5:13-cv-02354	Second Amended Civil Class Action Complaint [For Declaratory And Injunctive Relief]	April 11, 2014	April 11, 2014 Complaint
44 5:13-cv-02354	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION OF DEFENDANTS COUNTY OF MONTEREY AND MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS, ROBERT YANCEY, RICHARD MURPHY, DENNIS GUYOT, GLENDA HUNTER, MARTHA GOMEZ, WESLEY MILLER, JEFFREY NICHOLS, SARAB SARABI, and ALBER	April 25, 2014	April 25, 2014 Complaint
59 5:13-cv-02354	DEFENDANT CALIFORNIA FORENSIC MEDICAL GROUP, INC.’S MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT	May 2, 2014	May 2, 2014 Pleading / Motion / Brief
128 5:13-cv-02354	Order Denying Defendants' Motions to Dismiss	Sept. 29, 2014	Sept. 29, 2014 Order/Opinion 70 F.Supp.3d 963
431 5:13-cv-02354	Order Granting Motion to Certify Class and Denying Motion to Strike Hernandez v. Monterey U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California	Jan. 29, 2015	Jan. 29, 2015 Order/Opinion 305 F.R.D. 132
460 5:13-cv-02354	Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction	April 14, 2015	April 14, 2015 Order/Opinion 110 F.Supp.3d 929
483-2 5:13-cv-02354	Settlement Agreement	May 11, 2015	May 11, 2015 Settlement Agreement

Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
White Paper: Effective Communication with Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind, and Low Vision Incarcerated People Tessa Bialek and Margo Schlanger	This version of the white paper is screen readable. A large print (but not screen readable) version of the white paper is available here…	July 2022	July 7, 2022
Parties Announce Preliminary Comprehensive Settlement in Federal Class Action Lawsuit Over Conditions at Monterey County Jail	SALINAS, CALIFORNIA - Lawyers for all parties in Hernandez v. County of Monterey announced today that they have reached a preliminary comprehensive settlement in the class action lawsuit filed in May…	05/11/2015	May 11, 2015 https://www.aclu.org/...
Plata v. Brown and Realignment: Jails, Prisons, Courts, and Politics Margo Schlanger	This Article explores pertinent features of the relevant legal and political ecosystem in which California shrank its prison population. Informed by court documents, state reports and policy papers,…	Winter 2013	Dec. 1, 2013 https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/...

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT (summons issued) against California Forensic Medical Group, County of Monterey, Monterey County Sheriff's Office ( Filing fee $ 400, receipt number 34611086344.). Filed byRichard Murphy, Sarab Sarabi, Glenda Hunter, Jesse Hernandez, Robert Yancy. (cv, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/23/2013) (cv, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 05/28/2013)	May 23, 2013	May 23, 2013 RECAP
2	Summons Issued as to California Forensic Medical Group, County of Monterey, Monterey County Sheriff's Office. (cv, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/23/2013) (Entered: 05/28/2013)	May 23, 2013	May 23, 2013 PACER
3	ADR SCHEDULING ORDER: Case Management Statement due by 8/20/2013. Case Management Conference set for 8/27/2013 10:00 AM in Courtroom 5, 4th Floor, San Jose. (Attachments: # 1 Standing Order, # 2 Standing Order, # 3 Standing Order, # 4 Standing Order)(cv, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/23/2013) (Entered: 05/28/2013) 1 Standing Order View on PACER 2 Standing Order View on PACER 3 Standing Order View on PACER 4 Standing Order View on PACER	May 23, 2013	May 23, 2013 PACER
4	CLERKS NOTICE re: Failure to E-File and/or Failure to Register as an E-Filer (cv, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/4/2013) (Entered: 06/04/2013)	June 4, 2013	June 4, 2013 PACER
5	NOTICE of Appearance by James Samuel Egar (Egar, James) (Filed on 6/6/2013) (Entered: 06/06/2013)	June 6, 2013	June 6, 2013 PACER
6	NOTICE of Appearance by Michael William Bien, Michael Freedman, and Krista Stone-Manista (Bien, Michael) (Filed on 6/6/2013) (Entered: 06/06/2013)	June 6, 2013	June 6, 2013 PACER
7	NOTICE of Change In Counsel by Gay Crosthwait Grunfeld (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 6/6/2013) (Entered: 06/06/2013)	June 6, 2013	June 6, 2013 PACER
8	CONSENT/DECLINATION to Proceed Before a US Magistrate Judge by Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Richard Murphy, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancy.. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 6/6/2013) (Entered: 06/06/2013)	June 6, 2013	June 6, 2013 PACER
9	STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER filed by Jesse Hernandez. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 7/26/2013) (Entered: 07/26/2013)	July 26, 2013	July 26, 2013 PACER
10	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Jesse Hernandez re 9 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 7/26/2013) (Entered: 07/26/2013)	July 26, 2013	July 26, 2013 PACER
11	ORDER GRANTING 9 STIPULATION entered by Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (Entered: 07/29/2013)	July 29, 2013	July 29, 2013 PACER
12	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Jesse Hernandez CIVIL DOCKET TEXT RE ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 7/31/2013) (Entered: 07/31/2013)	July 31, 2013	July 31, 2013 PACER
13	STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER Protective Order filed by Jesse Hernandez. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 10/8/2013) (Entered: 10/08/2013)	Oct. 8, 2013	Oct. 8, 2013 PACER
14	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Jesse Hernandez re 13 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER Protective Order (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 10/8/2013) (Entered: 10/08/2013)	Oct. 8, 2013	Oct. 8, 2013 PACER
15	ORDER ENTERING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Judge Paul S. Grewal granting 13 Stipulation (psglc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/9/2013) (Entered: 10/09/2013)	Oct. 9, 2013	Oct. 9, 2013 PACER
16	AMENDED COMPLAINT against All Defendants. Filed byRichard Murphy, Sarab Sarabi, Glenda Hunter, Jesse Hernandez, Robert Yancey, Cynthia Aguilar, Dennis Guyot, Albert Key, Ha Cobb, Jeff Nichols, George Greim, Wesley Miller. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, Part 1 of 3, # 2 Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3, # 3 Exhibit A, Part 3 of 3, # 4 Exhibit B)(Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 10/31/2013) (Entered: 10/31/2013) 1 Exhibit A, Part 1 of 3 View on PACER 2 Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3 View on PACER 3 Exhibit A, Part 3 of 3 View on PACER 4 Exhibit B View on PACER	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2013 PACER
17	MOTION for leave to appear in Pro Hac Vice for Carl Takei ( Filing fee $ 305, receipt number 0971-8125794.) filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 10/31/2013) (Entered: 10/31/2013)	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2013 PACER
18	MOTION for leave to appear in Pro Hac Vice for Eric Balaban ( Filing fee $ 305, receipt number 0971-8125804.) filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 10/31/2013) (Entered: 10/31/2013)	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2013 PACER
19	ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO APPEAR PRO HAC VICE by Judge Paul S. Grewal granting 17 Motion for Pro Hac Vice; granting 18 Motion for Pro Hac Vice (psglc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/1/2013) (Entered: 11/01/2013)	Nov. 1, 2013	Nov. 1, 2013 PACER
20	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey of First Amended Complaint and Related Documents (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 11/1/2013) (Entered: 11/01/2013)	Nov. 1, 2013	Nov. 1, 2013 PACER
21	NOTICE of Appearance by Micaela Davis, Alan L. Schlosser and Lillian C. Chen of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California (Davis, Micaela) (Filed on 11/8/2013) (Entered: 11/08/2013)	Nov. 8, 2013	Nov. 8, 2013 PACER
22	* POSTED IN ERROR * please see 23 WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed filed by Richard Murphy, Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, Sarab Sarabi, George Greim, Jeff Nichols, Glenda Hunter, Jesse Hernandez, Albert Key, Dennis Guyot, Wesley Miller, Robert Yancey. Service waived by California Forensic Medical Group waiver sent on 10/31/2013, answer due 12/30/2013; County of Monterey waiver sent on 10/31/2013, answer due 12/30/2013. (Freedman, Michael) (Filed on 12/3/2013) Modified on 12/27/2013 (cv, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 12/03/2013)	Dec. 3, 2013	Dec. 3, 2013 PACER
23	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed filed by Richard Murphy, Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, Sarab Sarabi, George Greim, Jeff Nichols, Glenda Hunter, Jesse Hernandez, Albert Key, Dennis Guyot, Wesley Miller, Robert Yancey. Service waived by Monterey County Sheriff's Office waiver sent on 10/31/2013, answer due 12/30/2013. Service waived by County of Monterey waiver sent on 10/31/2013, answer due 12/30/2013. CORRECTION OF DOCKET # 22 (Freedman, Michael) (Filed on 12/3/2013) (Entered: 12/03/2013)	Dec. 3, 2013	Dec. 3, 2013 PACER
24	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed filed by Richard Murphy, Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, Sarab Sarabi, George Greim, Jeff Nichols, Glenda Hunter, Jesse Hernandez, Albert Key, Dennis Guyot, Wesley Miller, Robert Yancey. Service waived California Forensic Medical Group waiver sent on 10/31/2013, answer due 12/30/2013 (Freedman, Michael) (Filed on 12/3/2013) (Entered: 12/03/2013)	Dec. 3, 2013	Dec. 3, 2013 PACER
25	STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 1/15/2014) (Entered: 01/15/2014)	Jan. 15, 2014	Jan. 15, 2014 PACER
26	ORDER GRANTING STAY UNTIL FEBRUARY 17, 2014 by Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal granting 25 Stipulation.(psglc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/16/2014) (Entered: 01/16/2014)	Jan. 16, 2014	Jan. 16, 2014 PACER
27	STATUS REPORT AND REQUEST TO SET DEADLINES by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 2/28/2014) (Entered: 02/28/2014)	Feb. 28, 2014	Feb. 28, 2014 PACER
28	STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 3/14/2014) (Entered: 03/14/2014)	March 14, 2014	March 14, 2014 PACER
29	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey re 28 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 3/14/2014) (Entered: 03/14/2014)	March 14, 2014	March 14, 2014 PACER
30	ORDER GRANTING 28 STIPULATION entered by Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (Entered: 03/17/2014)	March 17, 2014	March 17, 2014 PACER
31	CLERK'S NOTICE SETTING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE: Case Management Conference set for 4/8/2014 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 5, 4th Floor, San Jose. Case Management Statement due by 4/1/2014. *This is a text only docket entry, there is no document associated with this notice.* (ofr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/17/2014) (Entered: 03/17/2014)	March 17, 2014	March 17, 2014 PACER
32	NOTICE of Appearance by Susan K. Blitch (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(Blitch, Susan) (Filed on 3/21/2014) (Entered: 03/21/2014) 1 Certificate/Proof of Service View on PACER	March 21, 2014	March 21, 2014 PACER
33	NOTICE of Change In Counsel by Alan Lawrence Schlosser (Schlosser, Alan) (Filed on 3/25/2014) (Entered: 03/25/2014)	March 25, 2014	March 25, 2014 PACER
34	CONSENT/DECLINATION to Proceed Before a US Magistrate Judge by County of Monterey, Monterey County Sheriff's Office.. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(Blitch, Susan) (Filed on 4/1/2014) (Entered: 04/01/2014) 1 Certificate/Proof of Service View on PACER	April 1, 2014	April 1, 2014 PACER
35	STIPULATION and Proposed Order selecting Private ADR by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey, County of Monterey, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, and California Forensic Medical Group, Inc. filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 4/1/2014) (Entered: 04/01/2014)	April 1, 2014	April 1, 2014 PACER
36	JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT filed by Cynthia Aguilar, Ha Cobb, George Greim, Dennis Guyot, Jesse Hernandez, Glenda Hunter, Albert Key, Wesley Miller, Richard Murphy, Jeff Nichols, Sarab Sarabi, Robert Yancey. (Grunfeld, Gay) (Filed on 4/1/2014) (Entered: 04/01/2014)	April 1, 2014	April 1, 2014 PACER
37	ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION by Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal granting 35 Stipulation selecting Private ADR.(psglc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/2/2014) (Entered: 04/02/2014)	April 2, 2014	April 2, 2014 PACER
38	NOTICE of Appearance by Peter George Bertling on behalf of Defendant California Forensic Medical Group, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(Bertling, Peter) (Filed on 4/4/2014) (Entered: 04/04/2014) 1 Certificate/Proof of Service View on PACER	April 4, 2014	April 4, 2014 PACER
39	CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by California Forensic Medical Group re 38 Notice of Appearance Amended Certificate of Service re Notice of Appearance of Defendant California Forensic Medical Group, Inc. (Bertling, Peter) (Filed on 4/4/2014) (Entered: 04/04/2014)	April 4, 2014	April 4, 2014 PACER
40	Minute Entry: Case Management Conference held on 4/8/2014 before Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal. Plaintiffs plan to file amended complaint by 4/11/2014. Rule 26(f) conference to be held by 4/18/2014. Supplemental case management statement to be submitted by 4/25/2014. Court to issue case management scheduling order upon receipt of supplemental statement. The court will schedule a telephonic hearing if necessary. (Court Reporter FTR: (10:00 to 10:08) (ofr, COURT STAFF) (Date Filed: 4/8/2014) (Entered: 04/09/2014)	April 8, 2014	April 8, 2014 PACER

Case: Hernandez v. County of Monterey

5:13-cv-02354 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

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