Filed Date: March 14, 2017
Closed Date: 2018
Clearinghouse coding complete
On March 14, 2017, a teenage boy who had formerly been in the Grays Harbor County Juvenile Detention Facility’s custody brought this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. (As the boy was a minor, his mother filed the complaint on his behalf.) The plaintiff sued Grays Harbor County for repeatedly putting him in solitary confinement for minor rule violations during his time at the juvenile detention facility. Represented by private counsel and the ACLU of Washington, the plaintiff sought damages, injunctive relief, and declaratory relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He claimed that the county's actions were a violation of his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The case was assigned to Judge Ronald B. Leighton.
After the close of discovery, settlement negotiations began, and the plaintiff was appointed a guardian ad litem to represent his best interests. On June 26, 2017, the guardian ad litem proposed a settlement agreement that required the county to pay the plaintiff $45,000 in general damages and revise its juvenile detention policies. The guardian ad litem also outlined a structured settlement plan in which the plaintiff would receive his damages in installments over the next three years, with much of the money unavailable until after he turned eighteen.
On October 13, 2017, the parties settled. The county agreed to pay $45,000 in damages, which it delivered in a lump sum to the plaintiff's lawyer. The county also agreed to pay for the guardian ad litem's time and the cost of the mediation that had already occurred. The settlement also required the county to revise its juvenile detention policy such that solitary confinement was only used in extreme circumstances and that the living conditions in solitary confinement were improved. The county agreed to have the revisions made and presented to the plaintiff by ninety days after the settlement date, the new training protocols related to the revised policy made and presented to the plaintiff by 120 days after the settlement date, and all juvenile detention center staff trained on the revised policy by December 1, 2017. The county was also required to provide refresher training in the revised policy to staff once every twelve months for an undetermined period of time, as well as provide the legal guardians of juvenile detainees with those detainees' files.
In return, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss all of the claims in the lawsuit with prejudice within thirty days of the county fulfilling its contractual duties to him. If a dispute arose, both parties agreed that it would be submitted to Paris K. Kallas, a former county judge from a different Washington county, for binding arbitration, and the losing party would pay attorneys costs and arbitration fees. Because the parties agreed to settle out of court, the plaintiff did not receive declaratory relief, and the first paragraph of the settlement stated that the county agreement was not an admission of the county's violation of any law or failure to fulfill any duty to the plaintiff.
On January 24, 2018, the plaintiff dismissed the case with prejudice. The plaintiff presumably continues to monitor the county's compliance with the injunction-like provisions of the settlement and may submit instances of noncompliance for arbitration. The settlement agreement does not state how long the county's obligations will be in effect; this issue may be resolved in arbitration if the plaintiff decides to bring it. The court no longer has jurisdiction, so the case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Rebecca Strauss (5/17/2018)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6223254/parties/doe-v-grays-harbor-county/
Read, Jo-Hanna (Washington)
Kline, Kathleen A (Washington)
Michael, Suzanne Kelly (Washington)
Leighton, Ronald B. (Washington)
Talner, Nancy Lynn (Washington)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6223254/doe-v-grays-harbor-county/
Last updated April 6, 2024, 3:04 a.m.
State / Territory: Washington
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: March 14, 2017
Closing Date: 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A teenage boy who was repeatedly put in solitary confinement for minor rule-breaking behavior while in the custody of the Grays Harbor County Juvenile Detention Facility
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Grays Harbor County (Tacoma, Grays Harbor), County
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Content of Injunction:
Goals (e.g., for hiring, admissions)
Amount Defendant Pays: $46,500
Order Duration: 2017 - None
Issues
General/Misc.:
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)