Case: Pierce v. Orange County

8:01-cv-00981 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Filed Date: Oct. 18, 2001

Closed Date: 2014

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Case Summary

On October 18, 2001, pretrial detainees represented by attorney Barry Litt initiated a class action suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, challenging the conditions of confinement at the Orange County Jail (the "Jail"). Plaintiffs alleged that they were detained for unreasonable periods of time following the order for their release, denied rights under Stewart v. Gates (e.g., holding cell seats, outdoor exercise, dayroom and phon…

The District Court (Judge Gary L. Taylor) certified two classes, one for equitable relief and one for injunctive relief, on October 15, 2003. The injunctive relief class was later decertified on March 1, 2004. In response to various motions to dismiss, Plaintiffs filed several amended complaints, culminating in the final operative pleading, the Fifth Amended Complaint. The claims that survived dismissal involved meals, overcrowded holding cells, outdoor exercise, dayroom access, religious services, and access for people with disabilities.

On March 10, 2004, Judge Taylor sua sponte consolidated this action with Stewart v. Gates, 450 F.Supp. 583 (C.D.Cal. 1978), for the December 2004 trial. The Stewart case involved an injunction against the Jail that had been in effect since the mid-1970s.

One plaintiff's personal injury claim was bifurcated from the main case and settled in December 2005.

On April 27, 2005, Judge Taylor entered judgment for the defendants on all claims. Plaintiffs appealed.

On March 24, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed much of the District Court's decision modifying and terminating portions of prior injunctive decrees. The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's decision regarding the plaintiffs' right-to-worship, cruel and unusual punishment, and ADA claims. The appellate ruling stated that the religious services portion of the Stewart injunction was both narrowly drawn and needed to protect the freedom of these pretrial detainees to worship, so it should not have been modified by the District Court. The Ninth Circuit also held that providing only ninety minutes per week (about thirteen minutes per day) of out-of-cell exercise for pretrial prisoners in administrative segregation did not meet constitutional standards. Likewise, failure to provide accommodations for mobility- and dexterity-impaired pretrial prisoners did not comply with ADA requirements. The defendants' failure to remove certain physical barriers or make accommodations for disabled prisoners to navigate these barriers, as well as the Jail's inadequate accommodations of disabled prisoners' educational, recreational, and vocational programming needs, constituted ADA non-compliance. The Ninth Circuit also restored one disabled plaintiff's claims for damages based upon alleged mental and emotional harms, finding that these harms allegedly resulted from the ADA violations and should not have been dismissed by the District Court. Pierce v. County of Orange, 519 F.3d 985 (9th Cir. 2008). This order was amended on May 15, 2008 as part of the denial of rehearing en banc. Pierce v. County of Orange, 526 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 2008).

The case was remanded to the District Court for further fact-finding on the state of physical barriers to adequate access to bathrooms, showers, exercise areas, dayrooms, dining rooms, cells and all other areas to which disabled persons should have access, and to order remedial remedies as required.

On January 7, 2011, after another six-day bench trial, the District Court (Judge Audrey B. Collins) confirmed the ADA sub-class as pretrial detainees with either a mobility or dexterity impairment, and made detailed findings of fact as to the conditions in the various facilities. Judge Collins found ADA violations including physical barriers for disabled inmates, disparate access to services, recreation and programming, and noncompliant bathroom, shower, and living facilities. Judge Collins ordered the defendants to draft a comprehensive plan to correct these deficiencies. Pierce v. County of Orange, 761 F. Supp. 2d 915 (C.D. Cal. 2011).

On February 18, 2011, defendants submitted a Proposed Plan for addressing the issues presented in the January 7 ruling. After plaintiffs submitted their reply on March 11, 2011, the Proposed Plan was amended.

On June 28, 2011, the District Court entered judgment for the plaintiffs and accepted the defendant's final proposed plan for addressing the physical barriers identified in the factual findings and ensuring that disabled detainees are provided with equal access to programs, services, and activities as discussed therein. The Court's order also called for the appointment of a Monitor. Over the next year, the parties litigated attorneys' fees and issues regarding the Jail's compliance with the judgment.

On February 1, 2012, Judge Collins noted that while defendants had made substantial progress on the required physical modifications during the first six months following the Court's Order, they had not complied with several significant parts of the Order, including the housing of class members and the implementing of programmatic changes, as indicated in the Monitor's January 2012 report. The parties then resolved many of these issues. After receiving another quarterly report, on August 27, 2012, Judge Collins again noted that there were still key areas of noncompliance with the Order, particularly with regard to the programmatic aspects such as outdoor recreation.

On March 8, 2012, Judge Collins ordered defendants to pay approximately $2.99 million in attorneys' fees and $225,147.52 in litigation expenses. Pierce v. Cnty. of Orange, 905 F. Supp. 2d 1017 (C.D. Cal. 2012).

The injunction was due to expire on June 27, 2013. On June 3, 2013, plaintiffs filed a motion to stay the termination of the injunction and extend injunctive relief for two more years. Plaintiffs claimed that while defendants had made limited progress, the Jail remained largely out of compliance with the Court's Order in key respects, particularly with regard to 1) the classification and booking of class members, 2) the Department's policies and procedures, and 3) physical modifications.

Defendants filed an opposition to plaintiffs' motion, but the parties agreed that briefing should not proceed further until the Monitor issued his Eighth Quarterly Report in July 2013. On August 12, 2013, defendants filed a motion to terminate the injunction under the Prison Litigation Reform Act on the grounds that there were no current and ongoing violations of prisoners' federal rights.

Briefing on the cross-motions to extend and terminate injunctive relief was delayed as a result of a discovery issue regarding inmate medical records and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. On February 10, 2014, Judge Collins denied plaintiffs' motion to extend injunctive relief and granted defendant's motion to terminate the injunction. Judge Collins held that none of the three areas in which plaintiffs sought to extend the injunction presented current or ongoing violations of prisoners' federal rights.

On August 6, 2014, the District Court (Chief Judge George H. King) ordered that, pursuant to the parties' stipulation, defendant would pay plaintiffs' attorneys $115,000 to fully resolve all remaining fees and costs.

	Document
8:01-cv-00981 2:75-cv-03075 05-55829	Docket [PACER] Pierce v. County of Orange	Sept. 30, 2014	Sept. 30, 2014 Docket
46 8:01-cv-00981	Order Granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in Part, Denying Defendants' Motion for a More Definite Statement, and Granting Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend	Aug. 26, 2002	Aug. 26, 2002 Order/Opinion
62 8:01-cv-00981	Civil Minutes - Order Denying Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and Motion for a More Definite Statement	Nov. 26, 2002	Nov. 26, 2002 Order/Opinion
94 8:01-cv-00981	Stipulation to Dismiss "Over-Detention Claims" of All Plaintiffs Except Plaintiff Fred Pierce; Order	March 13, 2003	March 13, 2003 Order/Opinion
126 8:01-cv-00981	Stipulation to Dismiss Plaintiff Fred Pierce's "Over-Detention Claim"; Order	June 23, 2003	June 23, 2003 Order/Opinion
130 8:01-cv-00981	Stipulation to Dismiss Plaintiffs' State Law Causes of Action Against Defendant County of Orange; Order	July 1, 2003	July 1, 2003 Order/Opinion
169 8:01-cv-00981	Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification	Oct. 15, 2003	Oct. 15, 2003 Order/Opinion
309 8:01-cv-00981	Order on Defendants' Motions	March 1, 2004	March 1, 2004 Order/Opinion
368 8:01-cv-00981	Judgment as to Defendant Carona	May 26, 2004	May 26, 2004 Order/Opinion
376 8:01-cv-00981	Order on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Fifth Amended Complaint	June 4, 2004	June 4, 2004 Order/Opinion

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT filed Summons(es) issued referred to Discovery Marc L. Goldman (csb) (Entered: 10/30/2001)	Oct. 18, 2001	Oct. 18, 2001
2	Notice OF INTERESTED PARTIES filed by plaintiff Fred Pierce (csb) (Entered: 10/30/2001)	Oct. 18, 2001	Oct. 18, 2001
3	MINUTES: by Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler CR: Not Present; Pla filed cmp and ntc of interested prty and failed to comply with local rule 11-3.1.1; therefore, Court orders pla to file a corrected cmp and corrected ntc of interested prtys no later than 11/1/01 (csb) (Entered: 10/30/2001)	Oct. 18, 2001	Oct. 18, 2001
4	CORRECTED COMPLAINT [1-1] by plaintiff Fred Pierce; demand for jury trial (mt) (Entered: 11/13/2001)	Nov. 1, 2001	Nov. 1, 2001
5	CORRECTED CERTIFICATION AS TO INTERESTED PARTIES filed by plaintiff Fred Pierce (mt) (Entered: 11/13/2001)	Nov. 1, 2001	Nov. 1, 2001
6	STIPULATION filed to extend time w/in which to respond to complaint [1-1] for a period of 30 days to wit from 11/7/01 to 12/7/01 as to defendants County of Orange, Michael S Carona (mg) (Entered: 12/01/2001)	Nov. 16, 2001	Nov. 16, 2001
7	NOTICE OF INTERESTED PARTIES filed by Dfts County of Orange & Sheriff Michael S Carona (mg) (Entered: 12/01/2001)	Nov. 16, 2001	Nov. 16, 2001
8	ORDER by Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler striking filed docs from the record - L.R. 11-3.1.1 font too small: It is ord that stipulation to extend time [6-1], notice of interested parties [7-1] filed 11/16/01 shall be stricken from the record and shall not be considered by the crt (mt) (Entered: 12/01/2001)	Nov. 19, 2001	Nov. 19, 2001
9	NOTICE OF INTERESTED PARTIES filed by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona (ca) (Entered: 12/07/2001)	Nov. 27, 2001	Nov. 27, 2001
10	STIPULATION and ORDER by Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler extending time to respond to complaint [1-1] to 12/7/01 as to defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona (ca) (Entered: 12/07/2001)	Nov. 28, 2001	Nov. 28, 2001
11	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona to dismiss Plf's Cmp ; motion hearing set for 10:00 1/28/02 (ts) (Entered: 12/12/2001)	Dec. 11, 2001	Dec. 11, 2001
12	FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT [1-1] by plaintiff Fred Pierce; jury demand. Summons not issued (mt) (Entered: 12/12/2001)	Dec. 11, 2001	Dec. 11, 2001
13	ORDER by Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler striking filed doc from the record - non-compliance with L R 11-3.1.1 (font too small): It is hereby ord that 1st amended complaint [12-1] filed 12/11/01 shall be stricken from the record and shall not be considered by the court (psend) (mt) (Entered: 12/12/2001)	Dec. 11, 2001	Dec. 11, 2001
14	ORDER by Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler setting scheduling conf for 1:30pm on 2/25/02 (see doc for fur specifics) (send) (mt) (Entered: 12/19/2001)	Dec. 18, 2001	Dec. 18, 2001
15	CORRECTED FIRST AMENDED CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT for damages for violations of civil rights & for injunctive relief by plaintiff Fred Pierce; jury demand. Summons not issued (mg) (Entered: 01/04/2002)	Dec. 26, 2001	Dec. 26, 2001
17	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona to dismiss plf's 1st A/C ; memo of P&A; motion hearing set for 10:00 3/11/02 (mt) (Entered: 01/28/2002)	Jan. 22, 2002	Jan. 22, 2002
18	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona to dismiss plf's suppl state claims ; memo of P&A; motion hearing set for 10:00 3/11/02 (mt) (Entered: 01/28/2002)	Jan. 22, 2002	Jan. 22, 2002
16	ORDER RE TRANSFER PURSUANT TO GENERAL ORDER 224 (Related Case) filed. [ Related Case no.: CV 75-3075GLT] Case transferred from Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler to Judge Gary L. Taylor for all further proceedings. The case number will now reflect the initials of the transferee Judge [ SACV 01-981GLT(MLGx)] (cc: all counsel) (csb) (Entered: 01/25/2002)	Jan. 25, 2002	Jan. 25, 2002
19	MINUTES (In Chambers) by Judge Gary L. Taylor: This mtr has been reassigned to Judge Taylor. The Crt notes the cmp contains a req for the eventual award of attys fees. Any cnsl who may eventually seek an award of attys fees is cautioned to keep careful & detailed records of time expended & services performed in ord to properly suppt any req for attys fees; CR: (not present) (mg) (Entered: 01/31/2002)	Jan. 29, 2002	Jan. 29, 2002
20	ORDER by Judge Gary L. Taylor re: early meeting of parties; scheduling conf set for 9:00am on 4/22/02 (see doc for fur specifics) (mt) (Entered: 02/04/2002)	Feb. 1, 2002	Feb. 1, 2002
21	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by plaintiff Fred Pierce to amend ; & memorandum; motion hearing set for 10:00 3/11/02 (mg) (Entered: 02/12/2002)	Feb. 6, 2002	Feb. 6, 2002
22	STIPULATION and ORDER by Judge Gary L. Taylor granting Plfs' motion to file their 2nd A/C [21-1]. Mot is taken off cal. Dfts have 30 days to resp after the date of svc of this signed Ord (mg) (Entered: 03/15/2002)	March 6, 2002	March 6, 2002
23	ORANGE COUNTY DFTS' RULE 26(f) REPORT; Decl of S Frank Harrell re: Non-cooperation filed; est length of trial 5 days (mt) (Entered: 04/27/2002)	April 19, 2002	April 19, 2002
24	MINUTES scheduling conference held by Judge Gary L. Taylor: Crt sets following dates: Discovery cut-off: 12/9/02; Pretrial Conference: 3/7/03 at 1:30pm; Jury trial month shall be April 2003, exact date of trial shall be set at pretrial conf. Cnsl est trial length to be 8-14 days. Any unserved Does are dismissed at this time. Fld pretrial sched ord. CR: Not Present (mt) (Entered: 04/27/2002)	April 22, 2002	April 22, 2002
25	PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER by Judge Gary L. Taylor: Discovery cut-off: 12/9/03; Final pretrial conference: 3/7/03 1:30pm; Trial month of April 2003 (see doc for further specifics) (mt) (Entered: 04/27/2002)	April 22, 2002	April 22, 2002
26	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendants County of Orange, Michael S Carona to dismiss Plf's 2nd A/C ; memo of P/A; motion hearing set for 10:00 8/5/02 (mg) (Entered: 07/01/2002)	June 28, 2002	June 28, 2002
27	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendants County of Orange, Michael S Carona to dismiss Plf's supp State claims ; memo of P/A; motion hearing for 10:00 8/5/02 (mg) (Entered: 07/01/2002)	June 28, 2002	June 28, 2002
28	EX PARTE APPLICATION filed by defendants County of Orange, Michael S Carona for order ext page limit for Dfts' mot for disqualification ; memo of P/A; decl of S Frank Harrell; Lodged Prop (mg) (Entered: 07/08/2002)	July 3, 2002	July 3, 2002
29	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by defendants County of Orange, Michael S Carona to disqualify Plfs' cnsl, and for ancillary relief including sanctions ; memo of P/A; decls of Joe Davis & S Frank Harrell; exhs; motion hearing set for 8/5/02 at 10:00 (mg) (Entered: 07/08/2002)	July 3, 2002	July 3, 2002
30	ORDER by Judge Gary L. Taylor granting ex parte application for order ext page limit for Dfts' mot for disqualification [28-1]; ext the pg limit to 45 pgs (rmi) (Entered: 07/09/2002)	July 8, 2002	July 8, 2002
31	AMENDED PROOF OF SERVICE by defendant County of Orange & Michael S Carona on 7/3/02 of Dft's Ntc of Ex Parte App & Ex Parte App for an Order (see doc for further details). (tso) (Entered: 07/10/2002)	July 10, 2002	July 10, 2002
32	NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION by plaintiff Fred Pierce to amend ; memo; motion hearing set for 10:00 8/19/02 (mg) (Entered: 07/11/2002)	July 10, 2002	July 10, 2002
33	NOTICE OF INTERESTED PARTIES filed by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona (mt) (Entered: 07/15/2002)	July 12, 2002	July 12, 2002
34	STIPULATION and ORDER by Judge Gary L. Taylor cont hearing on motions to dismiss Plf's supp State claims [27-1] & to dismiss Plf's 2nd A/C [26-1] to 10:00 8/19/02 (mg) (Entered: 07/25/2002)	July 22, 2002	July 22, 2002
35	EX PARTE APPLICATION filed by plaintiff Fred Pierce for an order cont dft's pend mot to disqualify ; decl of Richard P Herman (mt) (Entered: 08/01/2002)	July 26, 2002	July 26, 2002
36	MINUTES (In Chambers) by Judge Gary L. Taylor: ORDER the hearing for dfts' motion to disqualify Plfs' cnsl [29-1] is contd to 10:00am on 8/19/02. Briefing sched for this mot is as follows: Opp papers: 8/6/02; Rply papers: 8/12/02. The hearings for dfts' motion to dismiss [27-1], [26-1] and plfs' motion to amend [32-1] are contd to 10:00am on 8/26/02. Briefing sched for these mots is as follows: opp papers 8/16/02; Rply papers: 8/21/02. Hrg sched for 8/5/02 is taken off cal. CR: None Present (mt) (Entered: 08/01/2002)	July 31, 2002	July 31, 2002
37	OPPOSITION by County of Orange, Michael S Carona to ex parte application for an order cont dft's pend mot to disqualify [35-1] (csb) (Entered: 08/06/2002)	July 31, 2002	July 31, 2002
	PLACED IN FILE - NOT USED; Prop order cont mot (csb)	July 31, 2002	July 31, 2002
38	OPPOSITION by plaintiff Fred Pierce to Orange County Dfts' motion to disqualify Plfs' cnsl [29-1], & for for ancillary relief including sanctions [29-2]; memo of P/A; decl of Richard Herman & exhs attached hereto (mg) (Entered: 08/12/2002)	Aug. 6, 2002	Aug. 6, 2002
39	REPLY MEMO by defendant County of Orange, defendant Michael S Carona in suppt of motion to disqualify and for ancillary relief [29-1] (mt) (Entered: 08/19/2002)	Aug. 12, 2002	Aug. 12, 2002

Case: Pierce v. Orange County

8:01-cv-00981 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

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