Filed Date: June 13, 2012
Closed Date: Sept. 7, 2017
Clearinghouse coding complete
This is a conditions of confinement suit brought by the putative class of prisoners at the Vienna Correctional Center ("Vienna"), a minimum security Illinois state prison, against the Illinois Department of Corrections. The case was filed by private counsel and the Uptown People's Law Center, on June 13, 2012. It alleges disgusting and crowded conditions in violation of the Eighth Amendment-1900 prisoners housed in a facility meant for 925, rampant vermin, contaminated food, heat and ventilation problems, and endemic mold and mildew.
By April 2013, the parties had engaged in settlement discussions. In August of 2013, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion for class certification for settlement purposes. However, District Judge J. Phil Gilbert held that, as the named plaintiffs had all been released from Vienna, the proposed class was not adequately represented by the current named plaintiffs. The Court reserved ruling on the motion until plaintiffs either found a suitable class representative, or made a compelling argument to the Court that the current named plaintiffs were adequate class representatives. Boyd v. Godinez, Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-704-JPG-PMF, 2013 WL 5230238 (S.D. Ill. Sept. 16, 2013).
Plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint to add a named plaintiff who was currently incarcerated at Vienna, but also argued that the "inherently transitory" exception to the mootness doctrine should apply in this case. Judge Gilbert held that the plaintiffs had not adequately explained their inherently transitory argument, especially in light of the fact that they had successfully found a putative class representative and added him to their complaint. Nevertheless, having secured an adequate class representative, the Court granted the plaintiffs' unopposed motion to certify a class for settlement purposes.
In light of the progress made toward settlement, the District Court vacated the pretrial schedule in December 2013. The parties engaged in settlement discussions for several years, but in May 2016 they notified the Court that the discussions had stalled and they desired to proceed with litigation.
On June 7, 2016, the case was reassigned to Chief Judge Michael J. Reagan. Judge Reagan scheduled a jury trial for March 26, 2018.
On August 15, 2016, the Court issued an order directing the plaintiffs to file a brief supporting their need to keep their September 2012 class certification motion pending on the docket. Seventh Circuit and Supreme Court precedent called into doubt the ongoing need for plaintiffs to file early class certification motions to avoid mootness. The plaintiffs submitted a brief arguing that the Court had already implicitly ruled on class certification for settlement purposes, or at the very least that settlement certification removed any mootness concerns. Judge Reagan, however, disagreed. On the first point, he explained that the defendants had agreed not to oppose the second motion for class certification on the condition that certification was only for settlement purposes. However, Judge Reagan agreed that the settlement certification, without subsequent decertification, was enough to protect the plaintiffs from mootness issues; once certified, the class achieved a legal status separate from the interest asserted by the named plaintiffs. Thus, the Court found that there was no longer a need to keep the original motion for class certification on the docket to safeguard plaintiffs from any mootness problem and denied that original motion without prejudice on September 22, 2016.
On December 9, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a voluntary motion to dismiss the action in its entirety. The motion stated that the Illinois Department of Corrections had made significant improvements to the living conditions at Vienna that resolved the unconstitutional conditions. Magistrate Judge Reona J. Daly ordered that notice of the dismissal be provided to the settlement class. The notice informed the class that they could file objections or comments, but none were filed. After holding a fairness hearing, Magistrate Judge Daly issued a recommendation of dismissal to the District Court, noting that dismissal was a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of the litigation. Thus, on September 7, 2017, the District Court dismissed all claims without prejudice. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Margo Schlanger (6/29/2012)
Dan Whitman (10/28/2014)
Eva Richardson (1/13/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5139642/parties/boyd-v-godinez/
Daly, Reona (Illinois)
Frazier, Philip M. (Illinois)
Gilbert, John Phil (Illinois)
Collins, Robert C. III (Illinois)
Gehl, Andrew T. (Illinois)
Daly, Reona (Illinois)
Frazier, Philip M. (Illinois)
Gilbert, John Phil (Illinois)
Reagan, Michael Joseph (Illinois)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5139642/boyd-v-godinez/
Last updated March 26, 2024, 3:13 a.m.
State / Territory: Illinois
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 13, 2012
Closing Date: Sept. 7, 2017
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All prisoners at the Vienna Correctional Center
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Illinois Department of Corrections (Vienna, Johnson), State
Defendant 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:
Issues
General:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Affected Sex or Gender:
Type of Facility: