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Prisoner Compensated for Loss of Property

Prisoner Compensated for Loss of Property

A state prisoner won a verdict in the New York Court of Claims to compensate him for property that was lost or destroyed when he was transferred between prisons in 2003.

Al Green was incarcerated in the Wende Correctional Facility when he was taken to segregation for disciplinary reasons. Green's property was packed and inventoried by guards outside of his presence. Green was later transferred to Attica, but his property did not accompany him. When his property did show up at Attica, Green noticed that much of it was missing.

Green then filed an administrative claim to recover the value of his lost property, but that claim and the subsequent appeal were denied by DOC personnel. Green then filed this lawsuit in 2004, asking for $1,800 in damages.

Finding that Green presented adequate documentary evidence to prove that property listed on his inventory at Wende did not make it to Attica, New York Court of Claims Judge Glen T, Bruening, found the state liable in the amount of $264.80. The reduced amount was due to depreciation of much of the lost property and the rejection of many of Green's claims for which he did not exhaust his administrative remedies.

There was no explanation in the decision to account for the nearly 8-year delay from the time the claim was filed until trial. Green represented himself pro se throughout the proceedings.

See: Green v. The State of New York (NY Court of Claims), No. 2012-048-514, Claim No. 108974 (Sept. 26, 2012).

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Related legal case

Green v. The State of New York