Skip navigation
× You have 2 more free articles available this month. Subscribe today.

California Prisoner Moved to Formerly Condemned Facility with No Bed Settles Civil Rights Suit

by Christopher Zoukis

David C. Moore, a California prisoner who was temporarily sent to a different prison and assigned to a cell with no bed, the conditions of which caused him back pains, headaches and allergies, reached a settlement with prison officials.

     On August 8, 2009, a prison riot resulted in extensive damage to the California Institute for Men (CIM) in Chino. Moore, who was one of several prisoners at the CIM who was temporarily relocated to a different facility, was transferred to the Herman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility (YCF) on September 14. The YCF was previously condemned, and Moore was put in a cell that had no bed, where he suffered from back pains, headaches and allergies.

     On June 9, 2010, Moore filed a pro se civil rights complaint in federal court against CIM Warden Aref Pakhoury, CIM Associate Warden L. E. Moser, Correctional Captain T. Diaz, Correctional Lieutenant A. Lazarus and Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Matthew C. Cates.

     He alleged that the defendants failed to provide him with adequate housing and medical treatment, and that the living conditions inflicted unnecessary pain in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He also argued that he was denied medical care and due process in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

     On May 10, 2012, Moore agreed to a settlement, with each party to bear its own expenses, and the case was dismissed by Judge Philip S. Gutierrez on May 16.

 See: Moore v. Cates, et al., United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 2:10-cv-04024-PSG-JEM (May 10, 2012)

As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login

Related legal case

Moore v. Cates, et al.