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California County Settles Failure to Protect Lawsuit for $90,000
by Dale Chappell
Contra Costa County has settled a lawsuit filed in federal court by Suneel Kumar, agreeing to pay him $90,000 after guards at the county jail allowed another prisoner to attack him while he was performing his job duties within the facility, and failed to intervene …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Oklahoma County Settles Jail Death Lawsuit for $3.2 Million, by Dale Chappell
- Taft Correctional Institution Scheduled to Close in 2020 ... Maybe, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks Hepatitis C Treatment for Texas Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Terminal Texas Prisoner’s Morphine Withdrawn After He Filed Sexual Harassment Complaint, by Matthew Clarke
- New York City Department of Correction Attempts to Humanize Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- State of New York 50 Percent Liable for Prisoner’s Injury Sustained from Table Saw, by Douglas Ankney
- Orange County Pays $299K to Settle Claim that Deputy Forbade Nurse to Treat Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
- Exonerated Kentucky Man’s High Bail Prevented His Release for Six Years, by David M. Reutter
- $102,500 Settlement in Lawsuit Over Alaska DOC’s Discrimination Against Muslims, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington State Prisoner’s Suicide Leads to $350,000 Settlement, by Edward Lyon
- Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded in HRDC Suit Against Juvenile Solitary Confinement, by David M. Reutter
- Oregon Prison Guard, Guilty of Pocketing $10,811 in Falsified Overtime, Sues for Racism, by Mark Wilson
- California County Settles Failure to Protect Lawsuit for $90,000, by Dale Chappell
- $45,000 Settlement for Pennsylvania Prisoner Subjected to Excessive Force, by David M. Reutter
- Maryland to Pay $1.4 Million Settlement and Provide Assistance to Blind Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- New Mexico Prison Guards Win $700,000 Age Discrimination Settlement, by Edward Lyon
- Jury Awards Former Virginia Prisoner Over $1 Million After Finding of Medical Malpractice against Prison Doctor, by Douglas Ankney
- 20 Years Sees No Improvement in California Prison’s Mental Health Care; Suicide Results in $1.5 Million Settlement, by Kevin Bliss
- Illinois Jail Detainee Dies, Lawsuit Settles for $2.2 Million, by Edward Lyon
- Indiana Prisoner Granted Leave to Proceed in First Amendment Retaliation Suit, by Edward Lyon
- Prison Mailbox Rule Applies to Civil Detainees, by David M. Reutter
- Utah Supreme Court Reinstates Lawsuit Over Man Held 17 Days Without Hearing or Formal Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- Update: Montgomery County, Ohio Pays $10 Million to Settle Jail Lawsuits, by Edward Lyon
- Video Documentary Reports on Florida Prisons – From the Inside, by David M. Reutter
- Washington State Pays Prisoners Slave Wages While Suing Others for Doing the Same, by Edward Lyon
- Third Circuit: Failure to Make PLRA Findings Moots Appeal, by David M. Reutter
- To Decrease Prison Population, Texas Must Increase Parole Rate
- Ministry Worker Banned from Mississippi Prisons After Asking About Plumbing Problems, by Scott Grammer
- Growing Concerns Over Medical Debt Leading to Jail Time, by Kevin Bliss
- Texas Attorney General Secretly Sabotages Compensation Payments to Man Exonerated of Killing Police Officer, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Prisoner Killed by Cellmate Who Mistakenly Thought He Was a Child Molester, by Scott Grammer
- BOP to Implement Paperless Mail System in Attempt to Stop Drugs, by Dale Chappell
- California Department of Corrections Tries End-Run Around Federal Court, by Kevin Bliss
- Prisoner Wins Preliminary Injunction Against PADOC Policy Banning Islamic Fezzes, by The Human Rights Coalition
- Missouri Requires County Jails to House State Prisoners, Then Doesn’t Pay for Them, by David M. Reutter
- Alaska: Juvenile Justice Official Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography, by Kevin Bliss
- $750,000 Settlement in Suit Over Prisoner Beaten and Raped for Three Days, by Matthew Clarke
- Prisoner Suicide Rates Highest in California, by Edward Lyon
- New York City Prisoner Shackled While Giving Birth; $610,000 Settlement, by Edward Lyon
- Georgia: Doctors and Nurses Warn Prison Medical Care is in Jeopardy, by David M. Reutter
- Arizona Prisoners Required to Pay Medical Expenses for Overdoses, by Douglas Ankney
- Prisoners Suffer and Die as Kentucky Overcrowds County Jails, by David M. Reutter
- Graphic Violence, Deaths in Alabama Prison Shown in Leaked Photos, by David M. Reutter
- CoreCivic Booted from LGBT Chamber of Commerce in Hometown, by David M. Reutter
- Members of Congress Investigate Private Equity Firms that Own Companies Providing Prison Services, by Matthew Clarke
- California Begins Weaning Itself from Private Prisons – More or Less, by Edward Lyon
- Getting Out of Jail After Dark Can Be Dangerous – and Sometimes Deadly, by Madison Pauly
- A Place for Released Prisoners to Go Home, by Edward Lyon
- Weaker Job Screening Could Make North Carolina Prisons More Dangerous, by David M. Reutter
- South Carolina: Former Prison Employees Charged, Plead Guilty in Contraband Investigation, by David M. Reutter
- New Jersey County Not Entitled to Defense or Indemnification by the State in Suit Alleging Exposure of Jail Detainees, by Douglas Ankney
- L.A.’s Court-Ordered Community Supervision Enslaves and Impoverishes, by Matthew Clarke
- Prosecutors Get Real Look at Life After Prison, by Dale Chappell
- Former Nevada Prison Guard Who Fatally Shot Handcuffed Prisoner Enters Alford Plea, by Matthew Clarke
- Deaths and Abuse During Private Prisoner Transport Trips, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Corizon Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit for $950,000, by Scott Grammer
- New York County to Pay $440,000 Settlement in Wrongful Jail Death Suit, by Kevin Bliss
- The Private Option, by Marsha McLeod
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Virginia Jail Suicide Results in $950,000 Settlement, Claims Against Wellpath still Pending, April 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Settlements, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides.
- Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed, April 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, March 1, 2026. Food, Sanitation, Settlements, Class Certification, Monell Liability.

