No Heightened Pleading Standard for 1983 Actions by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has reinstated a pro se prisoner's action challenging his involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital under 42 U.S.C. 1983. A lower court had dismissed the case for failure to state an actionable cause. …
Officials Not Qualifiedly Immune In Paralyzed Prisoner's Suit by The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that county and jail officials were not entitled to qualified immunity in a paralyzed prisoner's civil rights suit. Timothy Ryan was arrested for a traffic violation and held at the …
No Qualified Immunity For Prison Officials In Paralyzed Prisoner's Suit by The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity in a paralyzed prisoner's civil rights suit and that fact issues precluded summary judgment. Timothy Ryan was arrested for …
Injunctive Relief Granted For Pregnant NJ Jail Prisoners by Prisoners in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, a New Jersey county jail, filed a class action suit on behalf of pregnant female prisoners alleging that they were being denied "essential" health care. The prisoners alleged, in particular, that the women were …
Double Bunking Not Allowed In NJ Jail by Public advocate for prisoner's in Monmouth County Correctional Institution filed a motion seeking to modify a previous court order involving prisoner housing. In the original suit a district court found conditions at MCCI to be unconstitutional. The judge subsequently ordered various modifications …
District Judge Orders Measures to Ease Overcrowding by Prisoners in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, a New Jersey county jail, filed suit alleging unconstitutional living conditions due to overcrowding. A district judge assigned a special master to investigate. The special master found serious overcrowding which caused problems in classification of …
NJ Prisoner's § 1983 Action Against Parole Board and Its Agents Dismissed as Incognizable by NJ Prisoner's § 1983 Action Against Parole Board and Its Agents Dismissed as Incognizable In 1997, John Williams was a New Jersey state parolee. His parole officer arrested him for changing jobs without permission and …
Suit Can Be Settled Before Class is Certified by Most federal courts have held that a suit filed as a class action should be treated as one for purposes of settlement or dismissal, even though the class has not been certified, until it is determined that class certification is not …
Expert Witness Can Change Opinion At Any Time by The court allows a supplementary report by plaintiffs' expert in a RICO case based on misrepresentations about the effects of tobacco "to accommodate the scientific process seeking truth" (486) even though it was submitted during the trial only a few days …
Total Exhaustion Required Under PLRA by The plain language of the PLRA exhaustion requirement compels a "total exhaustion" rule--i.e., if one claim is unexhausted, all must be dismissed. General legislative intent and history supports that conclusion, as do policy considerations, since piecemeal litigation is more time-consuming than requiring all claims …
Export Report Struck for Failing to Set Basis for Opinion by The court strikes an expert report for, inter alia, failure to set out the basis and reason for opinions; identification of mouse feces based only on defendants' employees visual observations; failure to provide a list of publications, the compensation …
New Jersey Jail Conditions Suit Goes Forward by The plaintiffs failed to prove that sleeping on two and a half inch-thick mattresses on the floor for months caused their lower back pain. Lack of pillows did not rise to a constitutional level. Food (459): A complaint based only on the …
BOP Prisoner Granted PI for Release Placement by The plaintiff was informed that contrary to past practice, he could not be considered for pre-release designation to a community correction center for more than 10% of his prison term or six months. He is granted a preliminary injunction. The Department of …
BOP Ordered to Review Work Release Application by The petitioner sought a writ of habeas corpus because he was excluded from placement in a community confinement center (CCC) for more than the last six months of his sentence pursuant to the abruptly announced change in policy by the Federal Bureau …
Judge Revises Previous Order Based On Special Master Report by In response to action filed by prisoners in Monmouth County Correctional Institution, a New Jersey county jail, a district judge ordered various improvements in recreation, visitation and living conditions. The judge also ordered certain facility renovations and set a population …
Lack of Counsel for NJ Child Support Contempt Cases Upheld by Persons held in civil contempt for failing to comply with child support orders challenged the lack of a right to counsel (appointed for indigent defendants) in such proceedings. The district court properly abstained under Younger v. Harris. The plaintiffs …
Employers Entitled to Discovery on Plaintiffs Mental State by A plaintiff who alleged mental distress in an employment case did not place his mental condition "in controversy" entitling the defendants to a Rule 35 psychiatric examination. At 194: "No specific psychiatric malady has been alleged nor has Bowen asserted a …
Court Orders Disclosure of Discovery Materials to Media by Newspapers sought to intervene to challenge a confidentiality order governing discovery materials in a suit against the state child welfare agency. The newspapers are allowed permissive intervention; the requirement of a "question of law or fact in common" can be met …
Summary Judgment Dismissal Not Proper For Factual Disputes: Conspiracy Not Arbitrational Subject by Summary Judgment Dismissal Not Proper For Factual Disputes: Conspiracy Not Arbitrational Subject Former employee Lawrence Lederman and Intervenor Philip Shapiro brought actions against Lederman's former employer and Leeds, Morelli and Brown, P.C. (LMB), the law firm representing …
Public Right To Judicial Proceedings Outweighs Private Parties' Confidentiality Agreements by Public Right To Judicial Proceedings Outweighs Private Parties' Confidentiality Agreements East Coast Media Companies appealed a sealing order by New Jersey Superior Court's Law Division for private parties' contractual agreements and court documents relating to an alternative dispute resolution. …
