Logory v. County of Susquehanna

277 F.R.D. 135, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115434, 2011 WL 4738151
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 6, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 3:09-CV-1448
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 277 F.R.D. 135 (Logory v. County of Susquehanna) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Logory v. County of Susquehanna, 277 F.R.D. 135, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115434, 2011 WL 4738151 (M.D. Pa. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

A. RICHARD CAPUTO, District Judge.

Presently before the Court is Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification. (Doc. 30). Roneld Logory (“Plaintiff’) seeks class certification on behalf of a class of others similarly situated against the County of Susquehanna. Plaintiff specifically maintains that (1) the Jail’s delousing policy is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment; and (2) the Jail’s delousing policy violates the detainees’ Fourteenth Amendment rights to refuse unwanted medical treatment. (Doc. 42 at 4). This action is seeking declaratory and injunc-tive relief against these delousing procedures as well as compensatory damages.

I. Background

Roneld Logory was arrested for a misdemeanor offense on June 19, 2008. He was detained at Susquehanna County Correctional Facility (“SCCF”) where he was subjected to a strip search and a delousing agent upon his arrival. As a result of that treatment, Plaintiff filed his Complaint on August 24, 2009, complaining that SCCF had implemented “a blanket policy of delousing, showering and strip-searching all individuals who enter the custody of the [SCCF] regardless of the [139]*139nature of their charged crime and without the presence of reasonable suspicion to believe that the individual was concealing a weapon or contraband.” (Doc. 1 at ¶ 24). Plaintiff initially sought to certify a class action comprised of “[a]ll persons who have been placed into custody of the SCCF after being charged with misdemeanor offenses, summary offenses, traffic infractions, family court violations and/or civil commitments and were strip-searched upon their entry into the SCCF.” (Doc. 1 at ¶ 9).

On September 21, 2010, the Third Circuit held that blanket search policies of arrestees held over in prison populations were inherently reasonable and thus not violative of the Fourth Amendment. Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders of Burlington, 621 F.3d 296, 311 (3d Cir.2010). In light of this holding, Plaintiff abandoned his class claim as pertaining to the strip-search policies, but instead proposed two new classes for certification: 1

1) The Fourth Amendment Class — All persons who have been placed into custody of the Susquehanna County Jail as pretrial detainees who were deloused upon their entry into the Susquehanna County Jail. The Class period commences on or about July 24, 2007 and extends to the date on which the Defendant is enjoined from, or otherwise ceases, enforcing its unconstitutional policy, practice and custom of de-busing detainees absent reasonable suspicion. Specifically excluded from the Class are Defendant and any and all of its respective affiliates, legal representatives, heirs, successors, employees or assignees.
2) The Fourteenth Amendment Class— All persons who have been placed into custody of the Susquehanna County Jail after being sentenced or as pre-trial detainees who were debused upon their entry into the Susquehanna County Jail. The Class period commences on or about July 24, 2007 and extends to the date on which the Defendant is enjoined from, or otherwise ceases, enforcing its unconstitutional policy, practice and custom of de-busing detainees absent reasonable suspicion. Specifically excluded from the Class are Defendant and any and all of its respective affiliates, legal representatives, heirs, successors, employees or assignees.

(Doc. 42 at 4).

Specifically, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Plaintiff is seeking declaratory relief that the SCCF debusing policies are unconstitutional, injunctive relief against the continuance of these policies, and compensatory damages for himself and other class members, as well as attorney fees and costs.

II. Discussion

A. Legal Standard

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for class action certification. Under Rule 23(a), class certification may be appropriate if the following requirements are met:

(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable [ (“numerosity”) ], (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class [(“commonality”)], (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class [ (“typicality”) ], and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class [ (“adequacy of representation”) ].

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a); In re Mercedes-Benz Antitrust Litig., 213 F.R.D. 180, 183 (D.N.J. 2003). Once the requirements of 23(a) are satisfied, the class may be certified if at least one of the three subsections of 23(b) are met. In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litig., 552 F.3d 305, 309 n. 6 (3d Cir.2008).

A court may certify a class action only if it “is satisfied, after a rigorous analysis, that the [requirements of Rule 23] have been satisfied.” Gen. Tel. Co. of the Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982). In weighing the merits [140]*140of a class certification, a “district court must make whatever factual and legal inquiries are necessary and must consider all relevant evidence and arguments presented by the parties.” Hydrogen Peroxide, 552 F.3d at 307. Specifically, a certifying court must find that each element of Rule 23 is met by a preponderance of evidence, and “must resolve all factual or legal disputes relevant to class certification, even if they overlap with the merits — including disputes touching on elements of the cause of action.” Id. at 305. This reflects the notion that Rule 23 is more than a “mere pleading standard,” and those “seeking class certification must affirmatively demonstrate his compliance with the Rule.” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2551, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011).

B. Certification Under Rule 23(a)

Here, the Plaintiff seeks to certify both classes under Rule 23(b)(3), or (b)(2) in the alternative. Therefore, as the moving party, the Plaintiff bears the burden of first showing that the requirements of Rule 23(a) are satisfied, and then demonstrating that the elements of subsections (b)(2) or (b)(3) are met. See Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 613-14, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997); Behrend v. Comcast Corp., 655 F.3d 182, 189-90 (3d Cir.2011).

The “threshold requirements” of Rule 23(a) are referred to as (1) numerosity; (2) commonality; (3) typicality; and (4) adequacy of representation. Amchem, 521 U.S. at 613, 117 S.Ct. 2231.

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Bluebook (online)
277 F.R.D. 135, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115434, 2011 WL 4738151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/logory-v-county-of-susquehanna-pamd-2011.