Messier v. Southbury Training School

183 F.R.D. 350, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21579, 1998 WL 842300
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedNovember 5, 1998
DocketNo. 3:94-CV-1706 (EBB)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 183 F.R.D. 350 (Messier v. Southbury Training School) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Messier v. Southbury Training School, 183 F.R.D. 350, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21579, 1998 WL 842300 (D. Conn. 1998).

Opinion

RULING ON MOTION BY 611 STS RESIDENTS TO OPT OUT OF PLAINTIFF CLASS

BURNS, Senior District Judge.

This ruling presents the issue of whether 611 residents of Southbury Training School (“STS”) and their respective guardians (“movants”) may opt out of the plaintiff class, or in the alternative, be made a separate and distinct subclass. Four years ago, plaintiffs brought a class action seeking injunctive relief against defendants STS and three Connecticut state agencies, alleging violations of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and several federal statutes. In their motion, movants request to opt out of the plaintiff class and intervene on the side of the defendants. For the following reasons, movants’ motion [Doc. No. 333] is denied.

BACKGROUND

This case began in October 1994 when seven residents of STS, People First of Connecticut, Inc., ARC/Connecticut, Inc., and Western Connecticut Association for Human [351]*351Rights brought a class action on behalf of all current and future STS residents against STS, the Department of Mental Retardation (“DMR”), the Department of Public Health (“DPH”), and the Department of Social Services (“DSS”).1 Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants’ administration of STS and related community placement services for persons with mental retardation violated the following federal laws: (1) the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (2) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (1997); (3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”), 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1997); and (4) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the deprivation of rights under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396a (1997). (Pis.’ Third Am. Compl. f1.)

Plaintiffs sought an injunction to prevent new admissions to STS; to require STS professionals in conjunction with each resident and his or her guardian to develop and implement an individualized plan of treatment appropriate for that resident; to require defendants to evaluate all residents for possible community placement regardless of the severity or nature of their disabilities; to make available to each resident an individual and independent advocate; to enjoin the use of “Do Not Resuscitate” orders (“DNR orders”) until procedures are developed and implemented which assure that such orders will not be issued in error; and to require the defendants to develop a plan to remediate environmental and program deficiencies. (Pis.’ Third Am.Compl. at 29-31.)

STS and DMR jointly moved to dismiss the action for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted in February 1996. In denying the motion, the Court first held that United States v. Connecticut did not preclude the plaintiffs’ suit. Next, the Court concluded that plaintiffs properly alleged claims based on due process, the ADA, and Section 504. Finally, the Court decided that plaintiffs could sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for a violation of the Social Security Act. See Ruling on Mot. to Dismiss by Defs. STS and DMR. In that same year, the Court rejected a similar joint motion to dismiss by DPH and DSS: In so doing, the Court made two additional rulings. First, DPH could be hable for a substantive due process violation because its inaction may have contributed to plaintiffs’ harm. Second, plaintiffs stated a claim for a procedural due process violation based on their allegation that DNR orders were imposed as a matter of course. See Ruling on Mot. to Dismiss by Defs. DPH and DSS.

In March 1996, seven STS residents, the Home and School Association of Southbury Training School, Inc. (“HSA”), and the Southbury Training School Foundation, Inc. (“STSF”) moved to intervene on the side of the defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24. The applicants argued that their interests would be impaired if they were not allowed to intervene because this case might- result in the closure of STS or they might be forced into community placements. Although the Court denied this motion, it attempted to allay these concerns by narrowing the type of relief that plaintiffs could seek in this case. The Court found that “plaintiffs’ complaint must be read as seeking to require STS [merely] to consider whether each resident is appropriate for community placement and to then act accordingly based upon such consideration.” Rul[352]*352ing on Mot. to Intervene at 3-4. Thus, plaintiffs cannot obtain the following relief: (1) the ending of all new admissions to STS; (2) the transferring of all residents to community settings; and (3) the closure of STS.

Soon thereafter, the Court certified the plaintiff class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) as including all current STS residents, those persons who may be placed at STS in the future, and those persons who were transferred from STS and remain under the custody and control of the Director of STS. See Ruling on Mot. for Class Certification at 1. In addition, the Court reaffirmed three propositions relevant to this ruling. First, plaintiffs are adept representatives of all class members’ interests in improving conditions and services at STS in accordance with constitutional safeguards. Second, plaintiffs have not stated any legal theory upon which the Court could possibly order the closure- of STS. Finally, plaintiffs’ requested relief would in no way usurp or infringe upon any legally protecta-ble rights of guardians of STS residents under state law. See id. at 14.

In June 1997, HSA and STSF moved for exclusion from the class on behalf of the same seven class members who unsuccessfully attempted to intervene. Once again, the Court denied the motion and addressed the applicants’ concerns regarding the potential outcome of this case by reiterating that

[T]he most that plaintiffs can accomplish is to require Southbury to conform with its constitutional duty to consider the appropriateness of community placement for each resident. In no way can the plaintiffs force Southbury to place in community settings those residents for whom community placement is inappropriate, or force the state of Connecticut to shut down Southbury.

Ruling and Order Regarding Application for Exclusion from Class at 2.

In the pending motion before the Court, 611 STS residents and their respective guardians seek to opt out of the plaintiff class, or in the alternative be made a separate subclass, and intervene on the side of the defendants.2 Movants contend that a strong conflict exists between the named plaintiffs, who advocate community placement and the closure of STS, and the guardians of the 611 STS residents, who vehemently oppose community placement. In addition, movants disagree with many of the allegations in plaintiffs’ complaint regarding conditions at STS.3

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
183 F.R.D. 350, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21579, 1998 WL 842300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/messier-v-southbury-training-school-ctd-1998.