Parsons v. Ryan

289 F.R.D. 513, 2013 WL 1208598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46295
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMarch 6, 2013
DocketNo. CV12-0601-PHX-NVW
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 289 F.R.D. 513 (Parsons v. Ryan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parsons v. Ryan, 289 F.R.D. 513, 2013 WL 1208598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46295 (D. Ariz. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

NEIL V. WAKE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are fourteen inmates housed in various Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) complexes. Defendants are ADC Director Charles Ryan and ADC Division of Health Services Interim Director Richard Pratt. Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification (Docs. 245, 248).1 The Court heard oral argument on Plaintiffs’ motion on January 25, 2013. For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs’ motion will be granted.

I. Background

ADC currently incarcerates approximately 33,000 inmates in ten complexes statewide: Douglas, Eyman, Florence, Lewis, Perryville, Phoenix, Safford, Tucson, Winslow, and Yuma (Doc. 321, Ex. 2, Decl. of Def. Richard Pratt ¶¶ 3-5). Plaintiffs filed this action in March 2012, presenting five claims for relief stemming from Defendants’ alleged deliberate indifference in the provision of overall health, medical, dental, and mental health care and to unconstitutional conditions of confinement in the ADC’s isolation units2 (Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 140-149). Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, including an Order compelling Defendants to develop a plan to provide Plaintiffs and the proposed class and subclass with constitutionally adequate health care and protection from unconstitutional conditions of confinement in ADC’s isolation units.

Plaintiffs seek class certification for one Class and one Subclass. The proposed Class definition is “all prisoners who are now, or will in the future be, subjected to the medical, mental health, and dental care policies and practices of the ADC” (Doc. 248 at 6). The proposed Class representatives are Plaintiffs Parsons, Jensen, Swartz, Brislan, Rodriguez, Yerduzco, Thomas, Smith, Gamez, Chisholm, Licci, Hefner, Poison, and Wells. The proposed Subclass definition is “all prisoners who are now, or will in the future be, subjected by the ADC to isolation, defined as confinement in a cell for 22 hours or more each day or confinement in the following housing units: Eyman — SMU 1; Eyman — Browning Unit; Florence — Central Unit; Florence — Kasson Unit; or Perry-ville — Lumley Special Management Area” (id.). The proposed Subclass members are Plaintiffs Gamez, Swartz, Brislan, Rodriguez, Verduzco, Thomas, Smith, and Poison.

II. Governing Standard

The Court’s authority to certify a class action is found in Federal Rule of Civil Pro[516]*516cedure 23. Plaintiffs first bear the burden of establishing the four requirements articulated in Rule 23(a): (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Additionally, Plaintiffs must also establish one of the requirements found in Rule 23(b). In this case, Plaintiffs allege that class certification in this case is appropriate pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2), which requires a demonstration that “the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2).

When analyzing whether class certification is appropriate, the Court must conduct “a rigorous analysis” to ensure that “the prerequisites of Rule 23(a) have been satisfied.” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2551-52, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011) (citing Gen. Tel. Co. of the Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)). As discussed below, the Court finds that certification of the Class and the Subclass is appropriate.

III. Rule 23(a) Analysis

A. Numerosity

Defendants do not dispute that the numerosity requirement is satisfied by ADC’s overall inmate population of more than 33,000 and isolation population of approximately 3,000. Indeed, there is no doubt that joinder of all members of the potential Class and Subclass would be impracticable, if not impossible. See Sepulveda v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 237 F.R.D. 229, 242 (C.D.Cal.2006) (acknowledging that joinder will be impracticable for very large classes). The numerosity requirement is satisfied.

B. Commonality

1. Governing Standard

To establish commonality, Plaintiffs must demonstrate that there are “questions of law or fact common to the class.” Fed. R. Civ.P. 23(a)(2). Plaintiffs need not demonstrate that all questions are common to the class; rather, class claims must “depend upon a common contention ... [that is] capable of classwide resolution.” Wal-Mart, 131 S. Ct. at 2551. “Even a single [common] question” will suffice to satisfy Rule 23(a). Id. at 2556 (citation omitted). In the civil rights context, commonality is satisfied “where the lawsuit challenges a system-wide practice or policy that affects all of the putative class members.” Armstrong v. Davis, 275 F.3d 849, 868 (9th Cir.2001).

In assessing commonality, “it may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question.” Gen’l. Tel. Co. of Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982) (“[T]he class determination generally involves considerations that are enmeshed in the factual and legal issues comprising the plaintiffs cause of action.”) (quotation omitted). That said, although the Court must consider the underlying merits of Plaintiffs’ claims to ascertain whether commonality exists, it is not the Court’s function at this juncture to “go so far ... as to judge the validity of these claims.” USW v. ConocoPhillips Co., 593 F.3d 802, 808-09 (9th Cir.2010) (quoting Staton v. Boeing Co., 327 F.3d 938, 954 (9th Cir.2003)). Thus, Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is not an opportunity to hold “a dress rehearsal for the trial on the merits.” Messner v. Northshore Univ. HealthSystem, 669 F.3d 802, 811 (7th Cir.2012). The prohibition on requiring Plaintiffs to establish their claims at the class certification stage was recently reinforced by the Supreme Court in Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, -U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 1184, 1194-95, 185 L.Ed.2d 308 (2013) (“Rule 23 grants courts no license to engage in free-ranging merits inquiries at the certification stage.”)

Plaintiffs maintain that the common question to all Class and Subclass members is whether Defendants are deliberately indifferent to their health and safety in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Thus stated, the common question is too broad.

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Bluebook (online)
289 F.R.D. 513, 2013 WL 1208598, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46295, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parsons-v-ryan-azd-2013.