Turnage v. Oldham

346 F. Supp. 3d 1141
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedOctober 15, 2018
DocketNo. 16-2907; C/w : Nos. 17-2015, 17-2795
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 346 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (Turnage v. Oldham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turnage v. Oldham, 346 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (W.D. Tenn. 2018).

Opinion

SAMUEL H. MAYS, JR., UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendant Tyler Technologies, Inc.'s ("Tyler") August 20, 2018 Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 105.) Plaintiffs filed a response on September 12, 2018. (ECF No. 109.) Defendants replied on September 26, 2018. (ECF No. 111.)

For the following reasons, Defendant Tyler's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. Background

Plaintiffs bring a class action against Shelby County and Shelby County officials Bill Oldham, Robert Moore, Charlene McGhee, and Debra Hammons, in their individual and official capacities (collectively, the "Shelby County Defendants"). (ECF No. 103.) Plaintiffs also sue Tyler Technologies, Inc. (Id. ) Plaintiffs claim they were unlawfully detained at the Shelby County Jail following the County's installation of a new computer tracking system. That system included Defendant Tyler's Odyssey software. Plaintiffs bring claims against Shelby County Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of Plaintiffs' Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs bring negligence claims against Tyler.

Shelby County uses a computer system to process and track information about the arrest files, criminal cases, and court records of inmates at the Shelby County Jail (the "Jail"). (Id. ¶ 22.) The computer tracking system organizes and manages information including inmates' posting of bond, pretrial probable cause determinations, *1148and the release of arrestees whose bonds have been posted. (Id. )

In 2012, Shelby County decided to replace its in-house developed computer tracking system and solicited bids from providers. (See Contract, ECF No. 105-2 at 927.) On July 22, 2013, Shelby County contracted with Tyler to design, install, and integrate a new court management system (the "Contract") that included Tyler's Odyssey software. (Id. )

In October 2016, Shelby County began implementing the new integrated criminal justice system ("iCJIS"), of which the Odyssey software was a central part. (Third Am. Compl., ECF No. 103 ¶ 23.) On November 1, 2016, Shelby County stopped using its previous computer tracking system and began "record[ing] all arrest and inmate activity by hand." (Id. ¶ 52.) The new system and Odyssey software "went 'live' " on November 7, 2016. (Id. )

By November 15, 2016, deficiencies in the system had become apparent to court staff. (Id. ¶ 53.) Judge William Anderson of the Shelby County General Sessions Court characterized the failings of the new system as follows:

I apologize for the system .... [O]ne person being in jail too long is bad enough, but 15, 20, 30 .... We expected problems but we didn't expect problems of this magnitude, where people remain and languish in jail without even getting a bond set, without having [a] court appearance set and us not even knowing how to go about solving the problem ... how do you lose somebody in the system for three weeks .... Everybody says it's the [computer] system."

(Id. )

After the new computer system was put in place, the named Plaintiffs were allegedly kept in jail beyond the dates set for their release. Plaintiff Travis Boyd represents that he was arrested without a warrant and incarcerated on November 2, 2016. (Id. ¶ 86.) It took the Odyssey System seven days to show that Plaintiff Boyd was "booked." (Id. ) Only after the computer showed Plaintiff Boyd's status was he afforded a probable cause review. (Id. ) Plaintiff Boyd was then detained two days after posting bond. (Id. ¶ 87.)

Plaintiff Terrence Drain represents that he was arrested without a warrant and incarcerated on November 3, 2016. (Id. ¶ 89.) The Odyssey System showed Plaintiff Drain was "booked" five days later. (Id. ) Only after the computer showed Plaintiff Drain's status was he afforded a probable cause review. (Id. ) After Plaintiff Drain was "booked," his attempt to post bond was refused because bond "did not appear in the clerk's case management software until" three weeks later. (Id. ¶ 91.)

Plaintiff Jeremy S. Melton represents that he was detained, from November 10, 2016, until November 14, 2016, four days after entry of an order for his release, because the "order was not in the Computer System." (Id. ¶ 79.)

Plaintiff Deontae Tate represents that he was prevented from posting bond to secure his release for five days, from November 6, 2016, to November 11, 2016, because "he was not in the Computer System and thus could not post bond." (Id. ¶ 79.)

Plaintiff Issacca Powell represents that, on his arrest on November 11, 2016, the "computer system ... indicated that there was an active warrant for his arrest on the charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon." (Id. ¶ 82.) When he was taken before a judge eleven days after his arrest, Powell had to be "returned to the jail because the Odyssey System did not reflect any pending case against" him. (Id. ) After posting bond, Plaintiff Powell was detained for two additional days. (Id. )

*1149Plaintiff Cortez D. Brown represents he was detained from November 6, 2016, to November 14, 2016, seven days after the charges against him were dismissed. (Id. ¶ 78.)

Plaintiff Keith Burgess represents that the Odyssey System failed to reflect that a warrant for his arrest had been recalled on November 16, 2016, resulting in his unlawful arrest and incarceration for five days. (Id. ¶¶ 83-84.)1 After Burgess's release, the Odyssey System did not reflect the recalled arrest warrant until four months later. (Id. ¶ 85.)

Plaintiff Scott Turnage represents that his eighty-hour detention, beginning on February 18, 2017, arose from "an [attachment Pro Corpus ] that should have already been purged from the Odyssey System[.]" (Id. ¶ 76.)

After implementation of the new computer system, Earle Farrell, a Shelby County Sheriff's Department representative, "acknowledged that the intake process was taking six times as long as usual." (Id. ¶ 55.) Despite that delay, Tyler and Shelby County continued to use the new computer system.

On November 17, 2016, Plaintiff Powell filed a class action complaint against Defendant Oldham, in his individual capacity and in his official capacity as Shelby County Sheriff. (ECF No. 1.)

On March 9, 2017, the Shelby County Defendants filed a consent motion to consolidate actions against Tyler and the Shelby County Defendants by the named Plaintiffs. (ECF No. 41.) The Court granted the consent motion on March 13, 2017, and directed Plaintiffs to file one consolidated complaint. (ECF No. 42.) Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint for the consolidated class action on March 24, 2017. (ECF No. 43.)

Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint on May 4, 2017. (ECF No. 52.)

On March 9, 2018, the Court consolidated Powell, et al. v. Oldham, et al., 2:16-cv-2907-SHM-tmp (W.D. Tenn.) with Ingram, et al. v. Oldham, et al

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346 F. Supp. 3d 1141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turnage-v-oldham-tnwd-2018.