Filed Date: Dec. 21, 1989
Closed Date: Feb. 23, 2001
Clearinghouse coding complete
On December 21, 1989, attorneys for the Legal Center for People with Disabilities, and the Association for Retarded Citizens for Utah filed suit on behalf of residents of the Utah State Developmental Center in the Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake County, Utah, challenging the treatment, care, training and services being provided to the residents. The defendants included officials of Utah State Department of Human Services and other state agencies. The plaintiffs made claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Title XIX of the Social Security Act, § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 and Utah state law. The plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief, as well as class action status.
After the plaintiffs initiated the action, the Court certified the plaintiff class in May 1990, which consisted of all current residents of the Utah State Developmental Center.
Later that year, in response to the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case in October 1990. The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss one cause of action in December 1990, but also gave the plaintiffs leave to amend the complaint.
The plaintiffs filed the First Amended Complaint on January 4, 1991.
After much back and forth, the parties entered a stipulation in May 1991 dismissing another of the plaintiffs’ cause of action. Additionally, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss an additional cause of action one month later in June 1991.
A Second Amended Complaint was filed on March 26, 1993. It outlined deficiencies at the Utah State Developmental Center which included the failure to individualize program plans and provide adequate habilitation services to residents. It also chronicled the testimony from the Utah Legislative Fiscal Analyst regarding budgeting and spending at the Utah State Developmental Center in the fiscal years of 1989 and 1990.
On June 7, 1993, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement and submitted it to the Court (Judge Timothy R. Hanson) for approval. The stated goal of the Settlement Agreement was for the State of Utah to continue to promote residential environments and surroundings which allow class members the opportunity to live a life as normal as possible, and to associate with people who are both disabled and not disabled.
The Agreement provided that within four (4) years all residents of Utah State Developmental Center would receive an evaluation by an Interdisciplinary Team which would determine the services and support that would best meet that class member's needs. Each evaluation was to consider the principles of personal growth, individualization, and integration of the individual into a community-based setting.
The plaintiffs' attorneys monitored the implementation of the Settlement Agreement provisions. As of 1997, plaintiffs' attorneys noted that three legitimate barriers to outplacement of class members existed: (1) insufficient community provider capacity, (2) outpatient mental health treatment for people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness, and (3) inadequate neurological support. The defendants were said to have been working towards addressing those issues.
In November 2000, the state moved to dismiss the case, and after a few months, the plaintiffs stipulated to that dismissal, which occurred, with prejudice, on Feb. 20, 2001. The dismissal seems to have ended the case--although, oddly, the docket shows the assignment of a new judge, Kate Toomey, in April 2007, and then another new judge, Todd Shaughnessy, in May 2015.
Summary Authors
Dan Dalton (3/20/2007)
Richa Bijlani (4/1/2020)
Hansen, Timothy R. (Utah)
Hanson, Timothy R. (Utah)
Denton, Robert B. (Utah)
Barlow, Craig L. (Utah)
Luinstra-Baldwin, Linda (Utah)
Hansen, Timothy R. (Utah)
Hanson, Timothy R. (Utah)
Shaughnessy, Todd M. (Utah)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:43 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Utah
Case Type(s):
Intellectual Disability (Facility)
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 21, 1989
Closing Date: Feb. 23, 2001
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All current residents of the Utah State Developmental Center.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
NDRN/Protection & Advocacy Organizations
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Utah State Developmental Center (American Fork), State
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Social Security (Title XX), 42 U.S.C. §§ 1397 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1993 - 2001
Content of Injunction:
Implement complaint/dispute resolution process
Issues
General:
Deinstitutionalization/decarceration
Reassessment and care planning
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Habilitation (training/treatment)
Disability and Disability Rights:
Developmental disability without intellectual disability
Intellectual/developmental disability, unspecified
Discrimination-area:
Discrimination-basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Medical/Mental Health:
Intellectual disability/mental illness dual diagnosis
Type of Facility: