On May 15, 2015, the mother of a deceased prison inmate filed this lawsuit against the San Juan County Detention Center in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiff sought damages and declaratory relief under §1983, alleging violations of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that the defendants’ actions and policies constituted severe and deliberate indifference to the medical needs of her son, who suffered injuries and death as a result of receiving insufficient medical care while incarcerated.

The plaintiff’s claims were consolidated with those of three other plaintiffs suing the San Juan County Detention Center, for the pretrial and discovery purposes, although the parties agreed that each case was to be tried separately. On August 24, 2015, the consolidated case was assigned to Judge James O. Browning. On September 28, the plaintiffs filed for injunctive relief, requesting either that the court order the defendants to provide emergency medical care to the plaintiffs, or appoint an independent medical overseer for the facility. On November 17, the court dismissed all federal claims against the defendants, holding that the plaintiffs’ complaint did not meet the requisite pleading standards. On January 15, 2016, the court denied the motion for preliminary injunction on the grounds that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claim. The plaintiffs each filed an amended complaint on February 29, alleging violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments as well as state tort claims.

The lead plaintiff in this case entered into a settlement agreement with the defendants, which was approved by the District Court on September 19. The details of the settlement were not entered on record with court. On September 20, the court dismissed all claims under the A.D.A. and state law. On September 30, the court entered its final judgment, dismissing the lead plaintiff’s claims against the defendants with prejudice. Salazar v. San Juan Cnty. Det. Ctr., No. CIV 15-0417 JB/LF, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141408, at *41 (D.N.M. Sep. 30, 2016). On December 12, 2016, the parties stipulated to dismissal, with prejudice, of all remaining claims against the defendant San Juan County Detention Center.

The claims of one plaintiff against certain named defendants, employees of SJCDC in their individual capacities, remain ongoing with the court.

Nicholas Hazen - 03/04/2017


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