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Case of the Month January 2024

Federal Jury Awards Plaintiff $700K in Suit Involving Claims for Fourteenth Amendment Procedural Due Process Violations

Young v. Mayer

Case Type:
Civil Rights - State Government; Violation; Prisoner

Specific Liability:
Prison inmate dropped off at a closed work release site by prison staff; never picked up; then labeled as an "escapee" after starting to walk five miles back to prison

General Injury:
Civil rights violation

Jurisdiction:
State: Wisconsin
United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

Related Court Documents:
Plaintiff's amended complaint: 2021 WL 11717217
Defendants' brief in support of motion for summary judgment: 2023 WL 5984725
Special verdict form: 2023 WL 5979649
Judgment: 2023 WL 5979648

Case Name:
Young v. Mayer et al.

Docket/File Number:
2:20CV01136

Result Amount:
$700,000

Result Date:
July 17, 2023

Judge:
J.P. Stadtmueller

Attorneys:
Plaintiff: Adam Young, Pro Se, Racine, WI
Defendant: Joshua L. Kaul, Attorney General of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Defendant: Jennifer M. Bizzotto, Assistant Attorney General of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Result Type:
Jury Trial

Experts:
Plaintiff: Not Reported
Defendant: Not Reported

Breakdown of Award:
Compensatory Pain & Suffering: $500,000
Total Compensatory Award: $500,000
Punitive Damages: $200,000
Comparative Negligence Percentage: 0

Summary of Facts:
Plaintiff Adam Young, an inmate of Kenosha Correctional Center (KCC), a state prison, said he and two other inmates were dropped off at a work release site by a KCC driver, only to find out the facility was closed. The inmates, not permitted to have cell phones, were left stranded for over eleven hours in a parking lot in 80 degree weather with no food or water. The plaintiff claimed he stayed at the work site for over two hours past the pick up time, and only started walking the five miles back to the correctional facility when he realized KCC staff were not coming to pick him up. No action was taken when the inmates returned to the prison, but the next day, the plaintiff was arrested for attempting to escape.

The plaintiff asserted due process violations were perpetrated upon him by the defendants Michael Mayer, employed as a Lieutenant at RCI, the state correctional facility the plaintiff was transferred to after the subject incident, and Patricia Goss, employed as a captain at KCC. The plaintiff contended the defendants violated his 14th Amendment right to have his grievances heard by an impartial decisionmaker. The plaintiff also asserted retaliation allegations, claiming the defendants responded to his inmate complaint/appeal of his disciplinary hearing by keeping him in temporary lock-up status, causing him to spend 60 days in disciplinary separation and causing him to lose his work release privileges, labeling him as an 'escapee'.

Shikeyla Kyles, employed by a non-party healthcare service, worked as an employment support specialist for KCC and was an originally named defendant, dismissed via the courts granting of her motion on the pleadings.

The defendants denied liability and filed a motion for summary judgment, denying that either defendant displayed bias during a disciplinary hearing regarding the plaintiff's attempted escape from Kenosha Correctional Center (KCC) and failed to prove a violation of his 1st and 8th Amendment rights. The defendants argued they were entitled to qualified immunity, barring the plaintiff's action.

A jury found in favor of the plaintiff on his due process claims, Mayer paying out $150,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages and Goss paying out $350,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

Westlaw Citation:
2023 WL 7224854