article: On December 23, 2015, the plaintiff, a prisoner in the Cook County jail, filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff later amended the complaint twice, adding two plaintiffs and to seeking class-action certification. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, sued both the Sheriff of Cook County in his official capacity and Cook County itself for damages under Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794(a); and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiffs alleged that the Cook County Jail's policy of forced tapering of inmates participating in opioid antagonist therapy caused them great physical pain and thereby deprived them of their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The plaintiffs sought class-action certification and compensatory damages for their pain and suffering. The case was assigned to Judge Edmond E. Chang. The named plaintiffs all entered the Cook County Jail between late 2013 to early 2014. During that time, the plaintiffs informed intake personnel of their enrollment in opioid antagonist therapy. Each experienced extremely painful withdrawal symptoms after administration of their prescribed medical treatment was delayed. One entered the jail on January 20, 2014, and did not receive treatment until January 26, 2014. The second entered the jail on December 23, 2013, and did not receive treatment until December 25, 2013. The third entered the jail on September 12, 2013, and did not receive treatment until September 20, 2013. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims, but Judge Chang denied the motion on June 27, 2016. Judge Chang noted that the plaintiffs may face difficulty in proving their claim, but declined to evaluate the facts at that stage of the litigation. On November 29, 2020, the court granted class certification for the plaintiffs’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims and denied class certification for the plaintiffs’ Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act claims. 2020 WL 7027556. The court held that the plaintiffs’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims raised “questions that are necessarily common to all class members,” such as Cook County Jail officials’ state of mind when developing the tapering policy, whereas the plaintiffs’ ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims required individualized determinations. The court divided the class it into two classes: “Pre-trial Detainees” consisted of all pre-trial detainees who entered the Cook County Jail between December 23, 2013 and October 7, 2019 and who were lawfully taking an opioid antagonist when they entered. ; “Post-sentence Prisoners” consisted of all post-sentencing prisoners who were lawfully taking an opioid antagonist when they entered the Cook County Jail between the same time period. This case is ongoing.
summary: Three prisoners sued the Sheriff of Cook County and Cook County on behalf of themselves and all prisoners who were forced to taper from opioid antagonist therapy while in custody. On November 29, 2020, the court granted class certification for the plaintiffs’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims and denied class certification for the plaintiffs’ Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act claims, finding that common questions predominate over the former but not the latter. This case is ongoing.