W. et al v. Conway et al

Filing 89

ORDER: ORDERED that; 1. The proposed settlement agreement is preliminarily approved subject to further consideration at a Settlement Fairness Hearing; 2. The form of the Notice to the Class of the Settlement Agreement (the "Notice") is approved for distribution; 3. The Notice shall be distributed by the Onondaga County defendants on or before Friday, July 7, 2017 as follows: (a) copies shall be posted, and shall remained posted for forty-five days, in English and Spanish in pr ominent and visible locations accessible to all juvenile inmates on a daily basis, and (b) copies shall be delivered to every juvenile housed in the Justice Center during the forty-five day Notice period; 4. Defendants shall maintain, for a period of forty-five days, at least two copies of the proposed settlement agreement for review by juveniles in any unit where juveniles are housed; 5. The Onondaga County defendants shall file and serve on plaintiffs' counsel a declaration on or befo re Monday, July 10, 2017, affirming that these Notice requirements have been met; 6. Any class member shall have the right to submit a written objection to the Court in accordance with the Notice's terms; 7. Any such objection must be postmarke d on or before Monday, August 21, 2017; 8. Any class member who does not timely make his or her objection in writing must do so in person at the Fairness Hearing; 9. Any class member who fails to object in writing or at the Fairness Hearing shal l be deemed to have waived any such opportunity and shall forever be foreclosed from objecting to the proposed settlement agreement; and 10. A Fairness Hearing shall be held on Monday, August 28, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. in Utica, New York, at which time the Court will determine whether the Settlement Agreement should be given final approval as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Signed by Judge David N. Hurd on 6/28/17. (alh, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
---------------------------------V.W., a minor, by and through his parent
and natural guardian DERECK WILLIAMS,
R.C., a minor, by and through his parent
and natural guardian SANDRA CHAMBERS,
C.I., a minor, by and through his parent
and natural guardian VERTELL PENDARVIS,
M.R., a minor, by and through his parent and
natural guardian KAREN RAYMOND,
F.K., a minor, by and through his parent and
natural guardian KASHINDE KABAGWIRA,
and J.P., a minor, by and through his parent
and natural guardian ALISSA QUIONES,
Plaintiffs,
-v-

9:16-CV-1150

EUGENE CONWAY, Onondaga County
Sheriff in his official capacity, ESTEBAN
GONZALEZ, Chief Custody Deputy of the
Onondaga County Justice Center, in his
official capacity, KEVIN M. BRISSON,
Assistant Chief Custody Deputy, in his
official capacity, and SYRACUSE CITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT,
Defendants.
---------------------------------APPEARANCES:

OF COUNSEL:

NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
125 Broad Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10004

CHRISTOPHER T. DUNN, ESQ.
MARIKO HIROSE, ESQ.
PHILIP L. DESGRANGES, ESQ.
AADHITHI PADMANABHAN, ESQ.
MARIANA L. KOVEL, ESQ.

LEGAL SERVICES OF CENTRAL NEW YORK
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
221 South Warren Street, Suite 300
Syracuse, NY 13202

JOSHUA T. COTTER, ESQ.
SAMUEL C. YOUNG, ESQ.
SUSAN M. YOUNG, ESQ.

SANFORD, HEISLER LLP
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
1666 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009

AIMEE KRAUSE STEWART, ESQ.

ONONDAGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF LAW
Attorneys for defendants Eugene Conway,
Esteban Gonzalez, and Kevin M. Brisson
John H. Mulroy Civic Center
421 Montgomery Street, 10th Floor
Syracuse, NY 13202

CAROL L. RHINEHART, ESQ.

BOND, SCHOENECK LAW FIRM
Attorneys for defendant Syracuse City
School District
One Lincoln Center
Syracuse, NY 13202

JONATHAN B. FELLOWS, ESQ.

HON. RICHARD S. HARTUNIAN
United States Attorney for the
Northern District of New York
445 Broadway, Room 218
Albany, NY 12207

JOHN D. HOGGAN, JR., ESQ.
Ass't United States Attorney

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE
Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

KYLE SMIDDIE, ESQ.
ATTICUS LEE, ESQ.

NAACP - CNY CHAPTER LEGAL COMMITTEE
Attorneys for Amici Curiae
Colvin Station, P.O. Box 397
Syracuse, NY 13205

LANESSA L. OWENS, ESQ.

DAVID N. HURD
United States District Judge
ORDER
On September 21, 2016, the named plaintiffs commenced this action seeking relief on
behalf of themselves and a putative class of fellow 16- and 17-year-olds being detained at
the Onondaga County Justice Center (the "Justice Center") by defendants Onondaga County
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Sheriff Eugene Conway, Chief Custody Deputy Esteban Gonzalez, and Assistant Chief
Custody Deputy Kevin Brisson (the "Onondaga County defendants"). According to plaintiffs,
declaratory and injunctive relief was necessary to end the Onondaga County defendants'
routine practice of imposing solitary confinement on juveniles being held at the Justice
Center. Plaintiffs also sought relief against the Syracuse City School District (the "School
District"), which had contracted with the Justice Center to provide educational services to
incarcerated juveniles. On that score, plaintiffs alleged that the School District denied
juveniles in solitary confinement the minimum educational instruction required by law.
In a Memorandum–Decision & Order issued on February 22, 2017, plaintiffs' motions
for class certification and for a preliminary injunction were granted while the School District's
motion for summary judgment was denied. V.W. by & through Williams v. Conway, –F.
Supp. 3d–, 2017 WL 696808 (N.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2017).
Thereafter, the parties entered into an interim settlement agreement and worked
toward negotiating final terms that would provide significant relief to members of a
now-certified class and subclass.
On June 26, 2017, the parties jointly moved for preliminary approval of a final class
action settlement agreement. After reviewing the parties' moving papers as well as the
attached submissions in light of the relevant governing law, this joint motion will be granted.
Therefore, it is
ORDERED that
1. The proposed settlement agreement is preliminarily approved subject to further
consideration at a Settlement Fairness Hearing;

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2. The form of the Notice to the Class of the Settlement Agreement (the "Notice") is
approved for distribution;
3. The Notice shall be distributed by the Onondaga County defendants on or before
Friday, July 7, 2017 as follows: (a) copies shall be posted, and shall remained posted for
forty-five days, in English and Spanish in prominent and visible locations accessible to all
juvenile inmates on a daily basis, and (b) copies shall be delivered to every juvenile housed
in the Justice Center during the forty-five day Notice period;
4. Defendants shall maintain, for a period of forty-five days, at least two copies of the
proposed settlement agreement for review by juveniles in any unit where juveniles are
housed;
5. The Onondaga County defendants shall file and serve on plaintiffs' counsel a
declaration on or before Monday, July 10, 2017, affirming that these Notice requirements
have been met;
6. Any class member shall have the right to submit a written objection to the Court in
accordance with the Notice's terms;
7. Any such objection must be postmarked on or before Monday, August 21, 2017;
8. Any class member who does not timely make his or her objection in writing must do
so in person at the Fairness Hearing;
9. Any class member who fails to object in writing or at the Fairness Hearing shall be
deemed to have waived any such opportunity and shall forever be foreclosed from objecting
to the proposed settlement agreement; and

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10. A Fairness Hearing shall be held on Monday, August 28, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. in
Utica, New York, at which time the Court will determine whether the Settlement Agreement
should be given final approval as fair, reasonable, and adequate.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 28, 2017
Utica, New York.

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