Lawsuit: Van Orden v Meyers

2-10-2015 Missouri:

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs' motion (Doc. No. 345) to reconsider the Court's October 17, 2014 Memorandum and Order (Doc. No. 338) granting Defendants' motion to dismiss with respect to Plaintiffs' cruel and unusual punishment and double jeopardy claims. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs' motion shall be denied.

BACKGROUND

This class action, filed by civilly committed residents of the Missouri Department of Mental Health's Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services ("SORTS") facilities, raises constitutional and statutory challenges regarding

• (1) the care and treatment, or lack thereof, provided to SORTS residents by state officials; and
• (2) the state's statutory scheme requiring reimbursement from SORTS residents for the costs of their allegedly inadequate care and treatment.

On October 17, 2014, the Court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' fifth amended complaint (the "complaint"). Plaintiffs' complaint asserted several 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims, and an alternative claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.

Specifically, Plaintiffs challenged their care and treatment at SORTS on substantive due process, cruel and unusual punishment, double jeopardy, and ADA grounds; and they challenged the state's reimbursement scheme on substantive due process, equal protection, procedural due process, unreasonable seizure of property, and ex post facto grounds.

The Court held that Plaintiffs' complaint stated substantive due process and ADA claims for lack of adequate care and treatment, and substantive due process and equal protection claims for unlawful reimbursement. (Doc. No. 338.)

However, the Court dismissed Plaintiffs' other claims.

With respect to Plaintiffs' cruel and unusual punishment and double jeopardy claims, the Court held that, because Plaintiffs are civilly, rather than criminally, committed, their inadequate care and treatment allegations should be addressed under the Due Process Clause, rather than the Cruel and Unusual Punishment or Double Jeopardy Clauses, of the U.S. Constitution. Id. Plaintiffs challenge that ruling in their motion for reconsideration.

According to Plaintiffs, SORTS is a prison disguised as a mental health facility, and its purpose is to punish, not treat. Plaintiffs argue that the punitive nature of SORTS brings Plaintiffs' claims within the scope of the Cruel and Unusual Punishment and Double Jeopardy Clauses.

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CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed above, and those stated in the Court's October 17, 2014 Memorandum and Order (Doc. No. 338), the Court finds that Plaintiffs' allegations regarding Defendants' implementation of the Missouri SVP statute, and the conditions of Plaintiffs' confinement thereunder, state valid due process claims, but not cruel and unusual punishment or double jeopardy claims.

Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration is DENIED. (Doc. No. 345.)

..Full Decision HERE.. ..

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