Arnold Porter and Co-Counsel Landmark Settlement in Class Action Lawsuit
A significant step was taken in a recent settlement agreement involving Arnold & Porter and co-counsel in a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This agreement follows the exposure of systemic staff sexual abuse, retaliation, and medical neglect at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Dublin, located near Oakland, California.
The BOP has agreed to a Consent Decree aimed at safeguarding the rights of hundreds of incarcerated individuals in federal women’s prisons nationwide. Pending approval by the U.S. District Court, this agreement would place the BOP under court oversight for two years, ensuring comprehensive measures to prevent sexual abuse and retaliation, provide adequate medical and community-based care, limit the use of solitary confinement, and put an end to arbitrary denial of early release.
The class action lawsuit was initiated in August 2023 by eight survivors and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners on behalf of all individuals incarcerated at FCI Dublin at the time. In March 2024, a preliminary injunction and class certification were granted after a detailed evidentiary hearing where incarcerated individuals and BOP officials testified. The Court also appointed a special master to oversee the enforcement of reforms at the prison, marking the first time BOP has been subject to such oversight.
Subsequent to the monitor’s intervention, FCI Dublin was closed by BOP, and hundreds of class members were transferred to other prisons under harsh conditions. Arnold & Porter and co-counsel opposed BOP’s attempts to dismiss the case as moot and continued to shed light on the constitutional abuses experienced by class members in various BOP facilities.
The certified class, comprising approximately 500 people formerly held at FCI Dublin, is represented by Arnold & Porter, alongside pro bono partners Rights Behind Bars, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, and Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP. Furthermore, Arnold & Porter is legally representing many individual class members in separate lawsuits against the U.S. government for damages resulting from the mistreatment endured at the prison.
The Arnold & Porter pro bono team, led by partner Stephen Cha-Kim and including senior associate Carson Anderson and associates Brooke D’Amore Bradley, Mark Raftrey, and Natalie Steiert, is actively engaged in advocating for justice and accountability in this case.
