After five years of negotiations, Cuyahoga County and the seven remaining plaintiffs have reached a settlement agreement in the Clay, et al. v. Cuyahoga County, et al. 1:18-cv-2929.

Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in late 2018, asserting claims that the conditions existing at that time in the County Jail violated the constitutional rights of those previously detained in the jail.  Since the filing of this lawsuit, the County Jail has engaged in ongoing efforts to improve the conditions in the jail.  The settlement of this case is one more step in the County’s efforts to ensure that the jail meets all appropriate standards of operation.

Instead of litigating this case in an adversarial manner, the parties chose to work cooperatively to address conditions and practices in the jail with the goal of improving those conditions.  That cooperative endeavor led to the Settlement Agreement that was approved by County Council today.  It provides for no payment of damages to the plaintiffs.  Plaintiffs’ counsel, who prosecuted this case for some five years, are to be paid $175,000 in attorney fees.

The process agreed upon by the parties consisted of the hiring of an agreed-upon “joint expert,” an experienced jail administrator, who was asked to examine the jail’s operations in light of best practices in the industry.  The joint expert personally inspected the jail, reviewed its policies, and interviewed staff and inmates about jail conditions.  The joint expert then drafted a report which analyzed the jail’s condition and operation and made recommendations for improving the County Jail’s operations.

The final report issued by the joint expert debunked many of the unsubstantiated allegations levied by plaintiff’s attorneys, the media, and others.  The report did identify several areas in need of improvement and made concrete recommendations for enacting those improvements.  The County has agreed to address those conditions as part of the Settlement Agreement. 

Plaintiff’s counsel agreed to the settlement of this lawsuit in reliance upon the improvements already made to the jail’s operation, as well as the County’s undertaking to make further improvements to be implemented pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.  The County’s performance will be monitored by a Compliance Coordinator, who will periodically review the County’s fulfillment of its obligations under the Agreement, and issue reports on the County’s compliance.