Complaint Alleging Improper Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill Inmates Stated Claim under Eighth Amendment

In Disability Rights Montana, Inc. v. Batista, published July 19, 2019, the 9th Circuit reversed the dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit at the pleading stage.  An organization tasked by Congress with protecting the rights of mentally ill persons filed suit alleging Montana prison officials violated the Eighth Amendment through policies and practices of placing mentally ill prisoners in longterm solitary confinement and failing to properly diagnose and medicate them.  The district court granted a motion to dismiss the action.

The 9th Circuit ruled that the complaint adequately pleaded a claim under the Eighth Amendment.  Where a plaintiff alleges systemwide deficiencies that expose inmates in a prison's custody to a substantial risk of serious harm, courts assess the claim through a two-prong inquiry.  The first, objective prong requires that the plaintiff show that the prison's conditions pose a substantial risk of serious harm.  The second, subjective prong requires a showing that a prison official was deliberately indifferent by being aware of the facts from which an inference can be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and also drawing the inference.  The complaint satisfied the first prong by alleging patterns of prisoners being denied diagnosis and medication, and policies placing mentally ill prisoners in solitary for weeks and months at a time without significant mental health care.  It also satisfied the prong by providing multiple examples of the defendants' policies causing prisoners' mental health to worsen, resulting in self-harm or suicide.  The complaint satisfied the second prong by alleging that the prison system had been sued twice  complaining about factually similar problems; that the prison sought certification from a national body whose mental health care standards would have put them on notice of the problems, that the prison received regular grievances from prisoners about the complaints, and that the organization had repeatedly informed prison officials of the deficiencies in treatment.