Stay issued in prison lawsuit

A federal lawsuit involving more than 20 plaintiffs, many who worked at a federal prison in Marianna, could take years to litigate.
In March, 26 current and former inmates and employees of the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna sued the U.S. Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Prisons and UNICOR — the government-owned company that runs a computer recycling business at the prison — claiming they did not do enough to protect workers from being exposed to harmful chemicals and elements.
Three individuals in supervisory positions with UNICOR are also named, but two have been removed as defendants. The exposure is alleged to have occurred beginning around 1994, when the recycling program was implemented in Marianna.
U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak has issued a stay in the case, pending his ruling on the defendants’ motions to dismiss the suit. The defendants claim — among other arguments — that the plaintiffs did not exhaust all administrative remedies for their claims before filing the lawsuit. The plaintiffs dispute the claim.
Should the case proceed, it will likely involve thousands of documents and scores of depositions and other interviews. The suit also involves other computer recycling businesses at other federal prisons. The defendants claim it could take a year or more just to collect discovery in the case.
UNICOR began a computer recycling operation — the first of its kind — near the Marianna prison in 1994. The operation used female inmates from the nearby female prison camp to remove truckloads of obsolete computers each day, break them down and retrieve parts that can be reused or resold, including central processing units and cathode ray tubes.
The plaintiffs claim the officials knew or should have known that the recycling process caused the workers to be exposed to lead, cadmium and other toxic elements. The lawsuit alleges that many workers have become extremely ill, and some have died. The complaint also alleges others were possibly exposed when allowed to visit the recycling facility to purchase refurbished computers at a discount price.
“Defendants knew or should have known about the dangers associated with the recycling facilities. For example, it is common knowledge that CRT monitors are hazardous waste because of the amounts of lead and other toxic substances contained in them,” states the complaint, filed by Tallahassee, Fla., attorneys Richard Bisbee, Bill Reeves, and Patrick Frank.
“The continued safety of inmates and staff is our top priority, and we are committed to insuring our continued compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations,” Traci Billingsley, spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said in a statement released to the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle in August.
According to an initial scheduling conference in November, a jury trial would be held in Panama City if the case is not resolved earlier. The first available trial term would be in January 2010, but the dates are only preliminary.