LANSING — A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit over alleged toxic mold at the state's prison for women can proceed, minus a few defendants.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion released Oct. 15, unanimously rejected arguments from Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington and eight other defendants that claims against them from three current or former female inmates should be dismissed, based on governmental immunity.
However, in a 2-1 ruling, the court dismissed five other defendants from the prospective class-action lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs had not adequately shown how each of those officials specifically knew about a mold problem at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility near Ypsilanti,
yet failed to act.
“After years of procedural delay by the Michigan Department of Corrections, the 6th Circuit’s ruling will finally allow women incarcerated in the Huron Valley Correctional Facility the chance to bring their case to court after enduring prolonged and dangerous exposure to mold and inadequate ventilation," Royal Oak attorney Channing Robinson-Holmes, who argued the case on behalf of the inmates.
Lucas Verran, a spokesman for the MDOC, said in an Oct. 16 email the department is aware of the opinion and "legal counsel is actively reviewing it." He said he couldn't otherwise comment on ongoing litigation.
Paula Bailey, Krystal Clark and Hope Zentz sued the MDOC and more than a dozen of its officials in 2019, alleging their health had been seriously harmed by toxic mold dripping from showers, covering walls and growing in air vents. The suit alleges MDOC officials denied for years there was a problem rather than addressing it, and even ordered inmates to paint over mold to conceal the issue.
Bailey, now 61, has been released since the lawsuit was filed and "continues to live with chronic obstructivepulmonary disease," according to the case summary provided with the opinion. Clark, 42, was recently moved to a prison hospital unit near Jackson as her health had deteriorated. Zentz, 50, was paroled in August, records show.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Court says suit over Michigan women's prison mold can proceed
