Del. Rejects Claim Officials Ordered Inmate Beatings After Prison Uprising
Attorneys from the Delaware Department of Justice on Tuesday attacked the most recent round of allegations in a prisoner lawsuit stemming from the February 2017 takeover of James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, saying that it was an "incredible leap" to accuse state officials of ordering constitutional violations in retaliation for the deadly incident last February.
February 28, 2018 at 03:42 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Delaware Law Weekly
Attorneys from the Delaware Department of Justice on Tuesday attacked the most recent round of allegations in a prisoner lawsuit stemming from the February 2017 takeover of James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, saying that it was an “incredible leap” to accuse state officials of ordering constitutional violations in retaliation for the deadly incident last February.
Joseph C. Handlon, head of the DOJ's Defensive Litigation Unit, said in a court filing that an attorney for JTVCC inmate Donald Parkell had cited no evidence to support his client's claims earlier this month that top officials at the prison had ordered beatings following the 19-hour ordeal at the prison's C Building last February.
“Plaintiff is entitled to reasonable inferences from a complaint, not speculative ones,” Handlon wrote in a 10-page brief.
A spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Correction has denied the allegations “flat out,” but declined to comment further on the pending litigation.
The dispute has emerged as Parkell's lawyer, James S. Green Sr., tries to survive a motion to dismiss the suit and force the case into discovery.
Parkell, a medium-security inmate at the Smyrna prison, has accused state officials of creating a “toxic” environment that led to abuses and said that inmates were unconstitutionally denied access to medical treatment and religious diets and were subjected to beatings in response to the riot, which left veteran corrections officer Lt. Steven Floyd Sr. dead.
On Feb. 6, Parkell alleged, for the first time, that DOC Commissioner Perry Phelps and the prison's former Wardens David Pierce and Phillip Parker directed corrections officers to assault inmates after authorities retook the facility and later formed teams of guards to “terrorize and torture” the prisoners.
“Without discovery, except as reflected in the public record, plaintiff cannot know with certainty which defendant gave which order,” Green wrote.
Handlon conceded that while first responders “may have acted aggressively” when retaking the building, there was nothing to tie officials to the supposed abuses. And he criticized Parkell for not properly raising those kinds of factual allegations in his complaint.
“The court should reject the many inaccuracies and other speculation strewn throughout the answering brief. The adequacy of allegations as to the named defendants must be based upon what plaintiff has alleged in the [third amended complaint] and nothing else,” he said.
Green, a partner with Seitz, Van Ogtrop & Green, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Handlon also took aim Tuesday at Parkell's claim that former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell should be held liable for spending decisions that allegedly drained the prison of resources and set the stage for last year's attack.
According to Parkell, Markell deliberately understaffed the prison and failed to train correctional officers who worked there, resulting in a “pervasive disdain” between staff and prisoners that made the uprising “predictable and inevitable.”
But Handlon argued that Markell was protected by qualified immunity and that allegations of inadequate staffing were not relevant to the case.
A total of 18 inmates have been charged in relation to the incident, and 16 are facing murder charges in Floyd's death.
Floyd's family and DOC staff injured in the ordeal settled a separate case against the state for more than $7.5 million in December.
The current case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware is captioned Parkell v. Pierce.
It also names current JTVCC Warden Dana Metzger, Department of Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Robert Coupe and unnamed prison staff as defendants.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTrending Stories
- 1Jury Seated in Glynn County Trial of Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Shielding Ahmaud Arbery's Killers
- 2Ex-Archegos CFO Gets 8-Year Prison Sentence for Fraud Scheme
- 3Judges Split Over Whether Indigent Prisoners Bringing Suit Must Each Pay Filing Fee
- 4Law Firms Report Wide Growth, Successful Billing Rate Increases and Less Merger Interest
- 5CLOs Face Mounting Pressure as Risks Mushroom and Job Duties Expand
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250