Case: Beale v. District of Columbia
1:04-cv-00959 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia
Filed Date: June 10, 2004
Closed Date: 2008
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Case Summary
On June 10, 2004, the estate of a deceased former inmate of the District of Columbia jail filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against the D. C. Department of Corrections. On November 18, 2004, another former inmate of the Jail, who had similarly suffered a stabbing attack, joined the suit through the Amended Complaint. The plaintiffs, represented by public interest counsel, asked the court for damages resulting from claims of wrongful death, unsafe jail conditions, due process violations, and cruel and unusual punishment violations. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that due to the increased population in the D.C. Jail, which was not accompanied by an increase in corrections personnel, jail conditions created a substantial risk that plaintiffs would be exposed to physical harm and that the defendants were aware of the increased risk and did nothing to mitigate that risk.
On December 11, 2002, the original plaintiff was stabbed and killed by a fellow inmate while in pretrial detention at the D.C. Jail. The additional plaintiff was stabbed two days later. Plaintiffs claimed the stabbings were only possible because the cell block in which Plaintiffs were housed was overcrowded and understaffed by security personnel. Shortly before Mr. Pendleton's death, the D.C. jail was relieved of court-imposed population cap and the population had risen by nearly 40%. The plaintiffs argued that the defendants had been well informed of the situation in the jail but had not resolved the safety concerns at the time of the incident.
The case was heard in District Court (Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, replaced by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina). Defendants moved for summary judgment on June 30, 2005, which was denied October 18, 2005. Concurrently, the parties participated in sealed settlement proceedings before a District of Columbia Magistrate Court (Judge John M. Facciola, replaced by Judge Alan Kay). After discovery was closed but before the case had come before open court, a private settlement was reached, at which point the case was voluntarily dismissed by Plaintiffs on November 18, 2008. According to Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, this case secured "the largest settlement ever in an inmate wrongful death suit against the District of Columbia."
Summary Authors
Jesse Stricklan (3/10/2014)
Daniel Fryer (2/1/2016)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4756858/parties/beale-v-the-district-of-columbia/
Adams, C. (Corliss) Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Ellickson, Jenny C. (District of Columbia)
Finkenstadt, Ivy (Virginia)
Fornaci, Phillip Jerome (District of Columbia)
Gainey, Shameka (District of Columbia)
Adams, C. (Corliss) Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Ellickson, Jenny C. (District of Columbia)
Fornaci, Phillip Jerome (District of Columbia)
Jucovy, Timothy Laszlo (District of Columbia)
Lamb, Andrew W. (District of Columbia)
Lange, Ivy (District of Columbia)
Love, Kelly A. (District of Columbia)
Martin, Matthew G. T. (District of Columbia)
Mathias, Edward Michael (Connecticut)
McNish, Kimberly S. (District of Columbia)
Oxendine, Patricia Ann (District of Columbia)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4756858/beale-v-the-district-of-columbia/
Last updated March 29, 2026, 4:25 a.m.
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 10, 2004
Closing Date: 2008
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Estate of an inmate killed by another inmate in the D.C. Jail.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
County
District of Columbia
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Habeas Corpus, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241-2253; 2254; 2255
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
District of District of Columbia 1:04-cv-00959
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)
Case Summary of Beale v. District of Columbia, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, http://www.dev.clearinghouse.net/case/13247/ (last updated 2/1/2016).