Brooklynne Eeuwes

Five bellwether individual issues trials were heard as summary judgment motions to determine whether class members who were placed in administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries were entitled to additional compensatory damages beyond their share of the aggregate damages award.

The court assessed the idiosyncratic harm suffered by each plaintiff, taking into account their pre-existing mental health conditions and other stressors.

The court awarded additional compensatory damages to three plaintiffs ($50,000, $25,000, and $75,000) who proved that their time in segregation caused specific, additional harm.

The claims of the other two plaintiffs were dismissed as they failed to prove causation.

The court declined to award punitive damages in any of the cases.

The applicant, a citizen of El Salvador suffering from severe schizophrenia and facing deportation for serious criminality, sought judicial review of a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) refusal.

He alleged a heightened risk from gang members and police due to his profile as a returnee with severe mental illness.

The Federal Court found the PRRA decision unreasonable because the Officer failed to conduct a cumulative and intersectional assessment of the applicant's combined risk profile, instead analyzing the risks in isolation.

The application for judicial review was allowed and the matter remitted for redetermination.

The moving parties brought a motion for leave to appeal the order of Justice Robert Smith dated July 7, 2021.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal and awarded costs to the responding parties fixed at $10,000 all inclusive.

The self-represented plaintiff brought a motion seeking to reverse previous orders that had struck out his statement of claim as vexatious and an abuse of process, and to obtain default judgment.

The plaintiff failed to appear at the hearing of his own motion.

The Federal Court found the motion to be wholly without merit, vexatious, and an abuse of process, noting the plaintiff's extensive history of filing frivolous proceedings and making unfounded allegations of criminal conduct against judges.

The Court dismissed the motion, ordered costs payable forthwith, and exercised its plenary powers to prohibit the plaintiff from filing further materials without leave and from commencing any new proceedings based on the same subject matter.