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$50,001 Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner in Failure to Protect Suit
A federal jury awarded $50,001 to a Pennsylvania state prisoner who claimed guards ignored his requests to be protected from his cellmate.
After SCI Fayette prisoner Robert E. Ivory, Jr. was involved in a fight with his cellmate, Russell Nance, in 2008, he requested that guards move him. Ivory testified that he informed guards Tammy Cesarino-Martin, Francis Ryan and Sgt. Curtis Schaffer that Nance had repeatedly threatened him.
Ivory and Nance had been cellmates for two weeks when the fight occurred. After guards ignored Ivory’s requests to move him to another cell, Nance stabbed Ivory with a pen. Ivory then filed a failure to protect suit in federal court.
On January 27, 2011, the jury entered a verdict that awarded Ivory $50,000 in punitive damages against Cesarino-Martin, $1 in nominal damages against Ryan and nothing against Schaffer. Ivory was represented by attorney Jason E. Hazelwood, who was awarded $5,050.29 in costs by the district court on March 14, 2011. See: Ivory v. Cesarino-Martin, U.S.D.C. (W.D. Penn.), Case No. 2:08-cv-01572-LPL.
Additional source: Post-Gazette
After SCI Fayette prisoner Robert E. Ivory, Jr. was involved in a fight with his cellmate, Russell Nance, in 2008, he requested that guards move him. Ivory testified that he informed guards Tammy Cesarino-Martin, Francis Ryan and Sgt. Curtis Schaffer that Nance had repeatedly threatened him.
Ivory and Nance had been cellmates for two weeks when the fight occurred. After guards ignored Ivory’s requests to move him to another cell, Nance stabbed Ivory with a pen. Ivory then filed a failure to protect suit in federal court.
On January 27, 2011, the jury entered a verdict that awarded Ivory $50,000 in punitive damages against Cesarino-Martin, $1 in nominal damages against Ryan and nothing against Schaffer. Ivory was represented by attorney Jason E. Hazelwood, who was awarded $5,050.29 in costs by the district court on March 14, 2011. See: Ivory v. Cesarino-Martin, U.S.D.C. (W.D. Penn.), Case No. 2:08-cv-01572-LPL.
Additional source: Post-Gazette
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Related legal case
Ivory v. Cesarino-Martin
| Year | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (W.D. Penn.), Case No. 2:08-cv-01572-LPL |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Attorney Fees | 5,050.29 |
| Damages | 50,001.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |