Nature of Claims: The prisoner plaintiff filed a suit in the state Court of Claims over property that had been lost by the Department of Correctional Services. His claim was not properly and timely verified because he was not provided notarial service in the prison, and prison staff also failed to mail his claim once notarized because they said he had not provided sufficient proof that it was required to be served by certified mail, return receipt requested. The court held that the State would be estopped from asserting a defense based on lack of timeliness or proper verification, and the claim could go forward. The State appealed this ruling. Since the issue presented is of considerable importance to prisoners, whose communication with courts and other official agencies is entirely under the control of prison staff, PRP undertook to assist in finding counsel for the appeal. The Volunteer Division enlisted the firm of Nixon Peabody to take primary responsibility for defending Mr. Davidson’s favorable decision; PRP will be co-counsel.
Current Status: Pro bono counsel Nixon Peabody has filed a notice of appearance, and PRP has signed a co-counsel agreement. We await the State’s perfecting its appeal.
Persons Affected: Directly, 1. Potentially, anyone in the 65,000-person state prison system who has a legal claim to file.
Reported Decisions: None.