A magistrate judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently granted the state’s motion to decertify the class action aspect of the lawsuit to keep Polk and White Haven state centers open.
Anyone who was in the designated class who opts in to be part of the class action suit by Monday will be added to the lawsuit as named plaintiffs and “All other previously named plaintiffs or punitive class members are terminated from this action,” according to a court order filed Feb. 17 by magistrate judge Martin C. Carlson.
In the state’s motion to decertify the class action status of the lawsuit, it is noted that as of Feb. 17 only 53 residents were still living at Polk Center and only seven of them would be eligible members of the class action suit due to not being on the planning list.
The state’s motion from Feb. 17 also notes “all residents of White Haven Center have been transferred to another setting and the facility should be closed by the end of the week.”
At the beginning of February, seven of the nine plaintiffs, including all the plaintiffs who are Polk Center residents, chose to withdraw from the lawsuit, leaving two White Haven residents as the sole plaintiffs, according to court documents.
In his memorandum of granting class-action status in November, Carlson wrote that Kevin Dressler, director of the Bureau of State Operated Facilities for the Office of Developmental Programs, testified 77 individuals had been identified as members of the class.
In his order Feb. 6, Carlson noted “it is also represented that the class now consists of no more than 34 individuals.”
