Challenging Debtors’ Prison Practices in Oklahoma
Graff v. Aberdeen Enterprizes II, Inc.
On November 2, 2017, Civil Rights Corps, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, and private counsel filed this putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma on behalf of individuals facing arrest because of their inability to pay their court fines. The plaintiffs sued Aberdeen Enterprises, a private collections company, the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association, and every Oklahoma county sheriff. Plaintiffs seek preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, declaratory relief, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. The plaintiffs also asked the court to certify the class as all people who were found to be indigent by the Courts of Oklahoma Counties and were victims of the alleged extortion scheme.
The lawsuit alleges that Aberdeen Enterprise, along with the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association, operated an extortion scheme targeting indigent individuals who had been assessed fines in criminal and traffic court in Oklahoma. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants, motivated by a desire to extort, threatened plaintiffs that if they did not pay money to Aberdeen, they would have a warrant issued, be arrested, face additional fees, and be sent to jail. According to the complaint, fines collected were split between Aberdeen and the Sheriff’s Association, and this scheme made the Sheriff’s Association $829,075 in 2016 alone. Plaintiffs claimed that the policies of keeping debtors in jail and placing them on onerous probation supervision solely because of their wealth status and inability to pay violated their constitutional rights. Additionally, plaintiffs alleged abuse of process by Aberdeen in using the justice system to accomplish ulterior motives in the form of profiting at the expense of these individuals.
The district court granted the defendant’s motions to dismiss on March 12, 2021, but, following an appeal, the Tenth Circuit overturned the district court’s ruling on April 10, 2023, remanding the case back to the district court for further proceedings. Defendants filed renewed motions to dismiss in July 2023. The district court held a hearing on the renewed motions on June 26, 2024. The parties are awaiting the Court’s decision on the renewed motions to dismiss.
Media Coverage:
Debt Company Makes Sheriffs Rich by Jailing the Poor, Lawsuit Claims | Daily Beast | Nov 9, 2017
Every sheriff in Oklahoma being sued over unpaid fees going to collection | Tulsa World | Nov 6, 2017
Partners:
Smolen Roytman
Filings:
Order Granting Motion to Dismiss (Mar 12, 2021)
Amended Complaint (Sep 21, 2018)
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