DG v. DeVaughn, No. 09-5093

In a class action against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services claiming that the department's agency-wide foster care policies and practices exposed all class members to an impermissible risk of harm, the district court's order certifying a class is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs presented more than conclusory statements that defendants' agency-wide monitoring policies and practices, or lack thereof, created a risk of harm shared by the entire class; 2) due to the common risk of harm and the common underlying legal theory for asserting that risk, the district court acted within its discretion to find that typicality was satisfied; and 3) the injunction sought by plaintiffs applied to the proposed class as a whole without requiring differentiation between class members.

Read DG v. DeVaughn, No. 09-5093

Appellate Information

Filed February 8, 2010

Judges

Opinion by Judge Baldock

Counsel

For Appellants:

Marsha Robinson Lowry, Children's Rights, New York, NY

Frederic Dorwart and Paul DeMuro, Frederic Dorwart Lawyers, Tulsa, OK

For Appellees:

Donald M. Bingham and Holly M. Hillerman, Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis, P.C., Tulsa, OK