Defendant's Attorney: Carlton County, Minnesota District Attorney's Office

Description: Carlton, Minnesota civil rights lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued on an Eight Amendment violation theory.


Holl was incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Moose Lake (MCF-ML). In December 2022, Holl commenced an action for monetary damages against MCF-ML for violating his Eighth Amendment right to sanitary living conditions by failing to regularly provide him with clean clothes. The complaint alleges that there were two laundry-soap shortages that prevented Holl from washing his clothes. It alleges that the first shortage occurred from approximately November 9 to November 30, 2022, and the second from December 8 to at least December 19, 2022, the date Holl signed the complaint.

Holl attached to the complaint two of his communications with MCF-ML staff regarding the soap shortages. In the first communication, Holl informed staff that the facility had not had laundry soap for over a week and asked when soap would arrive; staff responded that an order was being processed and that the estimated arrival date was unknown. In the second communication, Holl informed staff that the facility still had no laundry soap; staff responded that soap should arrive by mid-December 2022, citing "supply chain issues" as a factor "compounding" the shortage. In that communication, staff also encouraged Holl to try ordering detergent through the facility canteen, where soap could be purchased, or through indigent supplies, where soap could be accessed for free if Holl qualified.

Holl v. Moose Lake Corr. Facility, A24-0562 (Minn. App. Nov 18, 2024)

Outcome: Motion to dismiss granted.

Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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