Judge Green Lights Suit Against Mental Facility

A U.S. District Judge in Texas ruled that a lawsuit over alleged “fight clubs” in a Corpus Christi facility for people with mental disabilities can proceed. Judge Janis Graham Jack dismissed the request from the four state officials named as defendants that they be excluded from the lawsuit because of qualified immunity. The lawsuit, which represents five plaintiffs, claims that the officials should have been aware of the incidents that occurred in 2008 and 2009 and that more security was necessary to keep the residents safe. In 2007, there were 1,013 allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation — and 51 confirmed cases — at the 430-bed facility, the Austin American-Statesman reports.