Case Updates
January 20, 2022
Judge Denies CoreCivic’s Request to Dismiss Proposed Nationwide Wiretapping
Class Action
On January 14, 2022, Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey of the U.S. District Court
for the District of Nevada ruled that a lawsuit against the for-profit
prison company, CoreCivic, should move forward. CoreCivic had sought to
dismiss the lawsuit, which is a proposed class action that alleges CoreCivic
wiretapped attorneys’ phone calls with their clients who were confined
in CoreCivic’s prisons and detention centers. The Plaintiff, Kathleen
Bliss, is herself a criminal defense attorney and will seek to certify
a nationwide class of attorneys who have had their calls with clients
recorded, as well as a subclass of Nevada attorneys. Bliss alleges CoreCivic
violated the Federal and Nevada Wiretap Acts.
Bliss said of the court’s decision: “The attorney-client relationship
is one of the most important protections that the Constitution extends
to all of us in America. It is key to our liberty, our ability to defend
ourselves against government accusations. Judge Dorsey’s decision
recognizes the seriousness, the importance of these rights; and though
not deciding the merits, this first step demonstrates that all accused
people expect and deserve to have the confidentiality of their innermost
thoughts and conversations with counsel preserved and respected without
violation or ill-intention.”
Bliss is represented by Anna P. Prakash, Charles A. Delbridge, Matthew
H. Morgan, Melanie A. Johnson, and Charles J. O’Meara of Nichols
Kaster, PLLP; Michael Hodgson of The Hodgson Law Firm, LLC; Lance Sandage
of Sandage Law LLC; Joseph K. Eischens of the Law Office of Joseph K.
Eischens; and Paul S. Padda of Paul Padda Law, PLLC.
The case is
Kathleen Bliss, on behalf of herself, the Proposed Nationwide Rule 23 Class,
and the Proposed Nevada Subclass v. CoreCivic, Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-01280-JAD-EJY (District of Nevada).
October 27, 2020
Ninth Circuit Revives Wiretapping Action Against For-Profit Prison CoreCivic
In July of 2018, Kathleen Bliss, on behalf of herself and a proposed class
of attorneys, sued the for-profit prison CoreCivic, alleging that the
prison wiretapped attorney-client phone calls in violation of federal
and state law. The prison moved for summary judgment based on the statute
of limitations. Bliss argued that she had claims based on calls that were
recorded within two years prior to filing suit and that those claims were
timely under the applicable statute of limitations. The district court
held Bliss’ claims untimely, and Bliss appealed. On October 27,
2020, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion stating, in part, “to
the extent Bliss’s claims are based on calls that were recorded
less than two years before she filed suit on July 12, 2018, they are not
time barred,” and remanded the case. Bliss is represented by Nichols
Kaster, PLLP, The Hodgson Law Firm, Sandage Law LLC, Joseph Eischens,
and Paul Padda Law.
