Class Certification Denied in Homeless Encampments Removal Suit

Homeless individuals failed to receive class certification in a lawsuit alleging that sweeps of encampments by Minneapolis officials violated the US Constitution.

Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright, of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification because they didn’t meet the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) requirements of numerosity, commonality, and typicality. They also failed to satisfy the cohesion and uniformity requirement for certification under 23 (b)(2) for injunctive relief, because each encampment closure presented an individualized circumstance.

Patrick Berry, along with eight other individuals experiencing homelessness, and nonprofit organization ZACAH sued ...