Verdict in prison guard assault case cut to $200K under damages cap

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A $2.7 million verdict for a man who was assaulted by prison guards has been reduced to $200,000 under the cap on damages in lawsuits against the state and its employees.

Kevin Younger was assaulted by several officers at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostics & Classification Center in Baltimore the day after he witnessed other inmates assaulting a guard.

Because he had been present, Younger was segregated, as were those implicated in the attack, according to the lawsuit. Sgt. Kwasi Ramsey, Sgt. Jemiah Green and Officer Richard Hanna, believing Younger had been involved, attacked him as “misplaced retaliation.”

After a jury trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court last month, Younger was awarded $2.7 million against the state for the failure of prison officials to take adequate steps to protect him. The state’s position at trial was that Ramsey, Green and Hanna were “three rogue officers” whose actions could not have been foreseen.

On June 27, the state filed a motion for judgment or, alternatively, to reduce the award under the Maryland Tort Claims Act. The act, at the time of Younger’s injuries, provided the state could not be liable for more than $200,000 in damages per individual claim for damages due to tortious acts or omissions.

Attorneys for Younger opposed the state’s motion, but Judge Julie R. Rubin granted the motion to reduce the judgment to $200,000 on July 18, according to electronic court records.

A spokeswoman for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General declined to comment on the order Wednesday. Allen Honick, of Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP in Baltimore, an attorney for Younger, did not respond to a request for comment.

A federal civil rights lawsuit, which names the guards who assaulted Younger as well as other prison staff, was stayed while the state lawsuit proceeded. The stay was lifted following the verdict.

The case is Kevin Younger v. State of Maryland, 24C17004752.