Stephens ex rel. Stephens v. Bowie County

Plaintiffs Robert Stephens, by his next friend, Vertie Stephens, and Ida Nelson brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Bowie County, Texas, on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of all indigent residents of the county. Plaintiffs alleged that they were denied due process of law by the county’s failure to establish objective criteria for the provision of medical care under Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 2351, § 11 (Vernon 1971). After certifying the proposed class, the district court dismissed the action without prejudice on the basis of the Pullman abstention doctrine. We affirm.

Plain…