Oklahoma Statutes
Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories
§57-566.4. Certain actions prohibited - Frivolous or malicious claims - Public records - Default judgment - Venue - Administrative fees - Judgments - Special report prior to answer - Appeals.

A. No action may be brought in a court of this state by a prisoner or former prisoner for mental or emotional injury allegedly suffered while under arrest, being detained, or in custody or incarcerated without a prior showing of actual physical injury.

B. 1. Neither the state, any of its agencies or boards, the Department of Corrections, any county jail, city jail, private correctional company, nor their members, agents, servants or employees shall be liable for any form of civil claim or action alleged to have arisen from any theory of contract law. No arrest or conviction resulting in detention or incarceration shall create any contractual obligation, either actual, implied or at common law, between the prisoner and the state, any of its agencies or boards, the Department of Corrections, any county jail, city jail nor their members, agents, servants or employees. No policy or internal management procedure issued for the management of the prison or jail shall constitute any contractual relationship or obligation between the state, agency, board, commission, prison, jail, or any of its officers, members, servants or employees, and the prisoner or any visitor to the prison or jail.
2. No tort action or civil claim may be filed against any employee, agent, or servant of the state, the Department of Corrections, private correctional company, or any county jail or any city jail alleging acts related to the duties of the employee, agent or servant, until all of the notice provisions of the Governmental Tort Claims Act have been fully complied with by the claimant. This requirement shall apply to any claim against an employee of the state, the Department of Corrections, or any county jail or city jail in either their official or individual capacity, and to any claim against a private correctional contractor and its employees for actions taken pursuant to or in connection with a governmental contract.
C. No civil action of any type may be brought seeking an injunction or temporary restraining order against any city, county or state agency, or any officer or employee thereof, brought by a plaintiff who is currently incarcerated in any jail, state prison or private prison in the state if the claim alleges matters arising from the incarceration of the plaintiff and related to management of the prison, including but not limited to, prison transfers, cell assignments, prison job or work assignments and disciplinary action.
D. In any complaint or allegation made by a prisoner against any person holding a license to any state court, agency, board, commission or association which issues any form of license, in which the state court, agency, board, commission or association has made a determination that the complaint of the prisoner is frivolous, malicious or without merit, the state court, agency, board, commission or association may sanction the prisoner as provided for by law.
E. No prisoner of any city or county jail or of any state, federal or private prison in Oklahoma or any person on parole or probation may obtain any public records maintained by any government entity and pertaining in any manner to any public employee, officer or to any citizen, or any criminal history record of any convicted felon. No prisoner, probationer or parolee may obtain without prepayment of the required fees and costs any other public record subject to release. The Director of the Department of Corrections shall promulgate a rule for the release of criminal history records available to the public which shall include the requirement that requests for criminal history records include the name of the person whose record is being requested and shall charge Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) for each completed request responded to in any form of written communication by the Department.
F. No default judgment shall be rendered against any person, city, county or state agency, or any officer or employee thereof, in any form of civil action brought by a plaintiff who is currently incarcerated in any jail, state prison or private prison in the state.
G. Venue for tort actions filed by a prisoner or a former prisoner of any state prison in the state shall be as follows:
1. Venue for actions filed by any prisoner of any state prison or private prison in which the state, the Department of Corrections, the Board of Corrections as a whole or individual members, or any officer or employee that has multicounty responsibilities is named as a party shall be in the county of the official residence of the Department of Corrections; and
2. Venue for tort actions filed by prisoners of a county jail or city jail, and not involving the Department of Corrections, but against the sheriff, jailer, county officials or employees, or city officials or employees shall be in the county where the jail is located.
The limitations on venue set out in this section shall also apply to tort actions filed by former prisoners, if said tort action is based on facts that occurred while the plaintiff was a prisoner.
H. The Attorney General, district attorneys and the general counsel of the Department of Corrections shall notify the Pardon and Parole Board of all lawsuits filed by any prisoner in which a determination was made by a court that the lawsuit was either frivolous or malicious.
I. The Department of Corrections may assess an administrative fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for the processing of any grievance or disciplinary report that has been appealed to the Director and shall charge prisoners for the costs of any supplies, materials or services provided to the inmate at the request of the inmate. Any fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the Department of Corrections Revolving Fund. If the appeal of the grievance or the disciplinary report results in a finding in favor of the prisoner, all fees and costs collected pursuant to this section shall be returned to the prisoner.
J. Judgments rendered against prisoners and received by the Department of Corrections for, but not limited to, monetary damages, child support, transportation costs, filing fees, court costs, sanctions or attorney fees may be withdrawn by the Department from any funds deposited into a prison trust account of the prisoner and forwarded to the prevailing party.
K. Upon motion of the defendant or the court for a special report in any civil action filed by a prisoner or former prisoner or attorney of the prisoner against any party, the court shall stay all proceedings in the case and order the custodian or appropriate party to prepare a special report to the court prior to defendants being required to answer. The special report will order corrections officials or the appropriate party to undertake a review of the subject matter of the petition in order to provide the court with additional information for the processing of the claim of the prisoner, to ascertain the facts and circumstances, to consider whether any action can and should be taken by the institution or other appropriate officials to resolve the subject matter of the petition and to determine whether other like matters, whether pending in this court or elsewhere, are related to this matter and should be taken up and considered together. All reports made in the course of the review shall be attached to and filed with the special report, and a date the special report is due to the court shall be set. All pending motions are stricken without prejudice to their being reasserted after the special report is filed. All discovery under the Oklahoma Rules of Civil Procedure is stayed until the special report has been filed and any dispositive motions based on the special report are ruled upon. A copy of the special report shall be sent to the respective parties by the agency or person preparing the special report. Upon receipt of the special report, dispositive motions may be filed by the parties and the district court may properly dismiss the petition as being frivolous or malicious or for failure to state a claim, may grant summary judgment or order that the case may proceed under the Oklahoma Rules of Civil Procedure.
L. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, appeal of a decision of the district court in a civil action related to a person’s incarceration or supervision while in custody of the Department of Corrections, a county or municipal jail, or a private prison, adverse to a municipal, county or state employee or a person employed by a private prison, shall be appealed directly to the appropriate appellate court without further motions.
Added by Laws 2002, c. 402, § 11, eff. July 1, 2002. Amended by Laws 2004, c. 382, § 2, emerg. eff. June 3, 2004; Laws 2006, c. 31, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2006; Laws 2009, c. 199, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2009.

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