municipal liability News

Man Pardoned After 7 Years Reaches $7.5M Settlement With Indiana City, Says Attorney

A Chicago man who was pardoned after spending more than seven years in prison for an armed robbery he didn’t commit has reached a $7.5 million settlement with a northern Indiana city and former police officers, his attorney said last …

Man Jailed for 12 Years Brings $12M Wrongful Conviction Suit Against Milwaukee

A man who spent 12 years in prison for a homicide he didn’t commit has filed a $12 million federal lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee and four police officers. The Journal Sentinel reported that Ladarious Marshall filed his lawsuit …

How One Citizen’s Auto Claim Against Her City Upended Her Life

The evening before Hurricane Zeta made landfall, Vicki Dean and her husband, Kenny, were curious to see if the distant storm was already churning up Biloxi’s Back Bay. Like they did many evenings when Vicki wasn’t waitressing at a Gulfport …

Georgia City Pays $500K to Settle 2017 Police Custody Death

A local government in Georgia agreed Tuesday to pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a Hispanic man who died in a struggle with police officers 2017. Columbus Council members met in closed session and approved …

Insurance Costs for Canada’s Municipalities Surge as Insurers Exit, Litigation Rises

TORONTO – Canadian municipalities reeling from a pandemic-driven hit to revenues are facing an added blow from surging liability insurance costs, forcing them to raise property taxes or even cut services for residents. The increase in premiums, about 20% to …

Transit Agency, Security Firm Settle Knee-on-Neck Death Lawsuit for $5.5M

San Diego County’s transportation agency has apologized and agreed to pay $5.5 million to the mother of a mentally ill man who died after a security officer kept a knee on his neck for several minutes. It was announced this …

Insurance a Major Factor in Law Enforcement Civil Rights Settlements

Municipalities, their insurers and risk pools should be heeding the current public re-examination of police and prosecutorial actions taking place across the country, according to an insurance policyholder attorney who works on civil rights cases. Attorney Alexander Brown sees the …

U.S. Court Vacates Qualified Immunity in Excessive Force Case of 5 Police Officers

A federal appeals court has vacated part of a finding that cleared five West Virginia police officers on qualified immunity grounds in an excessive force lawsuit, which was filed by the estate of a homeless black man shot 22 times. …

Hawaii County Pays $15M to Settle Claim Over Man Struck and Killed by Police Car

Hawaii County has agreed to pay a $15.1 million settlement to the family of a Michigan man who was struck and killed by a police patrol car. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that 63-year-old Jeffrey Surnow was riding a bicycle on …

School Settles with Mother Over Daughter’s Bullying Suicide

A mother whose 13-year-old daughter committed suicide has reached a settlement with the Missouri school district the girl attended. The Columbia Missourian reports Elizabeth Overstreet alleged in the lawsuit that the Hallsville School District did nothing to stop bullying aimed …