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Articles in Verdict1

$8,000 Settlement for Medical Maltreatment by BOP; Court Finds Experts Not Required

Federal prisoner Michael Alan Crooker filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleging “malicious prosecution, negligence, and medical maltreatment by the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS) and the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP).” Proceeding pro se, he survived a motion for summary judgment and eventually obtained an $8,000 ...

$270,000 Settlement in False Arrest and Excessive Force by Los Angeles Deputies

Los Angeles County paid $270,000 to settle a lawsuit that alleged sheriff’s deputies unlawfully arrested and used excessive force on Ricky Allen on September 25, 2013.

As deputies attempted to contact Allen as he came out of a residence, he fled from them.  He ran to a cinder block wall, ...

State Law Requires New York Officials to Pay Interest for Defaulting on Federal Settlement

State Law Requires New York Officials to Pay Interest for Defaulting on Federal Settlement

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has ordered the City of New York and other defendants to pay interest to the plaintiffs in a federal settlement following the defendants’ failure ...

Successful Defense of Consent Decree Merits Award of Untimely Attorney Fees

Successful Defense of Consent Decree Merits Award of Untimely Attorney Fees

by David Reutter

On September 8, 2014, a California federal district court awarded $7,826.60 in fees and costs to the attorneys and certified law students who successfully defended against a motion to terminate a decades-old consent decree.

At issue ...

Federal Court Enforces $975,000 Settlement Agreement in Case Involving Sheriff Arpaio

Federal Court Enforces $975,000 Settlement Agreement in Case Involving Sheriff Arpaio

An agreement to settle a lawsuit filed against Maricopa County and its sheriff, Joe Arpaio, was enforced by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling dated June 2, 2014.

Plaintiffs Earl and Mary Rose Wilcox filed suit ...

$15,700 Plus Boombox to Settle California Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agreed to pay $15,700 plus a boombox to settle a prisoner’s excessive use of force claim.

The lawsuit, filed by state prisoner Tracye B. Washington, stemmed from events that occurred at Salinas Valley State Prison. Washington’s problems began on April 10, 2004, ...

California: State Settles Prisoner’s Lawsuit for $10,000, then Delays Payment

In June 2010, Cion Adonis Peralta signed a Full Release of All Claims in a federal lawsuit he filed in 2005, alleging that officials at CSP-Lancaster had violated his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. In exchange for agreeing to voluntarily dismiss his complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of ...

$72,000 in Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded in Montana FOIA Action

On May 14, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy awarded $72,701.99 in attorneys’ fees and costs in an action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Wildlands CPR sued the U.S. Forest Service under FOIA for records related to the Forest Service’s travel management program. After a year ...

$6,000 Settlement in D.C. Youth Prisoner’s Stabbing

The District of Columbia (D.C.) paid $6,000 to settle the negligence suit of prisoner Jeremiah Lester for injuries incurred from being stabbed by two other prisoners.

While at D.C.’s Youth Center One in Lorton, Virginia on May 16, 1999, Lester was assaulted and stabbed with metal contraband knives by two ...

Former Orange County Jail Detainee Paid $750,000 to Settle Guard Tasering Suit

In March 2010, Orange County, California paid $750,000 to settle a civil rights suit filed by Matthew Fleuret, a former jail prisoner who alleged he was subjected to excessive force following his arrest in March 2006 on suspicion of obstructing a deputy in the performance of his duties, after Fleuret ...