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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - "Defending city police exhausts legal fund"

Two related stories today from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

Some quotes from the first, by Benjamin Lanka:

Legal costs of defending the city have grown rapidly in the past few years.

The cost of defense has risen from $720,558 in 2006 to more than $1.2 million last year, far exceeding its $700,000 budget, according to data provided by the city controller’s office.

In total, the city has spent nearly $6 million in legal defense costs and settlements since 2006.

Those rising costs, most often the result of lawsuits against the police department, forced the City Council this month to put $1.2 million from its cash reserves into the city’s liability account. The account was $273,963 in the red before the infusion of cash. Through July, the city had spent $651,987 on legal defense costs this year. This left the city with $12.5 million in reserves just weeks before it begins debating the 2010 budget.

Councilman Mitch Harper, R-4th, was the lone member to vote against allocating the extra $1.2 million. He said as the council prepares for its budget debate, it needs to look at numerous expenses including those paid to defend the city in court.

“The council has not taken an overall examination of legal fees that Fort Wayne pays,” he said.

The city’s settlement history, however, is quite good, according to James Stergiou, chairman and CEO of SGRISK actuary consultants. The company provides services to the city. Because the city is self-insured, it pays out of pocket for its legal expenses and settlements.

The city has had low losses compared with other communities – Stergiou estimated it was in the top 25 percent in the country. This has saved a minimum of $5 million over the past 20 years from not buying private liability insurance. He noted being self-insured also allows the city to invest the money it would otherwise pay on premiums.

He added the city would still be responsible for its legal costs with a private insurer. * * *

The legal and settlement totals include claims for auto accidents, unemployment insurance, police actions and others. The claims against city police, however, account for the majority of legal work. According to city statistics, police liability claims account for nearly 64 percent of all the money spent on attorneys defending suits. The police account for less than 30 percent of the settlements paid by the city since 2006, though.

Police Chief Rusty York said the costs are cyclical, noting there have been years when the costs have been low. But he said the nature of the police business leads to situations when force must be used, and especially police shootings – regardless of legitimacy – result in lawsuits. * * *

A few major recent police cases have cost the city nearly $1 million.

Some quotes from the seond story, headed "Suing sheriff no road to riches," reported by Rebecca S. Green:
In October 2006, an Allen County Jail inmate, Earlie Berry, sued then-Sheriff Jim Herman and then-correctional officer Doug Keller in Allen Superior Court, claiming he had been the victim of excessive force.

Berry, in jail on a misdemeanor charge, claimed that in August 2005 Keller struck him for no reason in the chest, “knocking the air out of him” and “causing pain for several days,” according to court documents. * * *

In late July, nearly three years later, Berry’s case finally went to trial, with the six-person jury deciding for the sheriff’s department and its officers. After the trial, Berry was arrested as he left the Courthouse on an outstanding warrant for failing to pay court costs in the criminal case.

And to add insult to the alleged injury, attorney John Feighner, who represents the sheriff’s department, asked Allen Superior Court Judge Stanley Levine to order Berry to pay the county’s legal bills for much of the trial.

During the trial, and with permission of the court, Feighner approached Berry and said that if he did not drop the lawsuit, which the county deemed frivolous, then Feighner would seek to recover the money the county was spending from that moment on, according to court documents.

Berry went ahead, the jury agreed with the county, and now Berry might end up owing Keller, now an Allen County Sheriff’s officer, and the sheriff’s department $1,425, according to court documents.

Feighner is quick to say that not all lawsuits filed against the sheriff’s department are frivolous, but he believes Berry’s did and decided to get the county’s and Keller’s money back.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 23, 2009 09:18 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts | Indiana Government