City settles G20 lawsuits

The city of Pittsburgh has settled with 11 plaintiffs who sued the city in September 2009 for… The city of Pittsburgh has settled with 11 plaintiffs who sued the city in September 2009 for damages incurred during the G-20 protests.

City solicitor Daniel Regan said that 11 of the 25 plaintiffs agreed to the settlement, which totaled $88,000, on Tuesday. The plaintiffs will split the money with each getting $8,000 — $5,000 plus $3,000 each for attorney costs. The remaining 14 plaintiffs did not accept the settlement and will continue to proceed with the case.

Regan said that although the city offered the settlement, it is important to note that by doing so, “the city did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing, nor did the plaintiffs suffer any damages.”

“The decision was made between the city and the insurance carrier that this was the most prudent way to resolve this litigation,” Regan said.

The city has to defend all cases brought against it, which comes at a cost regardless of cases’ results. In order to limit the cost the city will incur, Regan said the city decided to settle with the plaintiffs.

ACLU attorney Sara Rose said city police arrested the 25 plaintiffs in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2009, as part of a mass arrest following the G-20 summit. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the city because they believed their First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated as a result of the arrests, she said.

“They were basically not given an avenue to disperse to once the city issued the dispersal order,” Rose said.

The plaintiffs claimed damages that resulted from spending the night in jail. She said others are claiming injuries and the cost for lawyers.

Rose said the city made the settlement offer to all 25 plaintiffs, but 14 people decided not to accept it for various reasons, including people who suffered more severe injuries or those who felt strongly about the violation of their rights.

The 13 remaining plaintiffs — one plaintiff is dismissing the actions — will go forward with the case. They are currently in the process of discovery, a pre-trial phase during which each party can gather evidence, which will end in July, and the trial will likely be scheduled for sometime in the fall or next spring, Rose said.

“The only thing [the remaining plaintiffs] can seek is more money,” she said. “They didn’t feel the money offered by the city is enough to compensate them for the harm they suffered.”