Seattle Civil Rights Case — $1 Verdict; $92,000 In Fees Affirmed.
In Rutherford v. Seattle Police Dept./Chin, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $1 jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff in a civil rights case where a man was held too long at gunpoint for a minor traffic infraction by Seattle police. However, even though asking for 5 times the amount, the district judge also awarded Plaintiff $92,000 in attorney’s fees/costs under the federal civil rights fee-shifting statute. That, too, was affirmed, even though the City previously had paid $330,000 to an outside law firm to fight for itself and the named officer both at trial and on appeal.
Colt Automatic Pistol. Alfred T. Palmer, photographer. June 1942. Library of Congress.
City of Lake Forest Has Spent $67,000 So Far in Fees/Costs on Adam Nick Suit, Although It Has Agreed to Sign a New $30,000 Retention With a New Law Firm.
According to a March 17, 2013 article in The Orange County Register, the City of Lake Forest has spent $67,000 in fees/costs in a lawsuit brought by Councilman Adam Nick over the city council’s decision to deny a liquor license to improvements on property he and others own on Lake Forest Drive. Mr. Nick has lost at the superior court level, but appealed to the intermediate California appellate court. Now, the city has switched to another law firm based on a possible conflict of interest, signing a new $30,000 retention agreement with the new firm to defend its interests.
Louis N. Rosenthal, artist. 1871. Library of Congress.