Posted on 06/23/2017 10:30:00 AM PDT by TigerClaws
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The insurance company for the city of Ferguson, Missouri, paid $1.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Brown's parents, the city attorney said Friday.
Attorney Apollo Carey disclosed the amount in an email in response to an open records request. The settlement of the federal lawsuit was announced Tuesday, but financial details were not initially released.
Carey declined further comment on the settlement. A phone message seeking comment from the attorney for the family, Anthony Gray, was not immediately returned.
Brown, 18, was black and unarmed when he was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing, but the shooting led to months of protests in the St. Louis suburb.
Wilson resigned in November 2014, soon after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict him. The U.S. Department of Justice found no grounds to prosecute Wilson, but the shooting led to a Justice Department investigation that resulted in a consent agreement requiring Ferguson to make significant changes to address racial bias in its police department and municipal court.
Michael Brown Sr. and Lezley McSpadden sued the city, former Police Chief Tom Jackson and Wilson in 2015, citing a police culture hostile to black residents and claiming Wilson used excessive force.
Ferguson, Jackson and Wilson denied the allegations.
The parents also argued that the death of their son deprived them of financial support through his future potential wages.
U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber approved the settlement but disclosed nothing about the amount, saying only that it was "fair and reasonable compensation for this wrongful death claim and is in the best interests of each Plaintiff," with the money to be split between the parents.
Webber also wrote that the agreement "shall remain sealed by this Court and shall be considered a closed record" because disclosure of the information "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators."
Settlements involving public money and public entities like cities are typically open under Missouri law, but Webber wrote that the value of opening the record "is outweighed by the adverse impact to Plaintiffs." He did not elaborate.
Was it his dad or uncle who shouted “Burn it (Ferguson) down?”
Maybe some of the winnings should be returned to pay for reparations to the citizens of Ferguson for the damages sustained by the resulting looting/burning!
Check back in 5 years and I bet the money will be all gone.
Damn, that’s greedy even for lawyers.
It’s in favor of the clients, though............B^)
Om?
Dangit, I need a new bulb in my desk lamp
$1.5 Million aint’ nothing, but it’s not nearly as much as I would have expected them to ‘shoot for’.
Their lawyer probably said, this kind of money you could have in your pocket in less that two years. If you sue for $25. Million, this will be tied up in court appeals, and you may never see a penny of it before you die. Plus, I won’t get anything from this either. Pro Bono only goes so far!
I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but this is one time when I wish the federal death tax rate was 100%.
These are compensatory. No federal tax. Don’t know how their State handles.
An outrage.
“his future potential wages.”
A couple of convenience-store heists a week would have gotten him about $4,000 a year. That’s his future potential wages.
btw, this will probably effect any welfare type subsidies they get..so there is that..at least.
Does Michael Brown’s grandmother get the net proceeds of the settlement since he was living with her the time of his death? I got the impression that Brown had effectively been abandoned by his mother and father, but now they get to cash in on his death?
No, parents hit the jackpot. Grandmother...bupkus
What a way to make a buck. Raise a thug, have him attack and get shot by a police officer, make a victim of him and then cash in.
Everyone said their thug son was a worthless hoodlum, but everyone was wrong. They got rid of their problem and made a $1.5M profit on the deal. It’s almost worth raising a criminal and teaching him to assault police officers for that kind of money.
The only reason I can think of is that it’s cheaper than more riots.
The thug is truly worth far more dead than alive.
What was the basis for his income potential? Lists of annual value of goods stolen?
” That means the terms of the agreement will not be made public. It’s not clear whether the individuals named in the lawsuit are parties to the settlement.
But Webber said the details will remain secret because “disclosure of the terms of the settlement agreement could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators. The public policy to consider records open is outweighed by the adverse impact to Plaintiffs.”
That’s better. They’ll still blow through it in a year, if not six months.
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