Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

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SeanC
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Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by SeanC »

Alabama man gets $1,000 in police settlement, his lawyers get $459,000

My firm defends a lot of civil rights litigation, so I have some first-hand experience in this area of the law. I know a lot of gun owners have heard stores about open carriers successfully recovering tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars against municipalities that infringe on their rights. I thought this article was insightful because it illustrates how those massive recoveries are generally distributed. Here's why.

To win a lawsuit, you must generally show two things: a violation of your rights and damages resulting from that violation. Everyone knows the first element, but I spend a large part of my day explaining to prospective clients of all stripes that they lack the second element. Most civil rights cases are lacking in the second element. How does the law quantify the damages you received from being unlawfully detained? If you missed work because of the detention, or you were fired for it, or you were injured in the course of the detention, then you can prove damages, and those will be factored into your recovery.

If your only claim is that you should be entitled to money simply because the dignity of your rights was violated, you've got a problem. In those cases, judges and juries typically award "nominal" damages - some amount between $1 and $1,000, in recognition of the fact that what happened to you was wrong, but that it didn't really put you out in a meaningful way. That's what probably happened in the case linked above. The rest of the money comes from the fact that a successful plaintiff, even one who only recovers $1, is entitled to reimbursement for his attorney fees. The unfortunate reality of most civil rights cases is that the lawyers on both sides will work dutifully for many months or several years; defense attorneys bill the municipality or its insurer hourly, and plaintiffs attorneys keep a running tab of their fees - with full knowledge that the municipality will probably settle for a token amount somewhere down the road. The client, meanwhile, may not have been properly informed of the probable outcome. There are unscrupulous attorneys who flash copies of their massive judgments at prospective clients without explaining that a large percentage of the recovery is just attorney fees. At the end of the day, those clients will have invested substantial time, effort, emotion, and stress into a lawsuit that ultimately puts a few hundred dollars in their pocket.

Just to be clear, not every civil rights lawsuit follows this pattern. Primarily, lawsuits where the plaintiff has actual injuries tend to pay out. Damages are ordinarily calculated by multiplying medical bills buy some factor between 0.5x and 4x to account for pain and suffering. Lawsuits where the defendant acted out of racial animus, or did something truly unspeakable (molested a female detainee during a traffic stop), or acted as part of a vast conspiracy (racist police departments in the South during the civil rights era) also tend to pay out. Lawsuits involving a defendant who has engaged in the same or similar conduct several times in the past, but who seems not to have learned a lesson, pay out because the judge or jury wants to send a financial message to the municipality that the officer needs to be fired. But other than that, many plaintiffs are looking at token damages, plus a payday for their lawyers.

Just a friendly FYI. Before you invest yourself in a lawsuit, think about how you may have been injured, and whether that injury is something for which a judge or jury will be willing to fix a dollar value that is worth your while.
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by Brian D. »

Another good take away from that story (because it happens this way so often) is that the suit took five years or more to be settled out. You can bet that most if not all that delay was generated by the defense side, not the plaintiff. I have seen political subdivisions go into the "four corner stall" many, many times now. Because hey, it can work and they seemingly never get taken to the mat by the judicial system for trying it.

And, if let's say along the way the original judge stepped down, lost an election, croaked, etc. the entire process may have to start over from scratch.
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by JediSkipdogg »

Brian D. wrote:Another good take away from that story (because it happens this way so often) is that the suit took five years or more to be settled out. You can bet that most if not all that delay was generated by the defense side, not the plaintiff. I have seen political subdivisions go into the "four corner stall" many, many times now. Because hey, it can work and they seemingly never get taken to the mat by the judicial system for trying it.

And, if let's say along the way the original judge stepped down, lost an election, croaked, etc. the entire process may have to start over from scratch.
The big part for an initial delay on the defense side is the time to do the interviews. Each person named in the suit has the right to be present during every deposition. Let's take the Beavercreek Walmart case as an example because it's fresh in people's mind. Say a civil trial takes place. Most likely the Crawford family will name the city, the two police officers that initially responded as seen in the video, and the 911 caller. They could name Walmart if they really choose to. Now, you have to schedule around each of those people's lives as each have the right to be present. If three can be present on Tuesday but one can't, let's reschedule. And since speedy trial rules are different for civil trials, they will generally grant an indefinite amount of time for the defense to continually reschedule till they can have each of these interviews take place. And once round one of depositions is done, they may conduct a round two for further interest in the case. So the process may take a long while before it ever gets to even fighting it in court.
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by carmen fovozzo »

And the judgtice system and lawyers see nothing wrong with the client getting a dollar and the lawyers making 100's of thousands of dollars....Lawyers made this system, how nice... :( Law makers and lawyers...talk about a win win situation..
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by carmen fovozzo »

I was never one to capitalize on someone else's misery and pain....It is what it is, to bad, our country deserves better..
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by SeanC »

Three follow-up points.

1. The reason for the long delay in many civil rights cases is a mid-case appeal. When you sue a cop, he will assert the defense of sovereign immunity. If the court disagrees, the issue may be appealed directly and without waiting for the rest of the case to conclude. Up to the Court of Appeals for briefing, oral argument, and receipt of a decision, then back down to the trial court for more trial proceedings. That takes a -long- time. Without an appeal, the case can be done between 12-18 months. With an appeal, 2-3 years is common.

2. The system isn't rigged in favor of lawyers. If the plaintiff in the article I cited had filed his lawsuit pro se, he still would only have received $1,000. In civil rights cases, the attorney fees are tacked on to any recovery by a plaintiff. That is distinct from most personal injury cases, where a lawyer will take a percentage of the total recovery. In the case above, if the attorney fees had been $1,000,000, the recovery would have been $1,001,000. If the attorney fees had been $0.25, the total recovery would have been $1,000.25.

3. You can be mad that the lawyers took a lot of money, or you can look at it a different way. If the lawyer had to take a contingency fee, the representation wouldn't have occurred. This lawyer, and all other lawyers, would turn away a client who didn't have actual damages, and this violation of the client's rights would have gone unresolved. Alternatively, the lawyer would have demanded to be paid hourly. At $200/hour, the total recovery would have been exhausted in five hours. For reference, in a case like this, five hours would probably have covered a consultation, preparation of the complaint, and maybe a demand letter. Unless the case settled in the first few days, the client would have been out-of-pocket on the case almost immediately.
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by curmudgeon3 »

Tim "will make them pay". :twisted: :mrgreen:
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by carmen fovozzo »

I'm mad at lawyers that take advantage and are greedy....I know a few....

Mother worked for Taylor Dept. Store years ago, I was about 17 years old....She worked there for years in sales......she was confronted one day after work outside of the store by security for elledgedly stealing a piece of clothing...they took her into the office and she produced the receipt for the item......they took the receipt and fired her the next day......
She sued in court and lost.....The defense lawyer new there was a receipt but lied he never saw it...so much for simple justice....

There are a lot of honorable professions in this country but none more conniving and prone to lieing...then lawyers...

I know a few lawyers as I said....I also know a few that Are honest hard working and compassionate..

End of rant....
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by BobK »

Another important point to consider. Depending upon how a settlement is structured and what kind of damages there are, the attorney fees can be considered taxable income from an IRS perspective.

Don't know how this particular settlement was structured, so let's use a different example.
Say you settle a suit for intentional infliction of emotional distress against your neighbor for $100,000, and your lawyer keeps $40,000. You might think you’d have $60,000 of income. Instead, you’ll have $100,000 of income, followed by a $40,000 miscellaneous itemized deduction. You’ll be subject to numerous limitations–and to the alternative minimum tax or AMT–that can whittle your deduction down to nothing. That’s why many clients say they are paying tax on money (the lawyer’s fees) they never received.
Here are some relevant articles:
Win A Lawsuit, Pay IRS---Even On Your Attorney's Fees
IRS Gets A Share Of Most Legal Settlements
10 Things To Know About Taxes On Damages
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Re: Typical Results in a Successful Civil Rights Suit

Post by slidelock »

I think there is something missing from this discussion. "Settlement". Suppose the client had refused the settlement offer and demanded a trial unless the settlement was larger for him. The attorney would have significant resources invested. Unless he can pressure his client into accepting the offer, his options are:convince the opposition the client won't accept and negotiate a larger settlement, throw the dice and go to trial. Considering the amounts discussed here, l know which way I would go.
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