“Three homeless men mistakenly arrested last year on charges of sleeping too close to a pile of feces have settled a lawsuit against the city of Las Vegas for $45,000.” Police made the arrest although a sleeping-too-close-to-feces provision in one of the city’s ordinances had in fact recently been repealed. The ACLU of Nevada proceeded to sue:
The men sought $2 million each in compensatory and punitive damages. Their attorney E. Brent Bryson said Wednesday the $45,000 settlement was reasonable.
“The realities are that these individuals are not capable of maintaining and sustaining an ongoing litigation,” he said. “This quick money to them represents an ability for them to get back on their feet.”
Bryson collected a $15,000 fee from the settlement.
Two of the three men say they haven’t decided yet what to do with their $10,000 windfalls, a sum that will equally well pay for a fair bit of not-getting-back-on-their-feet should they choose to spend it that way. (“Vegas homeless men win $45,000 in suit over sleeping near feces”, AP/Las Vegas Sun, Mar. 29; “Homeless men win $45,000 settlement with City of Las Vegas”, KVBC, Mar. 29).
7 Comments
My question is why LV had a law on the books against sleeping near feces? I can’t imagine the debate that brought such that.
I guess its because if you found sleeping near it, then its probably yours…
How close is “near”?
In the article, I believe they say 500 feet (by the law), and 200 feet (in this case).
I realize that this suit was frivolous, but I wouldn’t assume that the money from it won’t be applied for a useful purpose. When I was a baby lawyer, I represented a homeless man who was ejected from a local restaurant presumably because of his homeless status (he was suitably dressed and had enough money for coffee and toast, which is what he planned to order). We sued, alleging violations of the DC Human Rights statutes, and eventually the suit settled for $2500. But my client took the money (I didn’t take a cut, it was probono) and used it to buy some furniture and move into an apartment and eventually got a job. I don’t endorse cases like this as a way for homeless people to get rich, but at the same time, now that it’s over, the best you can hope for is that it will help those homeless men turn around their lives.
I guess we’ll have to rethink the advice against sleeping where you… fecalize.
Carolyn, do you know why the restaraunt turned away the business of this homeless man? How did they even know he was homeless? You probably know.
Did he smell? Had he frequently ordered $2 worth of food and then tie up a table for three hours in the past? Maybe they broke the law and knew it, or maybe they chose to settle a nuisance suit rather than defend it, but businesspeople don’t tend to turn away business without a reason.
I understand it’s not the point of your story, but I’m genuinely curious.
-dk