Spring Break
Lax suit outcome still murky
news analysis
By: Yousef AbuGharbieh
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News
Last update: 9/16/07 at 12:59 AM EST
Last update: 9/16/07 at 12:59 AM EST
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Last week, the players' lawyers presented Durham city officials with a proposed out-of-court settlement requesting $10 million over five years for each of the players and requiring changes to judicial procedures in Durham.
The Durham City Council has a month to accept the offer. The council has yet to issue a response.
Durham's liability insurance policy only covers claims of up to $5 million. The deal presented last week would require Durham to pay the other $25 million from the city's coffers-a fact that makes the council unlikely to accept the proposed deal, Duke law professor Thomas Metzloff said.
That does not mean that the two parties will not settle out of court, Metzloff said.
"I have no doubt that [Evans, Trinity '06, Finnerty and Seligmann] would accept less," he said. "It's an opening offer-the game of negotiation starts high."
If the suit goes to trial, the players have no guarantee that they will win, he added.
Though there is probably enough evidence to prove wrongdoing on the part of former Durham district attorney Mike Nifong, the city of Durham is not necessarily legally responsible, Metzloff said.
Municipal governments, unlike businesses, cannot be held responsible for the misdeeds of individual employees unless a municipal policy condoned or promoted the destructive behavior, he added.
"If the driver of a Coca-Cola truck runs a red light, the company is responsible [for the resulting accident]," he said. "You can, however, have a police officer do something bad, but that doesn't make the city responsible. You need a policy or a practice that relates to a systemic failure."
Under civil law, there are only four ways a municipality can be held legally responsible for the actions of individuals acting on their behalf, said Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Three of the four categories, which deal with poor policies or deliberate indifference at the municipal level, are unlikely to apply to the case, he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 13
John
posted 9/14/07 @ 8:13 AM EST
While I understand the lax players desire to "punish" the city for their travails, this initial settlement offer is patently ridiculous. I realize it is a "starting" point for negotiations but still. (Continued…)
Bob
posted 9/14/07 @ 9:36 AM EST
Now here is a good summary of the case:
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804134
Anonymous
posted 9/14/07 @ 9:56 AM EST
It appears that those who really understand the law have a very different view of the civil case than the LAX cheerleaders, several of whom have stated very arrogantly (and ignorantly) that they hope the case goes to trial because then the players will receive a lot more than $30 million in damages. (Continued…)
duke alum
posted 9/14/07 @ 10:45 AM EST
Yes, do please bring it to trial. Can't wait to get those players on the stand, and the cross-examinations that they have up to now avoided. And the witnesses who would testify to their conduct and character and whether what happened to them was the fault of a patter of drunken partying and abysmal conduct. (Continued…)
connecticut
posted 9/14/07 @ 10:57 AM EST
Who might be called to testify to their knowledge of these three? I wonder if they would want to hear from both sides in an open court? I agree with duke alum. (Continued…)
Martha
posted 9/14/07 @ 11:13 AM EST
I see Wahneema, instead of covering her head in shame, is still around, kicking and screaming.
In the eventuality of a civil trial, it is not the character of the students that will be put on trial, whether they drink, or whether they like women. (Continued…)
Hank
posted 9/14/07 @ 11:25 AM EST
To focus on the raw $30 million is to miss the forest for the trees. The settlement offer goes beyond that considerably, to require the City to emplace several policies designed to end the egregious violations of defendent's civil rights that occurred on Durham's watch. (Continued…)
Alumnus
posted 9/14/07 @ 12:10 PM EST
Excerpt from the Economist article/review:
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804134
"The only people who, it seems, have learned nothing from all this are Mr Nifong's enablers in the Duke faculty. (Continued…)
amy
posted 9/15/07 @ 1:31 PM EST
Hey, duke alum, why not put the whole student body on the stand to fess up to drinking and occasional bawdy behavior, for God's sake?
You don't seem to understand the age group on the campus, but, then, your pathetic droppings barely mask your agenda, perpetuating the Group of 88's myth that the LAX players were guilty. (Continued…)
The weez
posted 9/15/07 @ 9:58 PM EST
Put the bum hooker on the stand. Let her have her say in court; what fun that would be!
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