BLUE FOLDER ITEM
Blue folder items are additional back up material to administrative reports and/or public comments received after the printing and distribution of the agenda packet for receive and file.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JUNE 14, 2022
F.2 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
Luke Carlson, et al v City of Redondo Beach, et al.
Case Number: 2:20-cv-00259-ODW-SS
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
From: Josh Abrams <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 3:10 PM
To: Bill Brand <[email protected]>; Nils Nehrenheim <[email protected]>; Christian Horvath <[email protected]>; Zein Obagi <[email protected]>; Laura Emdee <[email protected]>; Todd Loewenstein <[email protected]>; Eleanor Manzano <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item F2
CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
Mayor and City Council,
I have been following the story about the lawsuit involving RBPD officers that shot through a closed window, and almost killed a young man in front of his family at their home on the Esplanade in 2019.
For the life of me I can’t understand why the city is pushing this case to trial as it's clear a settlement makes more sense.
After doing research I have learned the insurance policy the city (as combined with other Beach Cities) will cover up to $25 Million Dollars. That means there will be NO out of pocket cost to Redondo Beach aside from the deductible. I have also determined there is no punitive damages involved as the city is exempt from these by law, and the officers if they could be sued would not have enough assets to warrant the plaintiff from even pursuing that option.
Either way this lawsuit is going to be paid by our insurance company and the rates will go up.
Does the city attorney think that having a larger judgement awarded by a jury later will be a better way for it to impact our insurance premiums? It makes sense to get it out of the way now so we can move on and not incur more legal expenses.
The city attorney should also be clear to the city council that if the city loses in a jury trial, this could set a precedent for other potential litigation in the future should another incident like this occur.
The recent 27-page ruling on the motion from the judge shows there may be some serious problems in the department and even a history of covering up incidents. If a jury hears evidence confirming that fact we could be on the hook for well over $25 Million Dollars in this case and open up others.
With the poor performance of the current firm retained by our city attorney (they recently lost an $85 Million dollar lawsuit) I don’t have much confidence in their results.
Our city should seriously consider other options before it ends up cost us $85 Million Dollars too.
Sincerely,
J Abrams