Settlement in Michael Brown suit $1.5 million, Ferguson attorney says
UPDATED at 7 a.m. Friday with settlement amount
FERGUSON • A federal judge on Tuesday approved a
secret civil settlement of the wrongful-death lawsuit filed
by the parents of Michael Brown over his 2014 fatal
shooting.
Apollo Carey, city attorney for Ferguson, told the
Post-Dispatch on Friday morning that the city's
insurance company paid $1.5 million "on behalf of
multiple defendants."
The settlement amount was not mentioned in U.S.
District Judge E. Richard Webber’s order approving it.
Webber wrote only that the gross amount is “fair and
reasonable compensation for this wrongful death claim
and is in the best interests of each Plaintiff.”
Webber said the split of the amount between Michael
Brown Sr. and Lezley McSpadden “is fair and
reasonable,” and the agreement “provides for a
reasonable amount” for attorney fees and expenses.
Settlements involving public entities are generally open
records under Missouri law, but Webber ordered the
agreement sealed and said that it should be considered
a closed record under the state’s Sunshine Law “due to
the adverse impact to Plaintiffs should it be disclosed."
"Disclosure of the terms of the settlement agreement,"
Webber wrote, "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."
State law does require that the settlement amount be
released, however.
The Post-Dispatch reported on Monday that the
settlement was near, and that it would be less than
$3 million. The limit of the city's insurance is $3 million.
Carey, Ferguson's city attorney, disclosed the
$1.5 million amount Friday in response to a
Post-Dispatch records request.
Brown Sr. and McSpadden sued the city of Ferguson,
former Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson and former
police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot Brown, in 2015.
Their lawsuit says that a police culture of pervasive
hostility toward African-Americans led to the death
of Brown, 18, on Aug. 9, 2014. Wilson used excessive
and unreasonable force, the suit says.
Ferguson, Jackson and Wilson denied the claims in
court documents. A St. Louis County grand jury
declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice
Department declined to prosecute him, saying
evidence and “credible” witnesses supported Wilson’s
claims that Brown attacked him.
