D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles is confident the city will settle two civil cases stemming from the mass arrest of protestors in 2002 in Pershing Park. But at what cost to the city? The numbers being tossed around, Nickles said in court today, are large. And confidential.
The Pershing Park suits are more than seven years old, and Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said today it’s “high time” the cases settle or go to trial.
Still, the judge extended discovery for another six months since the city recently handed over more than 13,000 documents—after discovery had already closed. Critical documents in the litigation are missing or destroyed.
Sullivan is not happy with the way the city has handled the litigation, and he said he will not “forego and forget” penalties against the District that could include contempt proceedings and monetary sanctions. Indeed, Nickles’ office has taken a beating before Sullivan.
“It’s good to be back in your courtroom,” Nickles said today, taking the lectern. Sullivan paused, holding back a smile. “It’s good to have you back,” the judge responded.
The two cases before Sullivan, Nickles said, are a “disaster” and reflect poorly on “all of us.” Sullivan followed up: “Not on the court.” (Click here to read about Nickles' court-ordered declaration, filed last month in the case.)
Nickles, who is now leading the trial team for the District, said there were “two important breakthroughs” in settlement talks and that he expects the city to wrap up the cases by Thanksgiving.
Nickles will personally handle settlement negotiations with the plaintiffs’ lawyers, who include Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil Justice and Professor Jonathan Turley of The George Washington University Law School. “We have to clear calendars and make this a priority,” Verheyden-Hilliard said in court.
When it comes to sanctions, Sullivan said his primary concern is fixing the city’s document retention and production system. The judge said he will “insist and demand” that the city take measures to minimize the potential for mishandling documents in future litigation.
Sullivan said he is not opposed to monetary sanctions against the District. But he said he is keeping in mind that, ultimately, the taxpayers are on the hook for the city’s negligence.
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