In its continued effort to save taxpayer dollars in lawsuits filed against the City, the City Attorney’s Office today announced that it has successfully saved the City from having to pay out nearly $120 million in civil damages.
Based on the damage demands made by plaintiffs’ lawyers and the final trial result, the City Attorney’s Civil Litigation trial teams were successful in securing defense or favorable verdicts resulting in savings of nearly $120 million for the fiscal year between July 2010 and the end of June 2011.
These figures include the City Attorney’s General and Employment Civil Litigation Trial Teams, which secured defense or favorable verdicts in 47 of 56 trials, saving the City $80,440,496, and the Police Litigation Trail Team that saved $37,800,367 through securing defense or favorable verdicts in 25 of 31 trials.
Each month, approximately 30 to 40 claims are submitted to the City for payment, the vast majority of which are subsequently denied and filed as lawsuits against the City. These civil lawsuits include police and fire liability; serious bodily injury or death; complex business and regulatory transactions; breach of contract; land use and environmental issues; employment and labor; worker’s compensation claims; and government code violations.
The City is currently facing more than 7,000 lawsuits with a potential exposure of over $2 billion.