{"id":19575,"date":"2014-04-12T14:54:50","date_gmt":"2014-04-12T18:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=19575"},"modified":"2014-04-16T19:37:17","modified_gmt":"2014-04-16T23:37:17","slug":"getting-the-media-involved-settling-the-lawsuit-in-89-jogger-rape-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=19575","title":{"rendered":"Getting the media involved: settling the lawsuit in \u201989 jogger rape case"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Times’ Benjamin Weiser, whom I believe is a lawyer, wrote an excellent piece about this notorious case and its promised accelerated settlement. City Accused of Dragging Its Feet on Settling Suit in \u201989 Jogger Rape Case – NYTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First, it clearly shows the sea change in attitude toward civil rights cases from the Bloomberg administration to de Blasio’s. The few sentences Weiser uses to describe this difference delineate the rich from the middle class. Bloomberg, who was not a bad mayor in certain ways, was a very rich man who decided that since he knew how to create and run a wildly successful company he could do better than a civil servant in running a city.<\/p>\n

I’m always uncomfortable with that point of view. Not only do I think this is a fallacious conceit \u2014 running a business has nothing whatsoever to do with running a huge diverse city\u00a0\u2014 there’s an unpleasant arrogance there, an arrogance that casts a smog over a civic community.<\/p>\n

The Bloomberg administration’s lawyers balked at a timely response to the claims of these wrongfully imprisoned men. De Blasio has declared himself responsive and ready. The air has been cleared.<\/p>\n

And although Jonathan Moore, the terrific lawyer who is representing the men, has gone public (see Sidebar<\/strong> category “Getting the media involved”) with his impatience at the delay, Moore couches his prodding strategically. He’s not socking the Law Department; he’s nudging them. In his statements there is no suggestion that he fears the Law Department will not<\/em> settle this case. He’s just saying, “Come on, let’s sit down and do it already.”<\/p>\n

This is really responsible lawyering.<\/p>\n

The most powerful statement Moore made is at the end of this article:<\/p>\n

Mr. Moore declined to reveal how much money the plaintiffs were seeking in their settlement request. He said the plaintiffs \u201cmade a collective demand based upon the unique circumstances of each person\u2019s case and relying on an analysis of settlements in other cases going back many years.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever that ultimate number is,\u201d he added, \u201cit\u2019s worth significant money, and it\u2019s unfortunate, you know, because it really shouldn\u2019t be about the money. But you can\u2019t give these kids their life back.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>[My emphasis]<\/p>\n

UPDATE 4\/16\/2014.<\/strong> I am pleased to announce that I was right in my above comments regarding Jonathan Moore’s nudging: More Talks Expected in \u2018Central Park Five\u2019 Lawsuit – NYTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for New York City said in a court filing on Tuesday that they expected to be able to resume settlement talks shortly in the protracted lawsuit by five men convicted in the 1989 rape of a jogger in Central Park, and would work to resolve the case by the end of May.<\/em><\/p>\n

The city\u2019s statement came several days after one of the lawyers for the men said in an interview that the city\u2019s lawyers were \u201cdragging their feet\u201d on settlement talks, and had not responded to a settlement demand made by the plaintiffs in early March.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I said, good lawyering in using the media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times’ Benjamin Weiser, whom I believe is a lawyer, wrote an excellent piece about this notorious case and its promised accelerated settlement. City Accused of Dragging Its Feet on Settling Suit in \u201989 Jogger Rape Case – … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[161,68],"class_list":["post-19575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-news","tag-civil-rights-lawsuits","tag-settlement-negotiations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t