Anti Police-Terror Project v. City of Oakland

Background

Anti Police-Terror Project, Community Ready Corps, and 27 individuals brought a class action against the City of Oakland and officials of the Oakland Police Department concerning police conduct during demonstrations in Oakland from May 29 through June 1, 2020. The plaintiffs sought injunctive relief—court-ordered limits on future conduct—to restrict the Oakland Police Department’s use of chemical weapons and other non-lethal weapons during protests, strengthen the department’s supervision and monitoring of other law-enforcement agencies assisting under mutual-aid policies, and provide damages for individual plaintiffs.

The court had certified a class consisting of people injured by tear gas deployed by the Oakland Police Department or its mutual-aid partners during the George Floyd protests while peacefully protesting in Oakland. The class’s claims included alleged violations of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments and state-law claims for assault and battery, negligence, and violation of California’s Bane Act. The parties conducted extensive discovery, including review of body-camera and other video footage, documents, medical records, and 36 depositions.

Settlement Approval

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), a court may approve a class-action settlement only after finding that it is fair, adequate, and reasonable. The court found that the settlement reflected the strength of the plaintiffs’ case and the defendants’ position, avoided the costs and risks of continued litigation, and resulted from intensive, prolonged, arm’s-length negotiations by capable counsel. The court found no fraud, overreaching, or collusion.

The settlement requires substantial changes to Oakland Police Department policies and procedures. Its terms are incorporated into a permanent injunction, include expedited resolution of alleged violations during the following five years, significantly restrict the use of tear gas and other chemical weapons against people involved in protest activity, and require the Oakland Police Department to supervise and monitor the weapons, tactics, and activities of mutual-aid police agencies. The court found that notice to the class complied with due-process requirements and Rule 23, and no class member objected.

Attorneys’ Fees and Costs

The court found that an award of attorneys’ fees and costs was appropriate under federal and California fee-shifting laws. Class counsel initially sought $1,581,245, consisting of $1,548,200 in fees and $33,045 in costs. After reductions and negotiations, counsel and defendants agreed to a total award of $1,200,000. The court found the requested rates, hours, reductions, and costs reasonable and appropriate.

Disposition

Judge Spero GRANTED final approval of the Settlement Agreement and ORDERED the parties to comply with its terms. The court also ordered issuance of the permanent injunction described in the agreement and retained jurisdiction to enforce it for five years from the order’s date.

Defendants were ORDERED to pay class counsel $1,200,000 for reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, the claims of all plaintiffs except Ashwin Rupan’s claims and Lindsey Morris’s damages claims were DISMISSED with prejudice as to individual defendants Susan E. Manheimer, Patrick Gonzales, Maxwell D’Orso, and Casey Fought. Those defendants were ordered to bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs concerning the dismissed claims.