On May 23, 2012, Occupy Wall Street, an unincorporated association engaged in continuous political protest, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the City of New York. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, claimed that the City seized or damaged property amounting to over 3,600 books and related library furnishings. Specifically, plaintiffs contended that the City's failure to adequately supervise and train officers led to them to convert over $43,000 worth of property. Plaintiffs brought suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violations of their First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and sought damages in the amount of the lost property, punitive damages against unspecified officers who acted outrageously, and litigation costs.

The case was assigned to Judge George B. Daniels. After some procedural preliminaries, on April 9, 2013 the parties settled their dispute. The settlement was with prejudice and without costs, expenses, or additional fees outside of the agreement. According to the settlement, the City of New York agreed to pay defendants $47,000 for the loss of property. The City also agreed to pay attorney's fees in the amount of $185,000 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1988, and $1,248.58 for costs and expenses incurred in the matter. The settlement did not include any injunctive terms.

Richard Jolly - 05/17/2014


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