On September 8, 2015, two Alexander City residents who had been jailed for their inability to pay traffic or misdemeanor fines and costs filed this class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Represented by counsel from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the plaintiffs sued the City of Alexander and the Police Chief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs asked the court to grant declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief.
Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that Alexander City had a practice of arresting individuals who could not pay traffic or misdemeanor fines and costs in full on the date assessed, and jailing them until they paid or sat out the amount owed at a base rate of $20 per day. The plaintiffs alleged this practice violated the Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as well as state law. The plaintiffs further alleged this practice was implemented pursuant to the authorization of the Police Chief.
The plaintiffs sought class certification for declaratory and injunctive relief.
On September 8, 2015, the plaintiffs also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction directing the defendants to stop jailing persons who were not able to pay their fines and costs in full on the date of their adjudication.
The case was assigned to Judge Gray Michael Borden on October 30, 2015.
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on December 1, 2015. In the new complaint, the plaintiffs only sought to define a damages class, abandoning the attempt to certify a class for injunctive or declaratory relief. The defendants moved to dismiss the case on December 15. Discovery proceeded, with disputes arising along the way.
The case was reassigned to Judge Royce C. Lamberth on June 15, 2016.
The parties filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of a class settlement on January 17, 2017. On March 13, the court granted preliminary approval of the settlement and conditionally approved the following settlement class: "All individuals who, on or between September 8, 2013, and September 8, 2015, were arrested and jailed for their failure to pay fines and court costs by the Alexander City Police Department."
Per the agreement, the defendants were to pay class members a total of $680,000. The allocation of that fund was divided as follows: (1) $30,000 equally divided and paid to the two named plaintiffs, (2) $500 per day spent in jail for each each class member who submitted a claim, (3) distribution of unclaimed payments to class members who had submitted claims in proportion to the number of days each one spent in jail, and (4) distribution of any residual money to the nonprofit Volunteer Connections of Central Alabama. The settlement also provided $202,000 in attorney's fees to class counsel.
Following a fairness hearing, the court granted final approval of the settlement on August 4, 2017. The case is now closed, though the court retained jurisdiction for the purposes of the settlement.
Sarah Precup - 09/28/2015
Virginia Weeks - 02/14/2018
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