Post by CC on Aug 29, 2009 10:11:43 GMT -5
900 female inmates claim sex abuse by male staff
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Another 400 current or former female inmates filed claims for part of a $100 million settlement in the month since the state resolved allegations that prisoners were raped, groped and peeked at by male corrections staff, a lawyer said Thursday.
All told, more than 900 women are seeking money from the state for alleged sexual misconduct that occurred inside prisons between March 1993 and July 2009.
The development was disclosed Thursday as Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors gave final approval to the class-action settlement, despite complaints from some ex-inmates who won at trial and will get less under the settlement. Connors gave preliminary approval of the agreement July 15.
"I didn't know about the settlement agreement until after it was accepted," said Wendy Garagiola, 47, of Fowlerville, who said she was raped and sodomized by a guard at a Coldwater prison in the mid-1990s. "We're being told to settle for half of what the jury awarded us. I don't think it's fair at all."
Garagiola and at least two other women came to the courthouse to raise concerns, but they could not speak to the judge because they missed an Aug. 14 deadline to file written objections. They said the settlement was good for attorneys but not necessarily victims.
The deadline for filing claims in the settlement was also Aug. 14.
Deborah Labelle, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the settlement is fair.
"It's a good thing to put hopefully this chapter behind," she said of lawsuits that date as far back as 13 years ago. "A hundred million dollars recognizes the kind of human rights violations that went on by the state. We have equitable relief that will go toward preventing this ever happening again. I think it's a fine resolution."
Ten lawyers who worked on the case will get $28.7 million for more than 30,000 hours of work and future work administering the settlement. The remaining $71.3 will be given to victims based on the severity and amount of abuse.
Eighteen women who were awarded jury verdicts at two trials will split $15.9 million — less than what they would have received under the verdicts. Including interest, the verdicts totaled more than $50 million, though it is unclear how much would have gone to attorneys.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Another 400 current or former female inmates filed claims for part of a $100 million settlement in the month since the state resolved allegations that prisoners were raped, groped and peeked at by male corrections staff, a lawyer said Thursday.
All told, more than 900 women are seeking money from the state for alleged sexual misconduct that occurred inside prisons between March 1993 and July 2009.
The development was disclosed Thursday as Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors gave final approval to the class-action settlement, despite complaints from some ex-inmates who won at trial and will get less under the settlement. Connors gave preliminary approval of the agreement July 15.
"I didn't know about the settlement agreement until after it was accepted," said Wendy Garagiola, 47, of Fowlerville, who said she was raped and sodomized by a guard at a Coldwater prison in the mid-1990s. "We're being told to settle for half of what the jury awarded us. I don't think it's fair at all."
Garagiola and at least two other women came to the courthouse to raise concerns, but they could not speak to the judge because they missed an Aug. 14 deadline to file written objections. They said the settlement was good for attorneys but not necessarily victims.
The deadline for filing claims in the settlement was also Aug. 14.
Deborah Labelle, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the settlement is fair.
"It's a good thing to put hopefully this chapter behind," she said of lawsuits that date as far back as 13 years ago. "A hundred million dollars recognizes the kind of human rights violations that went on by the state. We have equitable relief that will go toward preventing this ever happening again. I think it's a fine resolution."
Ten lawyers who worked on the case will get $28.7 million for more than 30,000 hours of work and future work administering the settlement. The remaining $71.3 will be given to victims based on the severity and amount of abuse.
Eighteen women who were awarded jury verdicts at two trials will split $15.9 million — less than what they would have received under the verdicts. Including interest, the verdicts totaled more than $50 million, though it is unclear how much would have gone to attorneys.