SUNLAND : City Won’t Appeal Award to Attorneys

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has decided not to appeal a $378,175 award of fees to a team of attorneys who were successful earlier this year in a police brutality suit against former Chief Daryl F. Gates and nine officers.

Payment of the award must still be approved by the City Council, the city attorney’s office said.

After a three-month trial, a U.S. District Court jury found the officers liable for using excessive force in a shootout two years ago at a Sunland McDonald’s that left three robbers dead and a fourth injured. Gates was included on the grounds that his leadership fostered their actions.

The jury awarded $44,000 in damages to the surviving robber and the families of the three men killed.

Under federal civil rights laws, an attorney who successfully takes a plaintiff’s case to trial must be paid by the defendant. The trial judge determines the fee after hearing arguments from both sides.

U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts last week set the fees for the three-attorney team headed by Stephen Yagman at $378,175. Yagman had asked for nearly $1 million, and the city attorney said the fee should be about $215,000.

A deputy city attorney said earlier this week that the award might be appealed. On Friday, however, Yagman released court documents in which the city agreed to pay the award by Sept. 16.

Though pleased that he will receive the payment, Yagman said taxpayers should not have to pay the bill. He said that Gates and the officers, all members of the controversial Special Investigations Section, should have to pay the attorney’s fees personally because the jury’s judgment was against them, not the city.

Deputy City Atty. Don Vincent, who headed up the defense in the case, said he will recommend the council pay the fees.