City Council OKs Paying $910,000 to Settle 2 Suits

The City Council approved paying more than $910,000 to settle two lawsuits Friday, including $750,000 for a class-action suit alleging that city residents were overcharged millions of dollars in phone taxes.

The council also agreed to pay $160,000 to a man caught on videotape being struck on the head by a policeman with a flashlight for no apparent reason.

The larger payout involved a class-action suit by Donald Cornwell, alleging that AT&T; charged the city’s utility users tax to customers whose billing address was in Los Angeles but who made calls originating outside the city.

Brian Strange, the attorney representing Cornwell, said the city and phone company cannot legally tax calls, such as credit card calls, that originate outside city limits. He estimated that about one-third of the city’s 3.5 million residents were overbilled about $2 million annually between 1994 and 1999.

Overbilled consumers who were not part of the lawsuit will not share in the settlement. AT&T; representatives could not be reached for comment.

The council also voted Friday to pay $160,000 to Jaimal Gaither, whose suit against the Los Angeles Police Department claimed that Officer Alonzo Calderon struck him in the head with a flashlight in 1996 after officers were called to disperse a group.