Claremont’s Insurer Reveals Settlement
The city of Claremont’s insurer on Friday released the terms of a controversial civil rights settlement in which it paid $48,000 to a Libertarian activist who said he was roughed up and framed by the police.
Whether the city was obligated to divulge the amount has been the subject of some controversy. City officials said details of the federal court settlement had been sealed by a federal magistrate.
But open government advocate Richard McKee of La Verne sued the city in Superior Court for the information under the state’s public records and open meeting laws.
Last month, U.S Magistrate Judge Robert N. Block bolstered McKee’s cause by saying he never ordered the city to keep silent about the lawsuit. The California Joint Powers Insurance Authority agreed to release terms of the settlement this week after the judge in McKee’s lawsuit issued a writ ordering the agency to do so, said William Holt, executive director of the insurance authority.
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