HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 09_settlement authority_williams_2012.10.18
OWASSO CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. 2012-09
A RESOLUTION OF THE OWASSO CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA,
DESIGNATING THE CITY MANAGER AS THE SETTLEMENT REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE
MEDIATION SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 25, 2012, IN THE LITIGATION STYLED
WILLIAMS v. CITY OF OWASSO, ET AL., AND ADDITIONALLY GRANTING FULL AND FINAL
SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY IN THIS ACTION TO THE CITY MANAGER FOR PURPOSES OF
MEDIATION.
WHEREAS: Captain Tracy Townsend, Officer Jack Wells, Sergeant H.D. Pitt and Officer
Lem Mutii are Defendants in litigation currently filed in the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Oklahoma captioned Elia Patricia Lara-Williams v. Stanley Glanz,
Sheriff of Tulsa Covnty, Correctional Healthcare Management of Oklahoma, Inc.,
Correctional Healthcare Companies, Inc., Correctional Healthcare Management, Inc.,
Earnie Chappell, RN, Carmen Luca, LPN, Julie Hightower, Tracy Townsend, Jack Wells,
H.D. Pitt, Lem Mutii and Does 1 through X, and,
WHEREAS: The Piaintiff and Defendants have agreed to attend mediation scheduled
to occur on the 25th day of October, 2012, at Holeman Mediation in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
and to bring an authorized representative possessing full settlement authority to be
used at his or her discretion during mediation, and,
WHEREAS: The City of Owasso wishes to vest full and final settlement authority in the
City Manager, Rodney J. Ray, for purposes of such mediation,
THE CITY COUNCIL HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO,
OKLAHOMA, THAT: Rodney J. Ray, in his capacity as City Manager, is hereby
designated as the settlement representative of the City of Owasso for purposes of
mediation in this litigation,
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: Rodney J. Ray is hereby vested with full and final
settlement authority on behalf of the City of Owasso for purposes of the mediation to
be held on October 25, 2012, or at such other time as may be scheduled by the parties.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of September, 2012, b Cit Council of the
City of Owasso, Oklahoma. /
u Bonebrake, Mayor
Attest: ~-~*1 0F
Sherry Bishop ity Clerk OFFICTAL a'
Approved As To Form: SEAL
Loo~ ~~~ANOMP
Ju'e T. Lombardi, City Attorney r'"''
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The City Wit~ioufi Lirnits.
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Councii
City of Owasso
FROM: Julie Trout Lombardi
City Attorney and General Counsel
SUBJECT: Mediation in Williams v. The City of Owasso, et al. and proposed Resolution 2012-
09
DATE: September 14, 2012
BACKGROUND:
A lawsuit was filed against four Owasso police officers, Captain Tracy Townsend, Jack Wells,
Sergeant H.D. Pitt and Lem Mutii by the surviving spouse of Elliott Earl Williams in their individual
capacities on March 16, 2012. This action, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arises out of Mr.
Williams' arrest by the Owasso Police Department on October 21, 2011, and his subsequent
death while incarcerated at the Tulsa County Jail on October 27, 2011. Upon receipt of the
Complaint in this lawsuit, the City of Owasso determined that the four named officers were at all
times acting fully within the scope of their employment and that they followed department
policy during the arrest of Mr. Williams and were thereby entitled to a legal defense and liability
coverage in this litigation.
Mediation requires attendance at a settlement conference by a person vested with full
settlement authority on behalf of any organization or entity named as a party in a federal
lawsuit. Although a representative cannot be compelled to settle a case, all parties are
required to confer full settlement authority upon a representative to be used at the
representative's discretion during the mediation. Mediation has been scheduled for the Plaintiff,
Defendants and their respective attorneys on October 25, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. at the offices of
Holeman Mediation in Tulsa, OK, and attendance and participation by all parties is required.
Consequently, it is necessary for the City of Owasso to confer full settlement authority upon a
representative to attend mediation on behalf of the four defendant police officers.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council designate the City Manager, Rodney J. Ray, as the
authorized settiement representative for the Defendants in the case of Williams v. Citv of Owasso
et al., through approval of Resolution 2012-09 memorializing the same.
ATTAC HME NT:
Resolution 2012-09