HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 03_Williams v. Glanz Settlement Authority_2013.02.19OCityWit omits.
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Owasso
FROM: Julie Trout Lombardi
City Attorney and General Counsel
SUBJECT: Settlement Conference in Williams v. Glanz, et al.
Proposed Resolution 2013-03
DATE: February 15, 2013
BACKGROUND:
A lawsuit was filed against four Owasso police officers, Captain Tracy Townsend, Officer Jack
Wells, Sergeant H.D. Pitt and former Officer 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.
All parties to this litigation agreed to attend an early mediation in this case held on October 25,
2012. Despite lengthy negotiations, the case did not settle during mediation. The Court has now
scheduled this matter for a mandatory settlement conference to be held on February 26, 2013.
Rules governing the federal courts require 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 settlement conference. Therefore, it is necessary for the
City of Owasso to confer full settlement authority upon a representative to attend the settlement
conference on behalf of the City of Owasso and the police officers named as defendants in this
case.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council designate Sherry Bishop, Assistant City Manager, as the
authorized settlement representative for the City of Owasso in the case of Williams v. Glanz et al.,
through approval of proposed Resolution 2013-XX memorializing the same.
ATTACHMENT:
Proposed Resolution 2013-03
OWASSO CITY COUNCIL
PROPOSED RESOLUTION 2013-03
A RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO,
OKLAHOMA, DESIGNATING SHERRY BISHOP, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER,
AS THE SETTLEMENT REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 26, 2013, IN THE LITIGATION
STYLED WILLIAMS v. GLANZ, ET AL., AND ADDITIONALLY GRANTING FULL
AND FINAL SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY IN THIS ACTION TO MS. BISHOP FOR
PURPOSES OF THE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE.
WHEREAS: Captain Tracy Townsend, Officer Jack Wells, Sergeant H.D. Pitt and
former 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 County, 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 Plaintiff and Defendants have been ordered by the Court to
attend a settlement conference scheduled to occur on the 26th day of February, 2013,
at the federal courthouse in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and to bring an authorized representative
possessing full settlement authority to be used at his or her discretion during the
settlement conference, and,
WHEREAS: The City of Owasso wishes to vest full and final settlement authority in
this litigation in Sherry Bishop, Assistant City Manager.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO,
OKLAHOMA, THAT: Sherry Bishop, in her capacity as Assistant City Manager, is hereby
designated as the settlement representative for the City of Owasso and the four police
officers named as defendants in the settlement conference to be held in this litigation,
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: Sherry Bishop is hereby vested with full and
final settlement authority on behalf of the City of Owasso for purposes of the settlement
conference to be held on February 26, 2013, or at such other time as may be scheduled
by the Court or parties.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this lq day of February, 2013, by the City Council of
the City of Owasso, Oklahoma.
Doug eb ce, Mayor
Att
hs("111ELAI
est:~~=>A Sherry Bis4Op, City Cle Approved As To Form:
oK'_4~OMP L241te- -7. 70w4a4514
J e T. Lombardi, City Attorney