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City settles slip-and-fall lawsuit for $80K
A Baltimore man who was injured in a slip-and-fall accident on city property has settled his lawsuit against the mayor and City Council of Baltimore for $80,000.
Nilson: Panel will reject pact with teen
A judge has ordered the Baltimore City Board of Estimates to vote within 30 days on a proposed $150,000 settlement with the family of a teenager who was picked up and allegedly abandoned by three police officers, two of whom were subsequently convicted of misconduct. Friday’s order by Judge W. Michel Pierson followed testimony from […]
Mayor, comptroller spar over phone contract
After a heated and at times bitter debate between Baltimore’s mayor and comptroller, the city Board of Estimates Wednesday voted down a proposal for a new telephone system with IBM under a $7.4 million contract. At one point, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake glared at Comptroller Joan Pratt and rendered sarcastic comments as Pratt lobbied for the […]
Editorial: Transparency and teachable moments
Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment. For all its truth, that time-honored maxim omits a crucial step: the mea culpa, the point at which we see the error of our ways and resolve to do better. That turning point is the goal of the “teachable moments” protocol Baltimore City Solicitor George […]
A year of teachable moments
Lillian Parker, a 50-year-old lunch lady in the Baltimore school system, was wrongfully arrested and thrown in jail for two days in 2007 on drug and weapons charges that were later dropped. She sued, seeking $2 million from the officers involved in her arrest. Earlier this month, the Baltimore Board of Estimates approved a $100,000 […]
Learning lessons from lawsuits past
Fed up with the number of seemingly preventable police misconduct lawsuits crossing his desk, Baltimore City Solicitor George A. Nilson penned a program designed to use past experience to prevent similar incidents in the future. Nilson’s idea is to analyze the lawsuits to identify behavior that could be used in training to prevent it from […]
Judge delays hearing until attorney for city is present
A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge noticed someone was missing from his courtroom Wednesday when attorneys for a teenager picked up and allegedly abandoned by police officers argued that the city had reneged on its agreement to pay the boy’s family $150,000 in a settlement. None of the lawyers present was representing the city, because […]
History of Okoli’s litigation against the city of Baltimore
A federal jury awarded Katrina Okoli $60,000 in a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city of Baltimore over her retaliatory firing by the former executive director of the Baltimore Commission on Aging and Retirement Education. Okoli claimed she was forcibly kissed, fondled and subjected to innuendo and stories about her boss’ sexual fantasies over the […]
After years of litigation, pro se plaintiff Katrina Okoli still fighting city hall
In her six-year fight with her former employer, the city of Baltimore, Katrina Okoli has managed to flout two maxims: that you can’t fight city hall and that those who represent themselves in court have a fool for a client. Okoli, 50, started working for the Baltimore Commission on Aging and Retirement Education in June […]
DLA Piper partner Machen to work for city
After three decades representing developers in deals as a partner at DLA Piper, veteran real estate lawyer John P. “Jack” Machen will be switching sides later this year as he joins Piper alum and City Solicitor George A. Nilson in the Baltimore City Law Department. Machen will serve as a special chief solicitor for the […]
Baltimore pays $340K to settle three accident claims
Baltimore’s spending board on Wednesday approved payments to settle three accident claims, including one for a small group of people killed by a fire engine and another involving a man hit by a bookmobile. In the first settlement, the Board of Estimates approved $40,000 to end litigation involving a fatal 2007 accident involving a Baltimore […]
Settlement ends fight over floating walkway
The Baltimore Board of Estimates last week approved a settlement with the developer of The Moorings at Canton and the homeowners’ association there, ending a multiyear dispute over a pedestrian promenade along the waterfront. The settlement will have the city contribute $400,000 toward the $1.1 million cost of building a new pedestrian waterfront walkway at […]
