$2M settlement between Steele family, city of Burlington finalized
Approval of the settlement by U.S. District Judge
According to documents on the website, the attorneys in the case "hereby stipulate to the dismissal of all causes and actions" filed by the Steele estate against the city of
The specific dollar amount each plaintiff will receive in the settlement remains confidential.
"I redacted the breakdown of the settlement between the plaintiffs since that is not public record," O'Brien said.
He also said the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the settlement is the final judgment and the federal lawsuit is permanently closed.
Steele's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in
The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial
According to the settlement, "each party shall be solely responsible for payment of each party's own attorneys fees and costs" in connection with the lawsuit.
The city of
In a related matter, the decision to settle the lawsuit rather than go to trial will not affect a motion filed by the Iowa Freedom of
The council filed its motion to intervene in response to the settlement of the lawsuit between the Steele family and
"Consummation of the
Following oral arguments last week, Gritzner said he would issue his ruling on the council's request as soon as possible. He gave no timetable when that would occur.
"The fundamental issue is (the fact) these documents being sealed by the court," Evans said, shortly after the council's motion was filed. "The public is being cutoff from access to the motions and arguments ... The sealing of the records prevents the public the right to look at these documents ... They need to be unsealed."
In another matter related to the Steele shooting, the settlement will not directly affect separate complaints filed with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) a few months after the shooting by the Steele family and The Hawk Eye. In the complaints, they accuse state and local law enforcement officials of violating the
Last month, a hearing was conducted before Administrative Law Judge
Following that hearing, Doland gave attorneys until
If she recommends the files or any portion of the requested material be released, the nine-member information board then can reject her findings and dismiss the complaints, or order some or all of the requested records be released to the public.
The two complaints were filed several weeks after the shooting when the
The central issue in the ongoing battle before the IPIB is whether law enforcement officers' investigative reports, including police body camera videos, dash board videos and 911 calls, are exempt from public release under
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