Last updated on 03/11/2016
No, I’m not talking about the UOPD and the Bowl of Dicks retaliation case. I think HLGR has billed UO ~$500K on that, so far, to top off the $755K settlement and $450K or so to Cleavenger’s excellent lawyers. (For First Amendment cases the losers pay the damages and also the winning attorneys, presumably to encourage lawyers to defend the Bill of Rights.)
This retaliation case is about the EPD. Jack Moran has the story in the RG here:
… Had the city not settled with Reynolds it might have spent an additional $150,000 in attorney fees, city spokeswoman Jan Bohman said. That estimate takes into account the potential cost of fighting both lawsuits at trial and then at the appellate level.
And, of course, there was the possibility that HLGR would lose the case and the jury would award even higher damages. That’s what happened when UO and HLGR rejected James Cleavenger’s offer to settle for $600k, and the jury awarded him $755K. Two weeks ago the judge emphatically rejected the plea from HLGR’s Bill Gary to set aside the jury’s judgement. No word yet on if our GCO will continue to pay Bill Gary $315 an hour to try his luck again.
But back to the EPD case. The City of Eugene paid HLGR $215K to negotiate this $215K settlement with former Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds. Her attorneys, Holly Lloyd and Judy Snyder, charged just a third of that: $71,666. Maybe UO should shop around before hiring HLGR again.
As much as I’d like to be cynical and bet that UO was going to pay HLGR to take it to appeal, I find it very encouraging that UO canned McDermed right after Judge Carter rendered his decision. There’s no way Cleavenger’s attorneys are going to leave that alone on appeal.
uom hope you check out the bizarre goings on at KWAX the UO classical music station. Reported in the RG today.
Wonder if there’s something to the spec that UO wants to sell off the airwave rights. More fire sale stuff to pay for cluster hires etc?
There is way more to this story
If you know something, say something. That’s why we’ve got the First Amendment, and anonymous blog comments.
let’s hear what’s going on!
HLGR just lost another attorney. Brett Applegate moved to Larkins Vacura. Their Portland office is now down to about half what it once was.