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    • Why Wilmington taxpayers will pay at least .1 million to settle lawsuits
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    Why Wilmington taxpayers will pay at least $2.1 million to settle lawsuits

    Umito Posted on

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    • Wilmington recently settled an age discrimination lawsuit filed by former City Councilman Michael Brown, Sr. for $59,000.
    • The settlement was reached Sept. 30, about two months after a federal judge ordered the case to move forward.
    • This settlement is in addition to $2,075,200 in settlements reached in 2024, all of which will be paid by taxpayers.

    A discrimination lawsuit against Wilmington filed by a former city council member was recently settled for $59,000, according to the agreement reached Sept. 30.

    Michael Brown Sr., former Wilmington city councilman. sued the city last year after twice being denied the position of council chief of staff, amid the legislature’s struggles to agree on a candidate.

    Brown, a 67-year-old Bear resident who lost the Democratic primary for New Castle County Council to incumbent Councilman George Smiley in September, claimed in the lawsuit that he was discriminated against because of his age .

    The settlement was reached two months after a federal judge ordered the trial to continue in July.

    Brown will receive $35,000 of the $59,000 settlement, with the remainder going to Brown’s attorney, Ronald Poliquin, the agreement reveals. The amount is in the middle of what the city has paid this year to settle lawsuits.

    How much does Wilmington pay for lawsuits?

    Wilmington is expected to spend more than $2 million this year alone to settle lawsuits. This figure is supported by a $1.5 million settlement reached with Mark Purnell whose murder conviction was overturned in 2021. after serving 16 years in prison for the wrongful conviction.

    City officials said settlements are not tracked by calendar year and the city paid $1,327,886 for fiscal year 2024, which ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30. Wilmington is currently in fiscal year 2025.

    Brown’s settlement over age discrimination during the hiring process remains a unique case for Delaware’s largest city, which typically sees lawsuits over damages caused by police pursuits, excessive use of force or other inappropriate actions taken by law enforcement.

    TRIAL PROGRESS: Former Wilmington council member’s age discrimination lawsuit against city moves forward

    Wilmington has not provided anyone to speak to for this story or commented on the frequency of instances of discrimination in the city. They offered the same response as Brown’s attorney.

    In an email response to a request for comment, Poliquin said “the parties have resolved this matter amicably” and have “agreed to keep the details of the settlement confidential.”

    Brown’s claims about Wilmington’s hiring process

    Brown was one of two finalists for the City Council chief of staff position last year, but was passed over for another candidate, Matthew Dougherty.

    Less than an hour before the full council voted on Dougherty’s appointment, his hiring was rescinded and the city council went back to the drawing board.

    When the position was re-posted, Brown applied again, reaching out to each advisor to share their qualifications and background and answer any questions they might have about taking on the role of chief of staff.

    A response he received from counselor Shane Darby became the center of Brown’s discrimination suit filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

    Poliquin said Darby’s comments to Brown “clearly indicated … that the city rejected Brown’s application because of his age.”

    “This type of blatant discrimination has no place in a city government that prides itself on inclusion and diversity,” the attorney told Delaware Online/The News Journal in July. “We look forward to the discovery stage and then presenting Mr. Brown’s case to a jury.”

    A federal judge at the time ordered the case to move forward, which would have allowed lawyers to debate whether the board’s chief of staff position was exempt from the federal Employment Discrimination Act. age in employment.

    Dispute Resolution in Wilmington

    Of the seven cases settled in Wilmington this year, only two were not related to injuries suffered in car crashes involving police or firefighters, according to city records as of Aug. 22. The amounts of these settlements varied between $6,500 and $85,000.

    Settlement information provided by the city in a Freedom of Information Act request did not include the latest settlement with Brown.

    Two other settlements reached this year are more unique: a $338,700.70 settlement with former police officer Nicholas Kroll, who was fired in 2017 for violating the city’s residency requirement, and the settlement of 1, $5 million with Purnell.

    Injuries resulting from car accidents caused by police or lawsuit against a public entity for excessive force by law enforcement are often the most common cases resolved by government agencies.

    How a government agency pays these settlements also varies depending on whether it is self-insured or has a certain level of insurance coverage. In Wilmington, insurance coverage only kicks in if the settlement exceeds $750,000.

    Insurance coverage also depends on when the incident occurred. If that happens before the city has insurance coverage, taxpayers will have to cover it.

    City officials confirmed that Wilmington’s settlements for fiscal year 2024 were not covered by insurance, nor was the $1.5 million for Purnell or the amount of Brown’s settlement.

    In total, Wilmington taxpayers will cover at least $2.1 million in settlements this calendar year, including Brown’s $59,000 settlement.

    Do you have any advice? Contact Amanda Fries at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

    Umito
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