Jury Delivers Mixed Verdict In Sacramento Homeless Lawsuit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal jury says Sacramento city officials failed to tell homeless people how they could retrieve possessions that were removed during sweeps of illegal campsites.
But the same jury on Tuesday rejected other claims in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of nearly two dozen homeless men and women in February 2010. Among those claims was that city officials had a policy of unreasonably seizing and destroying tents and other possessions of the homeless.
City officials tell the Sacramento Bee they are examining the verdict to determine whether they are on the hook to compensate homeless people for lost property or need to change how they handle complaints about homeless encampments.
The suit did not specify damages. But Mark Merin, who represented the plaintiffs, said the city will now have to change its policies and compensate those who lost property.
