Black Lives Matter (Pre-Trial Settlement)

Sue Liburd & David Nikolich

The family of George Floyd have been awarded $27million following his death at the hands of Minneapolis Police. A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Minneapolis City Council by Floyd’s family was settled for the eight-figure sum on Friday after a unanimous agreement by the City’s councillors.

A pretrial settlement is when the parties in a lawsuit come together before trial to work out payment for injuries and losses. Rather than undergoing the entire trial process, the parties attempt to negotiate and come to terms on the payment rather than relying on a judge to issue a damages award. This can occur out of court, often with a mediator present during negotiations.

There are several benefits to pretrial settlements. For one, the parties may be able to save costs on trial and other legal fees. Secondly, they might be able to reach a settlement agreement that is more accurate than if they had the court calculate a damages award.

Pretrial settlements usually occur within a personal injury setting and are common in cases such as automobile accident claims or a negligence setting such as slip and fall claims that occur within a business establishment.

The Floyd case certainly falls into both the personal injury and negligence categories, so the first question is how did they determine the value of George Floyds life to be worth $27millon?

Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said the settlement “sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of colour must end.”

In today’s world of self-administration there are such things as pretrial assessment tools that determine the value according to the data entered and then returned confidently by an algorithm. Alternately, and I think it was the latter in Floyd’s case, a judge can decide by considering all the facts.

The second question is how the jury can be independent with their thinking when the officer(s) have already been found to be complicit in Floyd’s death by virtue of the agreed pretrial settlement?

The jury’s job is to convict or acquit based on the evidence presented. So, a pretrial settlement must surely only add weight to the guilty verdict, highlighting the defence’s argument concerning a fair trial for their client.

After a month of appointing the jury, the trial is set to last a couple more months once it gets underway. At the end of the trial, the jury will find Chauvin either ‘Guilty or Not Guilty’ of the charges against him.

While the world awaits their verdict, the News Corporations have a responsibility to report the facts with balance and consideration. Meanwhile, all those keyboard warriors on Social Media should think carefully before wading in with their often-ill-conceived opinions and take a moment to treat this situation with the respect that it deserves.

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