Duke Trio Sues City and Mike Nifong

The City of Durham and disgraced former District Attorney Nifong were given a month to think over a settlement package that included legal reforms, a cash settlement of $30 million, and a demand that the DNA testing service involved in the case to be barred from providing reports or expert testimony in a court proceeding for a decade.

They've apparently chosen to take their chances with the court system.

I think that's going to be a real bad idea for the City of Durham, which has a black eye over how former District Attorney Mike Nifong railroaded Seligman, Finnerty, and Evans:

The lawsuit calls the criminal case against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans "one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial and scientific misconduct in modern American history."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, attorneys fees and numerous reforms to the way the Durham Police Department handles criminal investigations.

The lawsuit was filed about a month after city officials met with lawyers for the families seeking a $30 million settlement and several legal reforms, two sources close to the case have told The Associated Press. The attorneys gave the city a month to respond or face a civil rights lawsuit.

There are some cases that a defendant ought to settle to avoid bad press.

The Duke case is one such instance.

Consider the alternative. Consider what happened in the Anucha Brown Saunders case against Isiah Thomas and MSG in New York City. Instead of settling the case and making it disappear off the back page, the case dragged on and salacious details and horrendous conduct and allegations were smeared across the front and back pages of the major papers in the City. Thomas and MSG were hammered with a $11.6 million judgment. That indignity will be compounded as they intend to appeal the decision.

There are ways to have a fair settlement that will address the legal and emotional harm done to the trio by the gross miscarriage of justice. That the City chose not to go down that route suggests that the City never really proffered a serious counteroffer.

As usual, KC Johnson has further insightful thoughts and concurs that Durham chose poorly in finding the trio's demands unacceptable.