City Pays For Damages Over Homeless Sweeps
In an effort to settle a federal class-action lawsuit over homeless sweeps, the city agrees to pay $48,500 in damages.
The Honolulu City Council voted Wednesday to sign off on the payment of $48,500 in an effort to settle a federal class-action lawsuit over how the city has been conducting homeless sweeps.
The move came nearly a month after the federal court approved an amended agreement that prevents the city from immediately disposing of any personal items during the enforcement of the and ordinances.
In September, 15 people — who are or have been homeless — filed the lawsuit, alleging that the city is illegally cracking down on the homeless in violation of their constitutional rights.
Under the amended agreement, the city’s maintenance crew must store any personal items for at least 45 days — unless they are catalogued in a two-page list, which includes 鈥渃ombustible or hazardous鈥 objects and any items that 鈥渃annot reasonably be construed as anything other than trash.鈥
The city and the plaintiffs’ attorneys — from the and the law firm of — are still in negotiations over reimbursement of attorney’s fees and related costs.
