Submitted By: William E. Sexton, City Attorney
Presentation By: William E. Sexton, City Attorney
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Department: City Attorney
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (Motion Ready):
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Approval of and entry into a proposed Settlement Agreement in the matter of Art Rojas & Lucinda Hale v. City of Ocala, currently pending on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
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OCALA'S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Fiscally Sustainable, .
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND:
In or about 2014, Art Rojas and Lucinda Hale filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleging that the City violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by conducting and/or participating in a community prayer event following a series of violent crimes earlier that summer.
For the ensuing ten years, that litigation has continued - before the District Court, on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, back before the District Court and now, again, before the Eleventh Circuit.
Since late 2024, legal counsel for the City has been in settlement negotiations with counsel for the Plaintiffs, the culmination of which is the proposed settlement agreement which is now being presented to City Council for its approval.
This proposed settlement both sees this matter resolved with a finality that allows the parties to move forward - out from under the cloud of the ongoing litigation - and ensures that the City will not be responsible for the payment of the Plaintiffs' attorneys fees and costs - eliminating a liability that has been estimated to exceed $1 million.
The proposed settlement before Council for its approval is the product of many hours of negotiation and preparation by counsel for both the Plaintiffs and the City and is in accordance with the direction previously provided by Council during private, attorney-client meetings.
FINDINGS AND CON...
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