Or so we'd surmise,
if there was such an award;
New York incurred a record $732 million in legal
costs in the last fiscal year, mostly from claims of police abuse,
negligence and hiring discrimination, expenses that accelerated under
Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The amount accrued in settlements and judgments in the 12 months
ended June 30 increased by 40 percent, according to the comptroller’s
annual report released last month. The total represents almost 1 percent
of the city budget, more than New York spends on parks, recreation and
libraries combined. In the previous three years, legal costs averaged
$590 million.
According the the article in Insurance Journal by Harry Goldman, the majority of that increase came after new mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in in January of this year.
Carol Kellermann, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a
business-backed watchdog, said the new administration may not be
conservative enough when it comes to using taxpayer money for legal
settlements.
“It’s a dramatic increase that’s worrisome because it indicates the
new administration may be evaluating cases differently,” Kellermann
said. “You walk a fine line between cleaning up backlog and giving New
Yorkers the message that you can sue and get a windfall.”
Bold, in the above, by HSIB.
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