CITY HALL — The City Council approved three settlements Tuesday totaling $108,500. The cases include two traffic incidents and an employment issue.
The first case involved a plaintiff suing City Hall after being involved in a traffic accident with a police car, said Jeanette Schachtner, chief deputy city attorney. The plaintiff believed the police officer, Brian Spencer, was at fault and received a $17,500 settlement.
The second accident involved a pedestrian, Lisa Emberton, being struck by a car in the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Schachtner said Emberton claimed the driver of the car acted with negligence. Emberton sued, saying there were hazardous conditions contributing to the accident.
“[The claim] was essentially that the signal phasing was dangerous,” Schachtner said. Emberton received a $48,5000 settlement.
The third case involved Ethel Berry, who sued Santa Monica in an employment case. As an employee of City Hall’s Open Space Management Division, she blamed a demotion and unsuccessful attempts to be promoted on city officials, said Deputy City Attorney Lance Gams.
“The city denies that it failed to promote her or purposely demoted her,” Gams said. “The city certainly had defenses.”
The two parties settled before their scheduled Mar. 3 trial date for $42,500, Gams said.
