Litigation

Deep pockets files: Washington state settles for $6.55M

By Ted Frank

Six brothers, now ranging in age from 14 to 22 years old, sued Washington state, arguing that Child Protective Services should have done a better job of protecting them from abuse in their family home. The plaintiffs' lawyer describes some horrific abuse, but no adults have been charged with any crimes; still, the state has agreed to settle the lawsuit at taxpayer expense for $6.55 million. [Seattle Times via ABAJ] Leaving aside Washington's strange laws holding taxpayers accountable for criminal activity, one worries about further incentivizing Child Protective Services to be overaggressive in intervening in families.

Full post as published by Point of Law on February 02, 2011 (boomark / email).