Looks like the homeless who live in their vehicles still have to obey the laws just like everyone else. A far-reaching lawsuit filed by Santa Monica attorney Carol Sobel, The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and two other law firms filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief on behalf of vehicular homeless individuals in Venice, alleging that the city of Los Angeles has violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights. The plaintiffs claimed to be long-standing residents of Venice who said that illness and/or economic misfortune caused them to lose their homes.
After naming several officers directly in the suit, many depositions were taken and this week after a summary judgement a judge ruled there was no basis at all for a lawsuit and tossed it out.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Nov. 23 of 2101, charges that the Los Angeles Police Department targeted vehicles in the area for selective enforcement on the basis that the vehicle dwellers are homeless and park on public streets. Plaintiffs allege in the complaint that the police department had also conducted traffic stops of their vehicles to issue citations for minor problems such as a turn signal that is kept on.
In addition, the lawsuit accuses the LAPD of enforcing parking laws against several in the lawsuit who are exempted from such restrictions because their vehicles have disability placards or license plates. Plaintiffs alleged that Police and parking enforcement employees have told plaintiffs that they must enforce the parking laws regardless of whether the vehicles are exempt due to disability plates. An additional complaint in the suit alleged that Police accused the defendants of engaging in unlawful conduct aimed at deterring and preventing the plaintiffs from traveling or parking on public streets and in beach parking lots, as well as threatened them with arrest if they are present in Venice.
Not one of the allegations put forth in the suit was recognized to have any merit. We are still trying to verify that the filing law firm still is awarded legal fees, which means that the firm gets paid either way regardless of wether the defendants win. Those fees would be paid by the City, and seemingly encourage the filing of lawsuits in hopes the city will just settle and give those making almost any claim a payout. More to come…
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