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Home My Public Portal About12-8432 Settlement of Edward Blackman Sponsored by: City Attorney RESOLUTION NO. 12-8432 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA, TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT FOR EDWARD BLACKMAN IN THE MATTER OF EDWARD BLACKMAN VS. THE CITY OF OPA- LOCKA, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $65,000.00, PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, Edward Blackman was an employee of the City of Opa-locka, who was terminated; and WHEREAS, although the City of Opa-locka denies the allegations asserted by Edward Blackman, nonetheless, to avoid unnecessary expense and the uncertainty of litigation, the City desires to settle any and all claims alleged by Edward Blackman; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Opa-locka desires to approve the settlement agreement between Edward Blackman s and the City of Opa-locka. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals to the preamble herein are incorporated by reference. Section 2. The City Commission of the City of Opa-locka, approves the settlement between Edward Blackman and the City of Opa-locka, in the total amount of $65,000.00, inclusive of attorney fees, in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit "A". Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. Resolution No. 12-8432 PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 11th day of July, 2012 7 hi AYRA T YLOR MAYOR (test to: •anna Flores terim City Clerk Approved as to f rm and legal sufficiency:1 1/ ,.91, II LA_- L Jos- 94 �'. 4eller ■ C. y Atto r. ey Moved by: COMMISSIONER • MES Seconded by: COMMISSIONER LLER Commission Vote: 5-0 Commissioner Holmes: YES Commissioner Miller: YES Commissioner Tydus: YES Vice-Mayor Johnson: YES Mayor Taylor: YES From the desk of:Joseph S. Geller, Esq. reeospoon a r er CypreFort Florida 33309 2140 T T Q R V C Y S A T LAW Phone:954.491.1 120 888.491.1 120 Fax:954.771.9264 www.gmlaw.com Direct Fax:954.331.2037 Email:ioseph.geller @gmlaw,com TO: Myra L. Taylor, Mayor Dorothy Johnson, Vice Mayor / Timothy Holmes, Commissioner Rose Tydus, Commissioner Gail Miller, Commissioner FROM: Joseph S. Geller, City Attorney City of Opa-locka DATE: July 5, 2012 /IV RE: Edward Blackman Settlement Request: Approval of a Resolution to settle with Edward Blackman, settlement amount of $65,000. The City previously settled with Raymond Walls in the amount of $75,000. Edward Blackman's was seeking a higher settlement than that of Mr. Walls. The attorney for Edward Blackman has withdrawn from the case, and counsel for the City of Opa-locka (League of Cities) reached an agreement with Mr. Blackman in the amount of$65,000. It is recommended that the City settle with Edward Blackman. 9718992 vi Fort Lauderdale 1 Orlando I Aventura 1 Boca Raton 1 West Palm Beach 1 Stuart 1 Tallahassee LAW OFFICES JOHNSON, ANSELMO, MURDOCH, BURKE, PIPER & HOCHMAN, P.A. A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION DAMIAN H.ALBERT,P.A. J.MARCOS MARTINEZ SCOTT D.ALEXANDER,P.A. 2455 EAST SUNRISE BOULEVARD ROBERT E.MURDOCH CHRISTOPHER AMBROSIO SUITE 1000 MICHAEL R.PIPER* MICHAEL T BURKE*t FORT LAUDERDALE,FL 33304 DAVID M.SCHWEIGER,P.A. HUDSON C_GILL TAMARA M.SCRUDDERSt JEFFREY L.HOCHMAN,P.A. CHRISTOPHER L.SMITH E.BRUCE JOHNSON* (954)463-0100 Broward CHRISTOPHER J.STEARNS,P.A. (305)945-2000 Dade (561)640-7448 WPB RETIRED TELECOPIER(954)463-2444 RONALD P.ANSELMO *BOARD CERTIFIED CIVIL TRIAL LAWYERS BURL F.GEORGE f BOARD CERTIFIEDAPPPLIATE LAWYERS June 29, 2012 Bryan Finnie City Manager City of Opa-locka 780 Fisherman Street, 4th Floor Opa-Locka, FL 33054 Re: Blackman v. City of Opa-locka Claim No. GC2008067535 Our File 00640/30392 Case No. 10-23985 Dear Mr. Finnie: Enclosed please find the original of General Release, No Lien Affidavit, and Indemnification Agreement and the original of the Letter of Resignation issued by Edward Blackman in favor of the City of Opa-locka in the above-referenced matter. Also enclosed is a copy of Letter of Resignation. The copy has been provided so that you can countersign both the original Letter of Resignation and the copy where indicated under the heading, "Acceptance of Letter of Resignation." Once you have signed both documents where indicated,please return the one designated as"copy"to me.I will forward that document (containing your signature) to Mr. Blackman. For your convenience, I enclosed a pre-addressed,stamped envelope to facilitate transmittal of the"copy"back to my office. The countersigned original should be retained by the City. I would suggest that the City follow its typical procedures in connection with generating copies of the enclosures in the event the City elects to place these documents in additional files besides Mr. Blackman's personnel file. Easy access to the documents may be required in the future should questions arise about the settlement. Please note that by signing the Acceptance of Letter of Resignation,the City obligates itself to prepare the appropriate documents to reflect the resignation of Edward Blackman from the City's police department effective October 1, 2008. Accordingly, I would ask that you have the appropriate City representatives prepare each of the necessary documents, including any employee action forms, change forms, and FDLE forms. Bryan Finnie June 29, 2012 Page-2- If you have any questions about the settlement process,including questions about the manner in which the City is required to reflect the resignation of Edward Blackman, please call me. Very truly yours, Ilithatith Jeffre . Hochman For the Firm JLH/kme Enclosure cc: Joseph Geller, Esq. (w/enclosure) Via Email David Storey(w/enclosure) Via Email Luz Natal (w/enclosure) Via Email JOHNSON, ANSELMO, MURDOCH,BURKE, PIPER& HOCHMAN,P.A. GENERAL RELEASE,NO LIEN AFFIDAVIT, AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT EDWARD BLACKMAN,hereinafter referred to as"first party,"for and in consideration of the sum of SIXTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS and NO/CENTS ($65,000.00) and other valuable consideration received from or on behalf of CITY OF OPA-LOCKA ("City"), including the"Resignation Accommodation"defined below, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, HEREBY irrevocably remises,releases, acquits, satisfies, and forever discharges the City and each of its insurance carriers, employees, officers, agents, representatives, and officials, hereinafter collectively referred to as"second party,"of and from all,and all manner of action and actions, cause or causes of action, suits, attorneys'fees and costs, specialties,covenants, contracts, controversies,agreements,liens,subrogated interests,rights of indemnity and contribution,promises, variances, trespasses, damages, awards, judgments, remedies, executions, demands and claims whatsoever in law and equity(collectively"CLAIMS")which said first party ever had,now has,or which any personal representative, successor,heir or assign of said first party,hereafter can,shall or may have, against said second party, for, upon or by reason of any matter, cause or thing whatsoever, from the beginning of the world to the day of these presents and, additionally,hereby waives all CLAIMS. This General Release includes, but is not limited to, any CLAIMS raised in, that could have been raised in, or arising out of the litigation captioned: EDWARD BLACKMAN and RAYMOND WALLS,Plaintiffs v. CITY OF OPA-LOCKA,Defendant("Litigation"), CASE NO. 10-23985-CIVWILLIAMS/TURNOFF, IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA. FIRST PARTY SPECIFICALLY UNDERTAKES AND AGREES TO INDEMNIFY the second party and hold second party harmless for and against any CLAIMS of any kind, including all hospital and medical provider claims,demands,and liens,and claims that are or may be asserted against the City arising out of the incident sued upon in the Litigation.First Party represents that all bills arising out of the incident sued upon in the Litigation have been or will be satisfied and paid in full and that no liens or CLAIMS of any kind remain unpaid or pending. First party has carefully read this General Release,No Lien Affidavit, and Indemnification Agreement with the assistance of his attorney, Robert Switkes, Esq., and understands its terms, obligations, operation, and effect. First party acknowledges that payment of the sum referenced above is intended only to resolve pending litigation and shall not be deemed or considered any admission or acceptance of blame, liability, or responsibility in any respect for the matters claimed in the Litigation. The term"Resignation Accommodation"means that the City will accept the attached Letter of Resignation to be placed in the personnel file of EDWARD BLACKMAN. Neither this Resignation Accommodation nor any terms or statements in the attached Letter of Resignation creates any rights to compensation, pension, leave, or any other benefits in favor of EDWARD BLACKMAN of any kind. AI IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 020 `day of ' Af. 2012. Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of: C4fikla-Pel Zhei(4—_____ Wi s EILEiz7t1 Fi AS-6-1 E EDWARD BLACKMAN \ SUCC4-4.4 . 6----(4-17a-c_t itness PM-772-/.ry A eo.e a. STATE OF FLORIDA ) ) SS: COUNTY OF Mtk-tfI- ) . I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this day,before me,an officer duly authorized in the State aforesaid and in the County aforesaid to take acknowledgments, personally appeared EDWARD BLACKMAN to me known to be the person described or who presented the following identificatio who executed the foregoing instrument and acknowledged before me that he executed the same FL. ej v EE Z.,yepek. 6 145-a -('S. ode?.d 1114i2 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the County and State last aforesaid this day ofd .. 012. NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF 7O41bB . d, a // , My Commission Expires: Commission No. ' „,,, , .'" LOURCES F®ERIC1 *: MYCOIRESSION2:E'E0815B4 EXPIRES:May 20,2015 '1,,,. 0, Bonded Taru Notavy Ptdi L ndgrnibms Page 2 General Release,No Lien Affidavit,and Indemnification Agreement Blackman&Walls v.City of Opa-locks CASE NO. 10-23985-CIV-WILLIAMS/TURNOFF LETTER OF RESIGNATION Effective October 1,2008, I,EDWARD BLACKMAN,submit this letter of resignation to the City of Opa-locka and wish to express my gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a probationary City of Opa-locka Police Officer from June 23,2008,through October 1,2008.Other opportunities have arisen which necessitate my separation from the City. EDWARD BLACKMAN ACCEPTANCE OF LETTER OF RESIGNATION In my capacity as City Manager of the City of Opa-locka,I accept the Letter of Resignation submitted by EDWARD BLACKMAN effective October 1, 2008. The City will prepare the appropriate documents to reflect the resignation of EDWARD BLACKMAN as indicated above. City of Opa-locka As.City Manager