Frequently Asked Questions

The Notice to Class Members is in question and answer format, and provides answers to what have been anticipated to be important questions that class members may have about the settlement agreement, how it affects their rights, and deadlines and procedures for submitting claims.

Please read the Class Notice to see if your question is answered there.

If not, you can contact the Class Administrator at the following toll free telephone number: 1-877-567-4780.

It is essential that Claimants immediately update the Claims Administrator with any address or contact information changes, in order to ensure that correspondence and compensation be properly directed and received.

You may either fax or mail your new address to the Claims Administrator. The information that needs to be included in your request is the name of the case (Becker v District of Columbia), your name, your old address, your new address, the last four digits of your social security number, your phone number, and your signature. The fax number for the Claims Administrator is 415-256-9756 and the address for the Claims Administrator is Becker v District of Columbia, c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC, P.O. Box 8060, San Rafael, CA 94912-8060.

Q:   When will I receive a check? What amount will it be?

(For class members who have been approved / deemed eligible to participate in the settlement.)

Checks for the first settlement payment were posted by USPS in the second week of December, 2010. If you did not receive your check, please contact the Class Administrator.

The second payment check will be sent during calendar year 2011, most likely in the fourth quarter. Please update the Class Administrator with any changes in your contact / mailing information.

The total compensation you will receive from the defendants over the two payment checks will be $18,000.

Q:   Is my settlement taxable?

Class Counsel and the Class Administrator cannot provide you with tax advice. However, questions regarding taxability arise frequently, and we have gathered together information from the case that you can take to your tax preparer or adviser, or use yourself, in determining taxability.

The IRS Publication 4345 addresses taxability of settlements, and states that settlements for physical injuries are generally non-taxable.

The record reflects that the class has alleged, and presented record evidence in support its claims, that the use of irregular wrist-to-ankle restraints to place arrestees in a "stress and duress" position also referenced as "hogtying" caused class members physical injury and harm. The record also reflects such injury to have been alleged in connection with the irregular and severe handcuffing of arrestees on busses.

Selected related documents are referenced below.

The complaint in this class action alleged that class members suffered physical and emotional injuries, pain and distress, (paras 150 - 151) including from the severity of handcuffing on busses as well as from being hogtied and placed in a stress and duress position whereby arrestees were bound with their hand shackled or cuffed to the opposite wrist for hours (para 102, 2).

The Settlement Agreement itself specifically acknowledges and references that the Class asserted - - and the agreement resolves - - "claims of constitutional violations pursuant to 41 U.S.C. Section 1983, common law tort and personal injury claims. . ." [Settlement Agreement at page 1] and is "for all claims arising . . . from the allegations in the complaint." The settlement agreement can be found by clicking here.

As reflected in the Joint Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Preliminary Approval of Proposed Class Settlement, Notice to Class, and Notice to Fairness Hearing the Class demanded an end to the injurious "conditions of confinement and restraint imposed on persons arrested in protests" and an end to "the practice of restraining arrestees by using flexcuff to bind wrist-to-ankle." [see page 5 of the Memorandum]. In response to the Becker Class demand that there be a "prohibition of wrist-to-ankle 'hogtying' or methods of restraint causing inhumans stress and duress" the Council of the District of Columbia did enact the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act of 2004 that did prohibit such physically and personally injurious conduct in the future [see Page 7 of the Memorandum]. This was referenced throughout the litigation. See, e.g., Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts as to Which There Exists a Genuine Issue to Litigate (Docket No. 294-2) at page 19, para 66 ("The nearly seven hundred (700) arrestees were forced on buses, taken to a detention site and held overnight in punitive conditions, restrained and contorted in a stress and duress position with the stronger wrist of each arrestee tightly cuffed to his or her opposite ankle such that full extension of the arrestee's back with impossible, with periods of arrest lasing as many as 30+ hours.").

Distinct from the wrist-to-ankle restraints used at the detention facilities, the Class also alleged that the handcuffs used on class members to cuff their wrists on the busses were excessively severe and painful.

The materials linked to in this FAQ are record materials that you may find to be useful to bring to your tax preparer or in support of your tax filings. You should, of course, also gather any information that relates to your individual circumstances, personal narratives, medical bills or expenses, if any, and any information that relates to the physical injury you may have experienced.

Q:   Will the Records of My Arrest be Expunged; Will My Arrest be Nullified?

A:   Yes. Arrest annulment and expungement relief was granted by the Court in its Final Approval Order {insert link to the Final Approval Order} of the terms of settlement. Among other relief set forth in that July 15, 2010 Order, the Court did declare that

"The April 15, 2000 arrests of the Becker class representatives and class members are hereby declared null and void. In accordance with D.C. Code Section 16-801(i) each of the aforementioned is authorized to deny the occurrence of his or her arrest that day, without being subject to any penalty of perjury, fraud or other offense premised upon misrepresentation or deception in response to any inquiry, whether posed orally or in writing . . ."

The Order requires that the District of Columbia take appropriate steps to expunge (i.e., seal of remove) or procure expungement of the April 15, 2000 arrest records of any class member, including those in the possession of the United States Government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This page will be periodically updated to provide responses to the most frequently asked questions by potential claimants to the Class Administrator.