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Fort Lauderdale Approves Settlement With 10 Homeless More Than A Year After Raid

Stranahan Park Homeless Camp
Robin Martin
/
WLRN
People living with homelessness in Fort Lauderdale's Downtown Stranahan Park are used to keeping their clothes for job interviews, blankets, personal documents and other belongings, in bags and under tarps inside the park square.

Ten people who are homeless and have been suing the City of Fort Lauderdale  for the past year, have reached a settlement with the city.

In Fort Lauderdale City Hall,  city commissioners voted Tuesday night in favor of settling the lawsuit for a total of $82,020 dollars. 

That money is expected to be paid out to 10 of Fort Lauderdale’s homeless, which will be divided up between each of the plaintiffs, and attorney's fees and costs.

Without comment, commissioners approved the payment. It comes over a year after the controversial clearing out of Stranahan Park with a front-end loader and trash bins. 

Read More: One Year After Tent City Raid, Homeless Lawsuit Against City Of Fort Lauderdale Continues In Court

People living in the camp accused the city of destroying personal property and violating the Fourth Amendment against unlawful seizures. 

The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Legal Counsel are handling the case. 

Next, the city and plaintiff’s lawyers willnotify the court of the settlement.

This story has been updated.

Caitie Muñoz, formerly Switalski, leads the WLRN Newsroom as Director of Daily News & Original Live Programming. Previously she reported on news and stories concerning quality of life in Broward County and its municipalities for WLRN News.
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