The settlement of a class action lawsuit filed as a result of a now abandoned Alexander City policy that jailed people convicted of some crimes when they didn’t immediately pay all of their fines for traffic tickets and misdemeanors took a step closer to being finalized Monday.
Under the mediation agreement, the class will receive roughly $680,000 if final approval is granted. Of that amount, the city will pony up about $242,800 of the total and the insurance carrier being responsible for roughly $437,000. The suit had originally sought $2.9 million in damages.
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