‘The city may use that appeal as leverage’: Attorney warns Seattle could drag out $30.5M CHOP shooting case

The City of Seattle is trying to appeal a $30.5 million verdict in which the city was found negligent in the death of Antonio Mays Jr., who was shot and killed at the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in 2020.

While the city argues the amount is excessive and is the fallout of a trial full of errors, as reported by The Seattle Times, Seattle attorney Chris Davis from Davis Law Group told “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio the city is unlikely to win its motion to appeal.

Davis explained that less than 10% of the time, the motion is granted, mainly because the judge has to review the trial and determine that they made a mistake.

“Are many judges likely to do that? To admit they made an error?” KIRO host Jake Skorheim asked.

“No, and especially not this judge,” Davis responded. “Judge O’Donnell is a very good judge. I’m very familiar with him. He makes very good, reasoned rulings. So I put the city’s chances at winning this motion extremely low.”

Seattle could use appeal process as leverage to lower settlement

So why would the city appeal a case it will likely lose?

Davis explained the appeal process can take two to three years, and during that time, the city may leverage the situation to negotiate a lower settlement with the family to end the process sooner.

“What often happens when the city appeals a verdict like this, it can take two to three years before the appeal is heard and resolved. And during that time, the city may use that appeal as leverage to try to negotiate a settlement for less than $30.5 million,” he said.

KIRO host Spike O’Neill noted the city also blamed the large amount on errors in the trial. The City of Seattle is arguing that the jury should have been informed that they could split the decision between the shooter, who has yet to be identified, and the city. Davis explained that the current law already states the jury is asked to separate the two.

“Anytime there’s an intentional actor, like the shooter in this case, and you’ve also got a negligent party, which is the City of Seattle, the jury is asked to segregate the damages between the two,” he said. “And so in the city’s case, there was a jury instruction that instructed the jury: you can allocate some of the damages that you award to the shooter and not the city. And that was done, and apparently the verdict is only against the city, not the shooter.”

The motion for an appeal goes before King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell. If O’Donnell denies it, the city said it has also filed a notice of its intent to appeal the ruling to the Washington Court of Appeals.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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