The following is a statement from the New OrleansCity attorney:
STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
Judge Rosemary Ledet has issued a judgment in the Southern Electronics, L.L.C. v. Dell, Inc. (Civil District Court No. 07-3665), "crime camera" case, in favor of the City of New Orleans dismissing plaintiffs claims against it. This culminates over three (3) years of litigation and a trial that spanned nine (9) weeks and means that the City will not be liable for any damages.
Initially, plaintiffs alleged a conspiracy between City Hall employees and Dell Computers to "steal" allegedly proprietary crime camera technology. The plaintiffs sued the City as well as Mayor C. Ray Nagin and former Chief Technology Officers Greg Meffert and Mark Kurt personally. At trial, plaintiffs sought to hold the City liable with the other defendants and asked for compensatory damages in a range of $667 million to $1.1 billion dollars as well as $3 billion dollars in punitive damages. Even though the City's initial contract with Southern Electronics only represented 0.001% of the entire market for crime cameras in the U.S. Southern Electronics asked for a figure nearly one and a half times the City's general fund.
Previously in this case, on November 3, 2009, the jury in the trial awarded approximately $15.3 million, rejecting the majority of plaintiffs' damage claims. The Judge found that Mayor Nagin and Kurt acted within their duties to the City of New Orleans and she dismissed them with qualified immunity. What remained to be determined was the Judge's final ruling on whether the City breached its contract with Southern Electronics, Inc. The holding by Judge Ledet exonerates the City, which means that the City has no financial responsibility to the plaintiffs. Specifically, the court held that the City could not have breached its contract with Southern Electronics, because there was never any obligation to purchase any of the crime cameras
The case was handled throughout by Deputy City Attorney Bob Ellis. Mr. Ellis had the following to say, "This is not only a great victory for the City of New Orleans, but the taxpayers as well."
"The City Attorney's office was able to save millions of dollars defending and rejecting such a preposterous claim," said City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields. "The judge's ruling reflects the facts and the law and I am satisfied with this outcome."
PenyaMoses-Fields City Attorney
Friday, February 5, 2010
