<!--Rick Pfeiffer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Rick Pfeiffer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com">rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
A high-profile racial discrimination case in the City of Niagara Falls could end in a settlement next week.
Mayor Paul Dyster’s administration will ask City Council members on Monday to accept a $240,000 settlement with the group of city employees commonly known as the Niagara Falls Six.
The group includes city employees Emmett Cox, Richard Hill, Hugh Leftwich, Bruce Palmer, Joe Paulk and William Wilson. The members filed a lawsuit against the city in 2003 claiming they were victims of a pattern of racial discrimination that existed within the Department of Public Works.
The proposed settlement agreement, which is expected to be voted on Monday by council members, calls for the six plaintiffs to receive $28,000 each and the group’s attorney, Richard Wyssling, to receive $42,000. In addition, the city would be obligated to compensate each of the city workers for lost wages amounting to $5,000 apiece, for a total of $30,000. The group’s original complaint called for $16 million in total compensation from the city.
Corporation Counsel Craig Johnson said part of the city’s motivation for pursuing a settlement was the cost associated with the lengthy legal battle. The city’s expenses for outside legal counsel have reached $119,572, according to Johnson.
“From my point of view, it’s good for the city because it puts closure on an action that has been pending for about six years,” Johnson said. “The allegations were unsettling. Mayor Dyster wanted to settle this and move on.”
The initial complaint was dismissed in March 2005 after neither the city nor Wyssling could show that the workers had filed a notice of claim advising the municipality that the plaintiffs planned to file a lawsuit. Wyssling later obtained a copy of the notice, dated June 24, 2003. State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Boniello reinstated the case and Wyssling followed in 2007 with a motion to amend the original complaint. Boniello later denied parts of the amended complaint after the city’s outside counsel argued that the statute of limitations in the case should revert back to the original 2003 claim and include only those allegations that occurred during a 90-day time frame from that point. Johnson said Boniello assisted in settlement negotiations.
Wyssling could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
