Burlington on track to pay $5M to family of MarQuis Jones in exchange for dismissal of wrongful death claims
Burlington has reached a tentative settlement with the estate of MarQuis "Bubba" Jones, a 27-year-old who was fatally shot by a Burlington police officer in October 2017.
The terms call for the city's insurance company, Travelers, to pay $5 million to Jones' estate, the maximum allowed under the city's policy. The estate has dismissed all claims made against officer Chris Chiprez and will dismiss those made against the city in a lawsuit filed in May 2019 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
"They wanted us to dismiss officer Chiprez first, which we've already done, and then the formalized settlement will be with the city for $5 million," Dave O'Brien, a civil attorney from Cedar Rapids who has been representing Jones' estate, told The Hawk Eye on Tuesday.
O'Brien filed a motion dismissing the claims made against Chiprez in relation to Jones' death on July 16.
The suit alleged that Jones, who was fleeing a traffic stop on Oct. 1, 2017, had dropped the gun he was carrying and was nearly prone on the ground when he was fatally shot, rather than "taking a firing position" as Chiprez later claimed.
Other claims included:
That Chiprez used excessive force when he shot Jones, violating his right to be free from unreasonable seizures guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and Article 1, Section 8 of Iowa Code 1.8;
That Jones was denied substantive right to due process guaranteed under the 14th Amendment and Iowa Code 1.9; and
That Jones' family suffered loss of consortium under Iowa law as the result of his death.
By accepting the settlement, Altovese Williams, Jones' mother and the administrator of his estate, and Jones' seven children will be barred from pursuing further lawsuits against the city or police officer in relation to Jones' death.
"I am glad that we've gotten to the settlement phase," Williams said in a statement. "At this point, I will just be patient and continue to do what I have been. I will trust Dave and follow his lead while we wait for everything to actually finish up in the courts."
The case had been set to go to trial Jan. 30, 2023.
"I believe it was a very fair outcome, and we're happy to get this resolved and relieve Altovese of what certainly would be a very difficult trial for her to go through," O'Brien said. "We have quite a few minor children in this case, and Altovese had a tremendous loss with the loss of her one surviving son."
Williams' other son, Philip Dwayne Dominique Jones, was killed in a shooting April 14, 2010, in Flint, Michigan. MarQuis Jones, Williams told The Hawk Eye previously, had just started the process to see if he could become a bone marrow donor for his sister, who has sickle cell anemia, when he was killed. Siblings have the highest chance of being eligible donors.
The settlement must be signed off on by a judge and approved by the Burlington City Council for it to be finalized, O'Brien said.
Both parties in the case have until July 12 to file closing documents, according to an order filed June 13 by U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Helen C. Adams canceling all hearings and other deadlines in the case.
"If no closing documents are filed, the court may order dismissal of this action without further notice," Adams wrote. "Within 60 days of a dismissal order, either party may petition to have the case reinstated after showing good cause as to why settlement was not in fact consummated."
Burlington City Manager Chad Bird said the settlement terms will not impact taxpayers as the money will be paid through the city's insurance provider. Bird said further questions will be answered on behalf of the city after the settlement has been finalized.
Burlington Police Chief Marc Denney referred questions to Bird. Martha Shaff, an attorney representing the city in the case, did not respond to a request for comment.
Once the council signs off on the settlement, O'Brien said, the money will be put into a qualified settlement fund. A probate court will determine how that money is distributed between attorneys, Williams and Jones' children.
O'Brien: Appellate decision on qualified immunity was an 'ice breaker'
The tentative settlement agreement comes about three months after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a civil court order denying qualified immunity be granted to Chiprez.
In this case, there were "two genuine disputes of material fact for the jury," the appellate judgment states. "(1) whether Officer Chiprez saw Jones drop the gun when he ordered him to; and (2) whether Officer Chiprez was unreasonable in believing Jones was taking a firing position rather than surrendering."
The opinion, filed March 10 by three 8th Circuit judges, meant that the civil case against Burlington and Chiprez would go to trial in lieu of a settlement.
More: Federal court upholds denial of qualified immunity for Burlington police officer in fatal shooting
"I think the real ice breaker on this one was that 8th Circuit decision," O'Brien said. "The 8th Circuit's a tough nut to crack for plaintiffs."
O'Brien said settlement negotiations had taken place in 2021 as the trial was approaching, "and then it got serious after the 8th Circuit decision."
O'Brien said that, of the officer-involved death lawsuits he has handled, this carries the largest settlement amount.
In April, Cerro Gordo County agreed to pay $3.5 million to the family of Ricky Christianson, 59, who died Nov. 17, 2020, in jail after suffering a seizure. According to the lawsuit filed by O'Brien on behalf of Christianson's children, the arresting Mason City police officer did not bring Christianson's anti-seizure medication to the jail, and Christianson told jail officers during booking that he suffered life-threatening seizures, including one the previous day.
More: Family of Iowa man who died unattended after seizure in jail to receive $3.5 million
In September 2020,Maquoketa and Jackson County paid a combined sum of $4.5 million to Tricia Steines and her family. The payout was the result of a settlement reached in a lawsuit filed by Drew Edwards' estate in response to Edwards' death and the absence of charges or discipline against the officers. Also included in the settlement was an agreement by the police department to provide additional training for its officers.
In August 2018, Burlington agreed to pay $2 million to the estate of Autumn Steele, a 34-year-old mother of two who was fatally shot by another Burlington police officer on Jan. 6, 2015. That officer was responding to a domestic dispute between Steele and her husband when, startled by the family dog, he drew his weapon, attempted to shoot the dog, slipped on ice and fatally shot Steele.
"This is the second case that has been settled for very large sums of money for wrongful death by a Burlington police officer, and in spite of the fact that I've grown kind of fond of Burlington because I think it's a nice town, I hope it doesn't happen again," O'Brien said. "I hope we don't go for round three."
O'Brien credited Nick Rowley of Decorah-based Trial Lawyers for Justice for the large settlement, explaining Rowley, who was set to represent Jones' family had the case gone to trial, had made clear the only way to settle the case would be with a policy limit settlement.
"Having to pay out that kind of money has ways of trying to make sure that doesn't happen again," O'Brien said. "That's one of the things that I believe is absolutely necessary from the standpoint of our civil jury system, to be able to hold people accountable and therefore reduce the likelihood of recurrent bad behavior."
Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Burlington, estate of MarQuis Jones agree on $5M settlement
