Section 14 survivors group files claim against Palm Springs over evictions

Attorneys for the Section 14 Survivors Group have filed a claim against Palm Springs requesting that the city financially compensate the evictees and their descendants for the harm resulting from the forced removal from their homes more than 60 years ago.

The city council is set to discuss the claim in a closed session Thursday on the advice of the city attorney. According to the meeting's agenda, the claim is a matter creating "significant exposure to ligitation."

The claim was filed on April 27 and formally received by the city on May 4.

Under California law, filing such a claim is a necessary step before suing a municipality, though such claims are typically reserved for more routine matters such as property damage that occurs on city-owned property. Typically, such claims, if they relate to personal injury or property damage, must be filed no longer than six months after the date of occurrence, or one year for other types of claims.

The claim states that its origins trace back to 1959, when "contractors" hired by the city began evicting residents of Section 14.

Section 14 is a one-square-mile tract of land east of downtown Palm Springs that belongs to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. In the 1960s, the city and tribe removed residents of Section 14 from their homes in order for the tribe to develop the area.

Some of those who were evicted reported never receiving any notice before their homes were burned down or demolished. A 1968 report by the California attorney general described the destruction of homes that occurred on Section 14 as "a city-engineered holocaust."

The claim references a report compiled by the Office of the California Attorney General in 1968 that states the city "kept no official records of persons displaced and the residences destroyed in Section 14 ... and for decades treated the demolition, destruction and forced relocation as non-events."

It says that the affected residents were "almost exclusively Black, Hispanic and Native American" and that it was not until Sept. 29, 2021, that the City of Palm Springs acknowledged that the evictions had occurred and apologized for them.

During a meeting held on that day, the city council formally adopted a resolution apologizing for the city's role in evictions. The resolution had first been endorsed by the city's Human Rights Commission.

The claim states that requested damages would exceed $1 million, though it did not specify an exact amount.

It went on to say that the city has deprived, and continues to deprive, the residents of Section 14 and their survivors of their personal property and/or compensation for it.

It also says that the city has restricted and denied them economic opportunities available to other citizens "and caused them and their descendants to suffer the lingering indignity and trauma of homelessness, with the associated emotional consequences of frustration at their inability to compel the city even to admit to the occurrence of such events." It requests recovery in the form of both financial compensation and affirmative relief.

Section 14 Survivors is a group of about 120 people who say they lived on and were evicted from Section 14.

The group, which is led by film producer Pearl Devers, has been advocating for the city of Palm Springs to provide reparations to those evicted from Section 14 and their descendants. The city has committed to provide some form of reparations, but a formal proposal has not been made and discussions about specifics remain ongoing. As noted in the claim, the city council committed to making reparations last September during a meeting at which the council issued a public apology for the city's role in the forced evictions.

The group has also pushed for the removal of the statue of former Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert from the lawn of city hall. Bogert was mayor during the removal process. The statue was set to be removed on Tuesday, but a Riverside County judge ordered that the removal be delayed so that she can consider a request for an injunction filed by an attorney representing supporters of the statue.

The formal claim against Palm Springs states that the harm is "occurring and continuous" since Sept. 29, 2021, the date of the meeting when the city council issued the apology.

"There are certain prerequisites and, particularly when it comes to governmental entities, certain procedures you must follow and basically it starts with a claim and so as a matter of public record a claim has been filed with the City of Palm Springs and we'll see what that develops into," one of the attorneys, Monrow Mabon, told The Desert Sun on Friday.

Mabon also confirmed he was aware that a discussion about the claim had been included on the agenda for the closed session.

"They're going to discuss a claim and I'm just waiting to see what the result of that is," Mabon said.

On April 21, the Palm Springs City Council held a meeting about the reparations proposal, at which several members of the survivors group, including Devers, forcefully called on the city to make reparations. Each of the city council members expressed support for making reparations and the meeting concluded with City Manager Justin Clifton saying the city would next work with the group about how to turn a proposed reparations plan it had submitted into an actionable program.

Prior to the meeting, in an interview with The Desert Sun, Devers repeatedly called for the city to negotiate with the Section 14 survivors. She said that she and other group members were hoping to negotiate rather than litigate.

"I hope we can negotiate in good faith and that they do the right thing, that's as far as I am going to take it for now," she said. Devers later said that the proposal submitted by the survivors did not include details such as an amount the city should pay in cash reparations because she wanted the city to negotiate.

"We're not quoting money," she said. "We're not quoting details. Negotiate in good faith with us."

"When you do harm to someone and then you make amends to pay them back, that's called debt paid, it's not a gift," she also said. "It's harm done, and restitution."

During the meeting, she encouraged the city to move forward with a pioneering reparations program.

“The scarring done will never vanish,” she said. “The apology [from the city council for the city's role in the evictions] is a great beginning, and now the council has an amazing opportunity to shape the ending of some of those horrific stories while wiping away much of the ugly stain on the shape of history of this beautiful city. Listen, don’t seek precedents. Create one. Do the right thing.”

The claim was filed about a week after the meeting.

Mabon declined to provide further information about the claim in a call with The Desert Sun on Friday.

"My history has been not to litigate things in public but to try to meet with parties and come to an amicable resolution," he said.

Mabon responded to a question about whether there would be more claims or legal actions filed on behalf of the Section 14 Survivors group by saying "thus far, we are just following all of the policies and procedures that are laid out by the laws of the state of California."

City Attorney Jeff Ballinger, who provided a copy of the claim to The Desert Sun Friday night, said some claims are considered and resolved directly by city staff. However, larger claims are typically brought to the city council.

Ballinger said in those cases, the process often begins with the city attorney discussing the claim with the council during a closed session, so that the attorney can provide advice to the city council "in terms of liability issues."

"So that's why it's being brought to closed session and it remains to be seen what the city will do," he said. "But the point of closed session is to provide them an opportunity to hear my legal analysis."

Ballinger said it would be "inappropriate" to provide his legal analysis to The Desert Sun before the session. However, he said the filing of a claim is a prerequisite to a lawsuit.

"Obviously, I would hope that it doesn't end up being a lawsuit," he said. "The council has indicated their willingness to pursue reparations so it would be my hope that a lawsuit could be avoided."

He added that he was surprised to see a claim filed given that "at least a majority of the council" had expressed support for reparations during the April meeting.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs: Section 14 survivors group files claim against city