Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:00 am
Suit against city may be headed for court
By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times Reporter
Brian Noakes' lawsuit against the city of Corvallis and former police officer Dave Cox took another step closer to the courtroom this week when a settlement conference ended in stalemate.
Cox cited Noakes for driving under the influence of marijuana on June 17 of last year. Afterwards, the 23-year-old Corvallis man tested negative for alcohol and illegal drugs. Cox resigned from the Corvallis Police Department in November after an internal affairs investigation upheld Noakes' claims of unlawful arrest.
Noakes filed suit April 1 in U.S. District Court in Eugene, seeking an unspecified amount of damages for false arrest and negligence. His wife, Aslan Noakes, also is a party to the suit, which alleges that Cox violated her civil rights when he threatened her with his Taser during her husband's arrest.
On Wednesday, attorneys for all parties gathered in the federal courthouse in Eugene to discuss a possible settlement. But after five hours of offers and counteroffers, they hadn't reached a deal, according to the attorney for Brian and Aslan Noakes.
"Positive steps were made toward a settlement," said Dan Rayfield, a lawyer with the Albany firm of Weatherford, Thompson, Cowgill, Black & Schultz. "The valuations are just different at this point."
The lawsuit now proceeds to the discovery phase, with attorneys for both sides gaining access to all the information in the case. No trial date has been set.
The city of Corvallis settled two previous claims involving DUII arrests by Cox for $2,500 and $3,000. Noakes is holding out for more, based in part on a quirk of Oregon law that makes it impossible to have any arrest for a traffic violation expunged from a person's criminal record, even if the defendant proves to be innocent.
"What's the value of an arrest on your record? That's the big question mark we have going into this," Rayfield said.
Mark Rauch, a general counsel with City County Insurance Services, which is representing the city, declined to comment on the case.
Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.