Board approves ordinance authorizing settlement of Hastings College lawsuit, 7-4

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Aug. 25 approved an ordinance authorizing settlement of a lawsuit filed by Hastings College of the Law against the city, passing the measure on a 7-4 vote.

The ordinance authorizes settlement of claims the college brought against the City and County of San Francisco alleging federal and California ADA violations, civil rights violations, negligence, public and private nuisance and inverse condemnation. The ordinance description in the record states the suit was filed by Hastings College of the Law and the settlement would resolve those allegations.

The vote was taken by roll call. The clerk reported there were seven ayes and four no votes; the record names Supervisors Peskin, Preston, Ronan and Walton as the dissenting votes. The ordinance was declared finally passed by the board.

The action before the board was limited to approving the settlement by ordinance; the transcript does not include the settlement terms, dollar amounts or the ordinance number. The clerk noted an outstanding ADA request on the minutes before the board proceeded to the next item.

Because the transcript record does not state settlement amounts or specific implementation steps, the board’s approval here is limited to the ordinance authorizing settlement. Any subsequent reporting about monetary terms or implementation will depend on the city’s legislative file and the finalized settlement documents.

The board moved on to other business after the vote; there was no further debate recorded on the settlement in the transcript.

Ending note: The board’s action is recorded as final passage of an ordinance authorizing settlement; details of the settlement agreement were not provided in the public hearing record available in the transcript.