City Council approves multiple legal settlement authorizations and special motions; authorizes $900,000 for scooter case

The Los Angeles City Council on Feb. 26, 2025 considered and voted on multiple recommendations from committees and closed-session items to resolve litigation and to authorize related payments and accounting transfers.

During a presentation from the chair of the budget committee, the council heard recommendations for settlements or legal expenditures in a series of cases. The report listed recommended amounts for multiple cases, including: approximately $140,000 for a case identified as "Joel Chovonschom v. City of Los Angeles" (item 32); $2,850,000 for "Suki Sukiyami v. City of Los Angeles" (item 33); $1,150,000 for a Media Services litigation (item 34); $350 (appears to be an incomplete transcript figure and likely a larger amount) for a case identified as "Loran Ruggero v. City of Los Angeles" (item 35); $195,000 for "Joan Corgute v. City of Los Angeles" (item 36); $150,000 for "Juan Cárdenas v. City of Los Angeles" (item 37); $400,000 for "Austin Huffner v. City of Los Angeles" (item 38); a recommendation to reject a settlement in the matter "Marqués Buford v. Anthony Handy et al." (item 39); $370,000 for "Buyer Peter Witingham v. City of Los Angeles et…