Homeless Group to Mediate Harassment Suit

Twelve homeless Los Angeles residents who allege they were harassed and assaulted by private security guards downtown have agreed to mediate their dispute outside the courtroom. Michael Small, chief counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, which filed a class-action lawsuit last month on behalf of the homeless plaintiffs, said he will sit down with the defendants’ lawyers in an attempt to settle their differences. Small said retired U.S. District Judge David Kenyon will serve as the mediator when the discussions begin next week. The nonbinding mediation does not preclude the homeless plaintiffs from continuing their lawsuit if an agreement can’t be reached. The suit alleges that downtown property owners who fund the Fashion District, Toytown, Downtown Industrial District and Historic Core business improvement districts violated the civil liberties of homeless residents by hiring private security guards to drive them from those areas. The suit asks that the guards stop the alleged illegal activities. The business groups and private security companies deny any wrongdoing.