The civil rights lawyers at Flynn, Gaskins & Bennett have achieved an unprecedented level of success in representing people who have had their lives affected by unconstitutional police or governmental conduct. We have successfully represented people in lawsuits involving a wide variety of Section 1983 claims, including arrests, seizures, use of deadly force, excessive force, vehicle pursuits, prison suicides and assaults, and unconstitutional takings, and have successfully litigated matters involving claims under the 4th, 5th, 8th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. Our civil rights practice is widely known and Robert Bennett has been repeatedly recognized by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine as a “Super Lawyer” in the civil rights practice area. Andy Noel and Ryan Vettleson have been recognized as a "Rising Stars."

Among other successes, we have obtained a jury finding against Minnesota’s largest police agency of “deliberate indifference” to the use of excessive force by its officers. We have also achieved both the largest jury verdict and settlement in the State of Minnesota in a Section 1983 case.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES:

Feist v. Simonson, 222 F.2d 455 (8th Cir. 2000)

Sanville v. Scapardine, Pareek and Fleck, 266 F.3d 724 (7th Cir. 2001)

SELECTED RESULTS*

Ngo v. Storlie, et al (2007) - police shooting case
Total Settlement: $4.5 million

Balandin v. Eagle (2003) – police shooting case
Total Settlement: $3.05 million

Chromulak v. Anoka County, et al. (2005) - prisoner injury
Total Settlement: $1.9 million

Sanville v. Scapardine, Pareek and Fleck (2002) – prison suicide
Damages: $1.825 million; Total Verdict: $2.1 million (including attorney’s fees)

Mische v. Sauro, et al. (1994) – police excessive force
Total Verdict: $1,050,000 (including compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees)

Polley v. City of Minneapolis (2004) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $995,000

Feist v. Simonson (2000) – high-speed police pursuit/wrongful death
Total Settlement: $900,000

Buelow v. DiIoia, et al. (2000) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $800,000 (involved two plaintiffs - father/victim and daughter/victim/witness)

Barsch v. Siera (2009) – Sexual assault by on-duty county sheriff’s deputy.
Total Settlement:$695,000

Martin v. Hennepin County Sheriff (2001) – jail excessive force
Total Settlement: $552,315

Olson v. Cottingham & City of Minneapolis (1996) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $500,000

Gerdes v. Meyer (2009) – Improper use of taser on a bicyclist—excessive force.
Total Settlement: $475,000

Enlund v. Reynolds & City of Minneapolis (2001) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $330,000

Hagen v. Palmer, et al (2003) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $327,000

Pierce v. Isaacson, Wayne and City of Minnetonka (2002) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $320,000

Owen v. Sauro, et al. (1995) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $300,000

Kearney v. Griffin, et al. (2004) - police unreasonable seizure
Total Settlement: $270,000

Baxter v. Tucker & City of Minneapolis (1996) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $270,000

Streich v. Boeltl and Minneapolis (2004) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $235,000

Brendale v. City of St. Paul (1997) – police excessive force
Total Settlement: $225,000

*Past results are reported to provide the reader with an indication of the types of matters we handle and do not and should not be construed to create an expectation of result in any other situation, as all legal matters are dependent upon their own unique fact situation and applicable law.