The suit, Jonathan Brown, et al v. City of Detroit, was filed by the Chicago law firm of Loevy & Loevy and the Troy, Michigan law firm of Frank, Haron, Weiner & Navarro.  The suit alleges that thousands of individuals were arrested and denied basic constitutional rights by the DPD from May 27, 2007 up to the present date.  A similar class action lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department recently settled for $16.5 million.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that the DPD engaged in a repeated pattern of detaining individuals for long periods of time – often in excess of 48 hours – without allowing them access to a judge.  These individuals were denied food, water, and sleep during their detentions.  The complaint charges that these inhumane conditions were often used to obtain false confessions from suspects, while genuine perpetrators were left free to continue committing crimes.

The suit has three classes of plaintiffs.  Class 1 consists of thousands of people who were detained by the DPD overnight or for more than sixteen hours in a 24 hour period and who were deprived of basic human needs for rest and hygiene. 

Plaintiffs in the second class were arrested and detained by the DPD in excess of 48 hours without a judicial determination of probable cause.  The third group of plaintiffs consists of individuals detained by the DPD in excess of 24 hours, and who did not receive at least two meals.

Loevy & Loevy (www.Loevy.com), based in Chicago, is one of the largest civil rights firms in the country.  Frank, Haron, Weiner & Navarro, PLC (www.fhwnlaw.com) is a full service boutique law firm that specializes in False Claims Act/whistleblower litigation, along with along with other complex litigation, business, health care, employment, and real estate law.

For more information, contact:

Mike Kanovitz, Loevy & Loevy, Attorneys at Law - (312) 243-5900

David Haron, Frank, Haron, Weiner & Navarro, PLC - (248) 952-0400