FERGUSON, Mo. — A federal judge on Tuesday preliminarily approved a $4.5 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought against Ferguson in 2015 over an alleged debtors' prison scheme.
The suit involved plaintiffs who said they were jailed because they could not pay for traffic violations fines in addition to other minor offenses. The city disputed "any contention that individuals in any specific economic group were targeted for unfair treatment."
Nonprofit ArchCity Defenders, which represented the plaintiffs, said checks would be sent to more than 15,000 people who were jailed by Ferguson between Feb. 8, 2010, and Dec. 30, 2022.
"The money will be proportioned by the number of hours each class member spent detained in the Ferguson jail," it said.
The settlement still needs final court approval.
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