Elmhurst Settlement Of 'Nuisance Value': Mayor

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst City Council unanimously voted Monday to pay a Cook County woman $5,000 to settle her lawsuit about her 2023 arrest on a drunken driving charge, which prosecutors later dropped.

"I think the council would like for me to tell the public that this is very much a nuisance value to save attorney's fees," Mayor Scott Levin said before the vote.

One legal dictionary describes a "nuisance settlement" as an early out-of-court agreement that is "often made when the claim is frivolous (without merit)."

In August, the woman, Jolly Walls, a trucker, sued the city in federal court, asserting her arrest was based on an Elmhurst officer's false evaluation.

The city admitted no liability in the settlement.

Patch wrote about Walls' lawsuit last fall.

Last summer, Elmhurst settled with Amanda Reid for $5,000. She sued the police department, alleging the city mishandled a background investigation for a police officer's position.

The settlement was after a jury trial in which Elmhurst prevailed over Reid.

Reid, represented by the Disparti Law Group, appealed. But she later agreed to settle for $5,000. The firm's slogan is "Larry Wins," referring to its owner, Larry Disparti.