Homeless Win Lawsuit

(Covington, Kentucky) Eight homeless men filed suit for damages in US District Court because their belongings were removed from the Ohio River bank by Covington city workers. The lawsuit was based on the fact that the city gave no warning or notice that they would be cleaning debris from the riverbank. Although the lawsuit was settled with no admission of wrongdoing, each of the homeless will receive $1,000 for their lost property which was reported to include "a litter of kittens, family photos, a cooking stove, and the complete works of William Shakespeare."

The settlement establishes some legal precedents. One is that, prior to removing accumulations of garbage, local officials must ascertain whether any vagrant claims ownership of the garbage and, if so, they must give notice that garbage collection is going to occur. Another precedent established by the settlement is that accumulations of garbage by homeless people have a nominal value of $1,000.

Additionally, according to Attorney Bob Newman,

". . . homeless people are human beings just like everybody else and they have the same constitutional rights as a homeowner . . ."

Wait a minute, Newman. They can't have the same rights as a homeowner because they don't own a home.

My gut feeling is that $1,000 is a very generous valuation for the scourings of vagrants and I don't believe for a second that men in riverbank hovels sit around reading Shakespeare while playing with kittens.