In Unusual Civil Suit, City of Los Angeles Wins $5M from Local Street Gang

In what city leaders describe as a first-of-its-kind judgment under a new state law that permits civil lawsuits to seek damages concerning claimed gang activities, Los Angeles has been awarded $5 million in a suit against a local street gang.

"Once the money is collected from 11 of the gang’s members named in the lawsuit, a general fund will be set up for the downtown community, and the money will be used to undo the damage from the gang’s operations," reports the Los Angeles Times' L.A. Now blog.

The article doesn't explain how the city expects to collect the money.

Additional litigation against other alleged street gang members is pending, as discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.