Chapter 5
An hour passed, and Beau Lee and Nellie finished an entire carafe of coffee.
The receptionist knocked at the door and entered holding a folded piece of paper.
“Attorney Cooper,” she said, “Attorney Alvarez asked me to submit this written offer to you. She instructed that you contact me when you have a response. She also asked that I provide you with these lunch menus. Feel free to order whatever you’d like. ”
“Thank you,” Beau Lee said, taking the note and menus. When the receptionist left the room, he unfolded the paper and began reading aloud:
“Well, that’s better than what I thought their first offer would be,” Nellie said.
“Yeah, it’s not a bad start,” Beau Lee said.
“What number do you want to send back, partner?”
“This is the first round. I don’t want to give too much ground in this early stage. I figure we won’t get anything close to settling until at least four or five rounds.”
“I agree,” said Nellie. “So again, what number do we want to send back?”
“I’m only inclined to move down a hundred thousand from our original demand.”
Nellie was astonished. “Beau Lee, that may offend them. We can even match their one-million-dollar move by lowering our demand to nine million. That would still give us a midpoint of five, which is two above what we’d agree to take to settle the case.”
“I hear you, but for right now, just follow my lead. We’re going to deduct a hundred thousand and see how the pot stirs.”
“All right, partner,” Nellie said, shaking his head. “I hope we don’t blow it. This is the difference between us and our clients walking out with money today versus the firm having to come up with tens of thousands to pay for protracted litigation over the next four years.”
“Trust me, Nellie, they’re not going anywhere. Now, how about we order us some lunch?”
—
Two more hours had passed by the time Attorney Alvarez, Mr. Cluse, and Mr. Wachowski rejoined Beau Lee and Nellie in the boardroom.
Princess Alvarez seemed to be losing patience with the need to remain hospitable. “So, Mr. Cooper. Where do you stand?”
“Attorney Alvarez, I don’t mean to be disagreeable in the least. But I did come here to try to resolve these claims for their full value and not to give Guaranty National Bank a blue-light special for the inhumane and horrific false arrests and wrongful imprisonment of three innocent Black women.”
“Attorney Cooper, as a Puerto Rican woman, it is never lost on me the level of discrimination that women of color have to face every day in America,” she declared.
“But you know very well that if this matter goes to trial, there is no way a jury will award your clients each over nine hundred thousand for a mere five hours in the county jail. Let’s be real.
These women only make eight dollars an hour.
This million-dollar offer divided between them is a fair settlement.
I suggest you discuss it with your clients before you so callously reject it. ”
Beau Lee didn’t flinch. Where another attorney might have raised his voice or bristled at the dismissive wave of her hand, he simply straightened his papers and spoke with measured calm.
“We have discussed today’s settlement conference and have full authority from our clients to act on their behalf.
My questions to you and your clients are: Have you discussed with your board of directors the implications once we have the press conference and show the world the video of how you treat your Black customers—with prejudice and false accusations?
And, how many other Black and brown people across America are going to call my office with similar claims once it gets all over the news? ”
It wasn’t the sharpness of his tone that carried weight, it was the steadiness. Beau Lee’s composure held the room, showing strength not in anger but in discipline. He let the silence afterward linger just long enough for everyone to recognize that his confidence came from certainty, not bluster.
She shook her head in disgust.
“I suspect none of you have ever been arrested and put in jail ever in your lives,” Beau Lee said rhetorically.
“Well, neither have I, but I’ve known plenty who have, and the impact that it has on their lives is something you’d never understand.
You say that being falsely arrested and booked in the county jail for five hours isn’t a big deal, but how would you know?
What do you know about being behind bars and having your freedom taken? ”
There was a knock at the door, and the receptionist entered with Capes, who was holding a portable DVD player. “Attorney Cooper,” she said, “Mr. Capes is back.”
“Gentlemen, how about we chat outside,” Capes said, signaling to Beau Lee and Nellie.
“My sincerest apologies,” Beau Lee said. “Will you excuse us?”
“Take your time,” Attorney Alvarez said, showing no signs of being frazzled. “We’ll be right here when you return.”
They walked outside. “Boss, you ain’t gon’ believe what I’m about to show you.” Capes was practically beaming.
“You were able to get surveillance from the police car,” Beau Lee said enthusiastically.
“Better than that, I also got the jail surveillance video,” he divulged.
“That’s why you my main man, Capes,” Beau said as they dapped each other with their fist.
“It’s just gon’ cost me a dinner date tonight with the clerk who worked at the police records department,” Capes said as his face lit up.
“The firm will gladly cover the dinner, Mr. Capes,” said Beau Lee.
—
When Beau Lee, Nellie, and Capes reentered the boardroom, they had a different air—particularly Beau Lee, who seemed even more confident than before.
“As I was saying before we stepped out,” Beau Lee said, “I can’t begin to explain to you the trauma associated with being arrested, booked, and imprisoned for five hours based on a false and racist allegation, but Mr. Capes here, who is not ashamed of his past, knows the impact of the experience…
of being processed through the system. Do you care to enlighten them, Mr. Capes? ”
“It’d be my pleasure,” Capes said. “I just took a trip to the police clerk’s office and discovered new information that made clear just how traumatic this incident was for our clients.
Case in point: After our clients were booked, fingerprinted, photographed, and put into the general population at the Cook County Jail, they were required to submit to a hepatitis vaccination.
You see, Hep C spreads like wildfire in jails and prisons.
When our client Ms. Juanita Crumity was told by the jailers that she had to get the hepatitis shot, she suffered a panic attack.
She had trouble breathing, couldn’t stand up straight, and her vision got blurry…
according to the documented account. In other words, she had an acute physical response brought on by trauma.
It was only made more traumatic when jail staff threatened to restrain her if she didn’t voluntarily receive the vaccine, which she ultimately agreed to. ”
“I was unaware,” Attorney Alvarez said. “But I still don’t see how this warrants the compensation you’re asking.”
“That’s only part of it,” Beau Lee said.
“Unlike the bank surveillance videos that had no audio, Mr. Capes has shown me police body camera footage accompanied by the audio recording of Ms. Crumity’s heartbreaking reaction as the jail’s medical staff forced the needle into her arm.
This ordeal was psychologically traumatizing.
She hollered and fought while in handcuffs.
Do you see how these images could be damaging?
It’s not just about our clients’ humiliation and false imprisonment.
This is about all the executives at Guaranty National Bank, whose employment will be in jeopardy because you all refused to settle this fairly and forced me to go show the world these videos. ”
Cluse and Wachowski looked worried as they mumbled among themselves.
Beau Lee continued. “Perhaps you should watch the videotape of Ms. Crumity at Central Booking for yourself, then provide your counteroffer.”
“I’d need time to confer with my clients.”
“Time is something we are running out of, Attorney Alvarez. It’s now after three p.m., and we’re getting close to the end of the day.
I can’t say how much longer our clients will entertain these pretrial settlement negotiations, but I know that if I go back to them without a settlement on the table, they may instruct me to file our lawsuit. ”
“Sounds like a veiled threat.”
“Just a reality…which can sometimes be harsh.”
The room was silent as he handed her the DVD.
—
Thirty minutes later, Attorney Alvarez entered the room with Cluse and Wachowski. The men looked browbeaten.
Alvarez spoke sharply, having lost her cordialness. “We reviewed the body cam footage,” she said. “And we recognize the horrific ordeal your clients went through. However, we still find your monetary demand astronomical.”
“Then let me provide more context,” Beau Lee said.
“You see, Ms. Abernathy is about five feet three inches, and since we’ve concluded that none of us have ever been arrested, we don’t know what it’s like to be placed in handcuffs and thrown in the back of a police cruiser.
So, let me give you an idea. You’re thrown into the back seat of a police cruiser that uses shoulder harnesses that fasten across the body and are designed for a man of average height and build.
No matter the size of the detainee, the shoulder harness is not adjustable.
Therefore, when Ms. Abernathy was put into the back seat of the police cruiser in handcuffs, the shoulder strap that normally would come across the chest of an average-sized man came across her neck, right under her chin… ”
Beau Lee pointed to his windpipe and continued.
“You see, this is where the strap would have crossed over Ms. Abernathy’s windpipe, as exhibited in the video, restricting her airway.
Which is why she was squirming but managed to yell, ‘I can’t breathe!
’ which is why we won’t accept a penny less than our demand. ”
Cluse and Wachowski quietly conferred to each other. Then, Cluse leaned over and whispered into Attorney Alvarez’s ear. Her eyes were downcast as she listened.
“Attorney Cooper, you’ve proved your point. My clients have agreed to your terms and look forward to putting this ordeal to rest.” She stood and extended her hand for Beau Lee to shake.
“I’m never sure what to say in these instances, but I appreciate your openness to negotiating and am glad we could conclude with a satisfactory outcome for all parties.”
“Well, that’s open to interpretation, but yes, I’m glad we reached an agreement. Take care, Attorney Cooper. My receptionist will see you out.”
She walked out of the room with her head held high while Cluse and Wachowski looked like they’d lost their life savings at the roulette table.
Beau Lee always marveled at how the people who represented big banks and corporations acted as if losing a lawsuit meant the money came out of their personal bank accounts.
They took the loss so personally, but for Beau Lee, it was the only way for them to understand that Black life held value, and it was not to be trampled over by prejudice and racism.