A judge has refused to let a man imprisoned 25 years for crimes he said he did not commit, who already successfully sued Chicago police officers, now sue the city of Chicago, saying the city already compensated the man when it paid a $7.6 million judgment against the officers.
Judge Virginia Kendall, of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, delivered the decision in late October against Daniel Andersen. However in early November, Kendall said Andersen could amend his complaint and try to continue his action.
Andersen was 21 years old in 1982 when he was sent to prison after confessing to the murder and attempted rape of a woman in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. He was paroled in 2007. Testing of DNA found on the victim was done several years later, the results of which showed the DNA did not belong to Andersen. In December 2015, a Cook County judge gave him a certificate of innocence and the state provided $220,700 compensation.
In February 2016, Andersen sued 14 police officers, saying he was deprived of sleep, beaten and threatened into confessing. Andersen further claimed police fabricated evidence and concealed exculpatory evidence. Police stood by Andersen's guilt, but in June 2021, a jury concluded otherwise, awarding $7.6 million in compensatory damages, which the city has paid.
Andersen also sued the city on a claim alleging police had a policy and practice of holding back exculpatory evidence. At the city's request, this claim was separated from the trial. After trial, Andersen wanted to proceed on the claim, but the city contended payment of the award and its signing of a limited consent judgment, in which the city did not admit fault, headed off the claim.
Judge Kendall agreed with the city.
"Andersen has now been compensated for his injury, and so cannot recover again from the City," Kendall observed.
Kendall elaborated: "The plaintiff could not recover anything against the City beyond what he had recovered against the individual defendants. That is the case here. The City remained a defendant in Andersen’s case, and judgment was entered against it for $7,550,000 in compensatory damages. It has paid those damages pursuant to the Illinois statute requiring municipalities to indemnify their employees for compensatory damages in tort judgments. Andersen has been afforded complete relief and cannot recover against the City twice."
That ruling was issued Oct. 28. On Nov. 4, Kendall granted Andersen's request to amend his complaint, which must be done by Dec. 2.
Andersen has been represented by attorneys Joshua Tepfer, Jon Loevy, Arthur Loevy, Heather Lewis Donnell, Roshna Bala Keen, Lindsay Hagy and John Hazinski, of the Chicago firm of Loevy & Loevy.
The city has been defended by attorneys Eileen E. Rosen, Stacy A. Benjamin, James B. Novy and Theresa Berousek Carney, of the Chicago firm of Rock, Fusco & Connelly.