Minnesota Landmark Legal Settlements
6 Islamic clerics kicked off airplane settle civil rights lawsuit
Six Muslim imams kicked off a U.S. Airways flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and detained settled a federal civil rights suit against the airline and the FBI.
The imams alleged they had been discriminated against by the airline and airport police, who in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, were targeting people who appeared to be Muslims of Middle Eastern descent.
Airline lawyers said their employees acted appropriately. The terms of the settlement were confidential.
The six imams were on a flight to Phoenix, returning home from a conference of the North American Imams Federation in Minneapolis. They were removed from the plane when a passenger passed a note to a flight attendant raising concerns about "suspicious Arabic men."
Minneapolis settles police shooting case
A Minneapolis cop who was accidently gunned down by a fellow officer while working undercover reached a $4.5 million settlement with the city.
The 2007 settlement was the city's largest payout for a suit involving the city's police department.
Duy Ngo was working undercover on gang surveillance in 2001 when he got into a confrontation with an armed man in an alley. Ngo radioed for help, describing the suspect who fled on foot.
One of the officers who responded to the scene jumped out of his cruiser and began firing his MP5 sub machine gun, striking Ngo six times. Ngo survived, but his law enforcement career was over.
Somalis win prayer case at Gold'n Plump
In a landmark settlement, St. Cloud-based Gold'n Plump Inc. agreed in 2008 to allow Muslim Somali workers short prayer breaks and the right to refuse handling pork at its poultry processing facilities.
The agreement is among the first in the nation that requires employers to accommodate the Islamic prayer schedule and beliefs that are held by many strict Muslims. The settlement also included an undisclosed sum of money for some employees.
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