27-02-2025
Settlement reached in Morgantown panhandling lawsuit
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The City of Morgantown has reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged that its city code violated people's right to solicit money.
A lawsuit filed in April 2024 claimed that city's enforcement of Morgantown City Ordinance Section § 371.10, which 'prohibits persons from using the spoken, written, or printed word, bodily gestures, signs or other means to solicit immediate donations of money or other things of value,' violated panhandlers' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights between April 2022 and May 2024.
Under the proposed settlement agreement which was filed on Wednesday, the city will be required to advertise that anyone who who was convicted under the ordinance will be cleared and anyone who paid fines or court costs associated with the ordinance will be reimbursed. The the city must also pay $25,000 to Mountain State Justice and $10,000 to the named plaintiff.
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The proposed settlement must be approved by a federal court before it takes effect. The full settlement proposal is available to read here. The ordinance had already been repealed prior to the settlement.
Morgantown City Ordinance Section § 371.10 is different from Monongalia County's Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety Ordinance, which was passed in October 2023 and prevents people along roads from loitering or interacting with drivers. A lawsuit was filed against the Monongalia County ordinance in December, alleging that it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
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