Settlement in the curriculum

One of the sample complaints I give my Civ Pro students is from Mort v. Lawrence County Children & Youth Servs., a § 1983 action brought by a woman whose newborn was taken away by the County after a false-positive drug test (the result of the woman eating an "everything" bagel from Dunkin' Donuts). It's a well-drafted complaint, so very good for illustrating joinder, pleading structure, jurisdiction, and Twiqbal. A student shared with me this report that the case settled for $ 143,000. This is a pretty good sum for a non-physical injury due process claim. And a good reminder to civ pro students that most monetary cases, at least those with well-structured complaints, settle.