Lawsuit against Warren settled before trial

WARREN — The lawsuit filed against the city by the father of a 10-year-old Warren boy who drowned July 21, 2003, when he got trapped in a storm drain after a downpour, has been settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

A jury trial was set to begin Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before Judge W. Wyatt McKay, but the settlement eliminated the need for the trial, said Atty. Michael Scala of Warren.

Scala said the amount of the settlement will become public when it proceeds to Trumbull County Probate Court. Settlements in civil suits have to be approved by the probate court before they become final in cases involving a death, Scala said.

Greg Hicks, Warren’s law director, and James E. Sanders, assistant law director, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.