MORGANTOWN – Attorneys representing Anthony Rowand and the city of Morgantown anticipate a lawsuit brought in response to a since-repealed panhandling law will be settled out of court “imminently.”
A Jan. 14 filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia provided notice to the court that the parties were engaged in settlement discussions concerning Rowand’s claims.
That filing came about a month after Chief Judge Thomas Kleeh denied a joint motion from the parties to settle a class action lawsuit brought by Mountain State Justice in April 2024 on behalf of Rowand and a similarly situated class.
The lawsuit claimed Rowand was ticketed and assessed fines nine times between June 2, 2023 and Feb. 12 2024, based on an unconstitutional panhandling ordinance.
Morgantown City Council repealed the law – City Code Section 371.10 – shortly after the suit was filed.
In February 2025, the sides agreed on settlement terms through which the city would vacate any convictions of persons charged under the law and pay $35,100 – with $10,100 going to Rowand and $25,000 going to Mountain State Justice.
In his December ruling denying the settlement, Kleeh said the parties failed to demonstrate the class was so numerous that the joinder of all class members as named plaintiffs was impracticable – particularly as the sides agreed there were likely less than 20 total persons charged under the code section and their identities were known to the parties.
A status report filed with the court on Friday explains settlement negotiations have been ongoing since Jan. 14 and attorneys for both sides “believe that the parties will reach agreed settlement in the very near future. The parties do not anticipate that any further involvement of the court will be necessary.”
