NJ, Newark schools settle for $5M in lawsuit by families of '07 schoolyard murder victims
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The families of three college-bound friends murdered in a Newark schoolyard in 2007 have reached a $5 million settlement with the city schools and state.
The settlement was announced Tuesday, several weeks into a civil trial.
The state attorney general's office says the Department of Education is responsible for $3 million and the Newark school district is liable for $2 million. The state has oversight of the Newark schools.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Neither defendant admitted liability.
The families claimed the school district was negligent for leaving gates to the Mount Vernon School open at night when the schoolyard was a known gang hangout.
Six men and boys charged with the murders are serving prison terms.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The state is suing an insurance company that has refused to indemnify it in the lawsuit.