The plaintiffs filed suit under Oklahoma's public nuisance law, claiming the violence and destruction committed in the “Black Wall Street” neighborhood more than 100 years ago continue to reverberate today.
The Tulsa County Sheriff, County Commissioners and the Oklahoma Military Department are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a ruling Wednesday, the state's highest court sided with Tulsa officials, arguing that the plaintiffs' complaints do not entitle them to compensation.
“With respect to the public nuisance claim, Plaintiff’s complaints, while legitimate, do not fall within the scope of our state’s public nuisance statute,” the court wrote.
As a result, the court consisting of nine judges confirmed the same ruling of the lower court judge in July of last year.
The judge concluded that “mere association with a historical event does not give an individual an unrestricted right to seek compensation.”
