Plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking damages related to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre have been denied in their efforts to receive a rehearing after the case was dismissed in Tulsa County District Court.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday published an order rejecting the plaintiffs' request to have an amended claim against the city of Tulsa and Tulsa Regional Chamber reconsidered.

Justice for Greenwood, the nonprofit that brought the lawsuit, said the survivors "are entitled to a trial."

Earlier this summer, justices also ruled for the defendants in an appeal of Tulsa County District Judge Caroline Wall's dismissal of the lawsuit filed in September 2020. Plaintiffs, including massacre survivor Lessie Randle, argued that the race massacre and the city's and other parties' conduct ever since constituted a continuing public nuisance against the historic Greenwood District.

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Viola Fletcher and her half-brother Hughes Van Ellis were added to the lawsuit as survivors in February 2021. Van Ellis died last year at age 102.

Justice for Greenwood lead attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons acknowledged in July that motions for a rehearing are fairly routine but rarely granted.

In the request for a rehearing, plaintiffs argued that the state Supreme Court's June 12 opinion in the case constitutes a new legal definition for claims of unjust enrichment. They dispute the requirement of "active wrongdoing … such as fraud, abuse of confidence or unconscionable conduct" for establishing a claim and argue that the court misapplied case precedent.

"Fraud, abuse of confidence or unconscionable conduct is required for a constructive trust, which is a remedy that may be available to correct an unjust enrichment, … (but) nowhere in the Second Amended Petition do the (plaintiffs) request a constructive trust," the petition for rehearing states.

In light of the state Supreme Court's interpretation of that case precedent, plaintiffs sought to cure the defect by presenting an argument centered on "active wrongdoing" but were denied by the court order Monday.

The request for rehearing cites "cultural tourism fundraising" promoted by the defendants on the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre as an example of "unconscionable conduct."

"One of their representatives went on local television in April 2021 and made statements causing the public to believe that Mother Randle would benefit from the tens of millions of dollars raised," the petition states, "notwithstanding that Mother Randle was living in poverty at that time."

The other elements of the plaintiffs' argument for a rehearing centered on dismissal of the public nuisance claim of the lawsuit. The argument was built on then-Attorney General Mike Hunter's use of the "continuing public nuisance" statute to win a judgment against opioid distributor Johnson & Johnson. That judgment was subsequently reversed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs also unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the case to go to discovery, a stage of legal proceedings in which the plaintiffs hoped to find more substantial evidence of wrongdoing.

In a statement Tuesday, city leaders said they respect the court's decision.

"Through economic development and policy projects, the 1921 Graves Investigation, and a renewed community vision for the Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood Master Plan, the City remains committed to working with residents and providing resources to support the north Tulsa and Greenwood communities,” a statement from the city says.

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