Katie Bennett Email and Phone Number

The words often used to describe Katie Bennett are “passionate” and “fighter.” With a focus on federal civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases, she takes on tough opponents like police departments, insurance companies and other powerful wrongdoers to bring justice to those who have been harmed. A skillful advocate at all stages of the proceedings, Katie has worked on jail suicides, police shootings, and excessive force cases, as well as personal injury actions where individuals have suffered serious injury or death.Fighting for the underdog is in Katie’s blood. From a young age, she watched her father, a nationally known civil rights and personal injury lawyer, battle on behalf of less powerful and marginalized clients. She and the team at Robins Kaplan have litigated record-breaking matters and she has been a champion in cases that have exposed patterns of corruption. In one well-known matter, where she represented Justine Ruszczyk and achieved a multi-million dollar settlement, she was able to shed light on the systemic problems within the Minneapolis Police Department that have now become commonplace items of news. The case highlighted the code of silence, victim shaming, failure to adhere to body worn camera policies, failure of command staff to discipline the officers which allowed a culture of wrong to flourish for many years, and the control the Police Federation has on the MPD.

Representative Experience:Smith v. Gorman et al.U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2013)Total Settlement: $3,075,000Baker v. City of St. Paul, et al.U. S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2017)Total Settlement: $2 millionKucera v. Jespsersen, et al.U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2014)Total Settlement $2 millionSieff v. City of Chaska, et al.U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2017)Total Settlement $1.75 millionBaxter-Knutson v. Stearns County & MEnD Correctional Care, et al.U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2016)Total Settlement $1.45 millionMcGerr v. Jensen, et al.Hennepin County District Court (2011)Total Settlement $918,000Boe v. BlumHennepin County District Court, Minnesota (2016)Total Settlement: $100,000Hines v. RainoHennepin County District Court, Minnesota (2016)Total Settlement: $100,000 limits