The Dallas City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $61.7 million settlement for four of six long-running back pay lawsuits filed by police and firefighters. The sizable agreement avoids hundreds of millions in claims that would have been owed if a Collin County jury had ruled in favor of the public safety workers. But the city remains exposed to a massive potential liability in two larger class-action lawsuits in Rockwall County. Still, relief washed over the council and plaintiffs' attorneys in the cases. The lawsuits, based on a 1979 voter referendum, have been bouncing around state courts since the mid-1990s. An attorney handling the case and some plaintiffs have died since it began.