Last Thursday afternoon Decatur county issued a press release regarding "two law suits have been settled out of court".
I asked the complainants' attorney, Louis Hatcher, for a commment. It is included here.
I am disappointed that the County has yet to acknowledge its wrongdoing in these matters, or to set forth the particular actions it has taken or will take to prevent these types of situations from repeating. I am particularly disappointed with the County's position with respect to the case involving Captain Bellflower, Steve Enfinger, and Guy Yates.
The County had an opportunity to present its case to a federal jury, and had the opportunity to call every witness and present all evidence the County believed would support its claims that it had not wrongfully retaliated against those brave firefighters who stood up for what was right.
The jury returned a resounding verdict in favor of the firefighters that not only cleared their names, but cemented forever a finding of unlawful conduct on the part of Decatur County. Indeed, we are told by the County's insurer, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia ("ACCG") that the verdict in the Bellflower/Enfinger/Yates case is the 4th largest verdict ever against an ACCG insured, and that includes wrongful death and serious bodily injury cases.
The County's officials and employees admitted under oath at trial that:
- The County lied to the EEOC in Michelle Lagace's case;
- The County lied to the United States District Court in Ms. Lagace's case;
- The County falsified documents in Ms. Lagace's case and the County attorney filed those documents with the EEOC;
- The County destroyed evidence in the Bellflower/Enfinger/Yates case that would have been helpful to the firefighters' cases; and
- Documents were created after-the-fact that were allegedly relied upon by County officials in their decisions to punish the firefighters.
It is impossible to square the County's conduct with a County committed to honesty, high morals, and proper treatment of its employees and citizens. It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Decatur County government that the men who saved lives and property are the ones who were punished, and those who lied to the EEOC and the Court, who destroyed evidence, who manufactured evidence after-the-fact, and who lied about the reasons they punished the firefighters have gone unpunished by the County.
I would welcome a public statement from the Decatur County Commission why they believe they have acted honorably in light of the above, and why they punish those who do good and reward those who act improperly.
We are pleased to have settled Cindy Harrell's case. I understand that some of those named in her lawsuit may be saying our settlement of the case is a sign that they had valid defenses or that we perceived some weaknesses in our case. The truth is, prior to Ms. Harrell's settlement, the highest dollar figure ever paid by ACCG to settle a sexual harassment case was $85,000. We settled for 7 times more than they had ever paid for a case of this nature. One would be hard-pressed to find many sexual harassment cases across the nation that have settled for as much or more than Ms. Harrell's case.
Should the perpetrators of wrongdoing in Ms. Harrell's case desire, however, I would be more than happy to make public the evidence I have of their wrongdoing, and we can always debate one another at a public meeting of the County Commission.
I would like to say that the $1,540,000 in settlements against Decatur County in the three cases have been a wake-up call to the County to conduct its business with integrity and to treat employees with honesty, dignity, and respect. Unfortunately, I do not think Decatur County has heeded the call. The voters of Decatur County can send the only wake-up call I believe the County's officials will understand, and until they do so, will have to share the blame for the mistreatment of the County's citizens.
I must admit a certain level of frustration with the lack of a change of heart (and higher level personnel) by Decatur County in light of the clear proof - and a jury verdict declaring - the County's unlawful conduct.
I take solace in the following, however, from a letter I wrote years ago to the County:
"You folks have two judgment days coming for your wrongdoing and attempts to cover up that wrongdoing. One will be quite soon in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The Good Lord will handle the other."
The County has had the first judgment day and has done little or nothing of value in response thereto. The next one will be more sure than the first, and all accounts will be settled in full.
Louis E. Hatcher
Watson Spence LLP
Albany, Ga
