Anatomy of a county settlement
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
A clarification to the story in the October 10 Record News entitled, “Anatomy of a county settlement” was requested by Brenda Rae (Christner) Adams.
Five former employees were named as part of legal settlements with Ringgold County, including Brenda Adams. This individual should be further identified as Brenda Sue (Woosley) Adams, who was previously employed by the Ringgold County Sheriff’s office.
Officials explain process behind payments to former employees
When the settlement of an employee’s civil rights complaint against Ringgold County makes front page news, lost in the public discussion is the process by which that settlement was reached. The Record-News recently sat down with Ringgold County supervisors Colby Holmes, Steve Knapp, Randy Taylor, and county auditor Amanda Waske to better understand the settlement process.
Context
Over the past four years, Ringgold County has reached monetary settlements with five former employees: Landon White in 2020 and 2021, Bo Greene in 2021, Elizabeth Jeanes in 2022, Brenda Adams in 2022, and Kate Zimmerman in 2024.
The settlements amounted to nearly $1.2 million, the bulk of which was covered by the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), a member-owned and operated group self-insurance program for Iowa public entities. It offers coverage for property as well as general liability, law enforcement liability, public officials liability, and employment practices liability.
As with most insurance, ICAP coverage carries a deductible. Prior to this year, the ICAP standard liability deductible was $2,000. In 2024, this deductible was increased to $2,500 for all ICAP members.
Ringgold County’s 2024 premium to ICAP of $235,000 provides liability and property protection. The premium amount reflects a 28% increase in property coverage premium and a 5% increase in liability coverage premium, percentages in line with all ICAP members, not just Ringgold County.
Initial complaint
Employees who believe their civil rights have been violated by the county first file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC).
ICRC notifies the county of the complaint, and the county then alerts ICAP attorneys. An internal investigation conducted by human resource attorneys may or may not be required, depending upon the severity of the claim.
After reviewing the merits of the complaint, the ICRC decides either to close the complaint or to issue a “right to sue” for damages related to the complaint. Plaintiffs, however, may pursue damages regardless of the ICRC decision.
Mediation
If a lawsuit is filed, attorneys for the employee send a notification to the ICAP attorneys proposing the dollar amount the plaintiff is seeking in damages, and from that point the two sides enter mediation.
Usually present at the mediation sessions are an outside mediator, the employee’s attorneys, ICAP attorneys, the department head of the county office being sued, the county auditor, and one supervisor.
If mediation fails to reach an agreement, the lawsuit can advance to a trial in civil court.
However, if the employee’s attorneys and the ICAP attorneys can reach a dollar amount agreement, but the county refuses to accept the agreement, advancing to trial becomes a financial gamble for county defendants named in the suit.
Settlement or trial?
“Advancing to trial means risking the county budget and services it provides,” said Waske.
Regardless of the outcome of a trial, ICAP will pay only up to the dollar amount reached during mediation. Any dollar figure above that mediated amount becomes the responsibility of the county and individual defendants.
In some instances, due to conflicts of interest, ICAP cannot defend all individuals named in the lawsuit. Those left out of ICAP defense would be required to hire personal attorneys to be paid from tax dollars if those attorney fees exceed the amount reached in mediation.
Furthermore, if the verdict in the trial awards the employee any amount of damages, regardless of how small, the county is responsible for paying not only the damage amount but also all costs associated with the lawsuit and trial, including the employee’s attorney fees. These costs, again, would all come directly out of the county budget if they exceed the mediated dollar amount.
All told, costs resulting from a trial can easily exceed the amount arrived at through mediation.
“It’s important to note that payment would come directly out of the county budget… this is not our deductible,” said Waske. “Tax dollars and our already strained budget would have to cover the settlement at that point.”
Therefore, the county supervisors are faced with the decision to risk advancing to trial or to follow their attorneys’ recommendation to accept the settlement.
“The insurance company would rather just pay it rather than spend the money to fight it,” said Knapp.
[Accepting the settlement] “is financially the right thing to do for the county,” said Holmes.
In each of the recent lawsuits, the supervisors chose to accept the settlements with the stipulation that the county denies all allegations of claims described in the suits.
