Lawsuit

HARRODSBURG - The city of Harrodsburg and former police officer Scott Elder have reached an out-of-court settlement with a Danville man who claimed in a federal lawsuit that Elder used excessive force in arresting him in 2007. In the settlement, which The Advocate-Messenger obtained through an Open Records request, James Brian Marksbury will receive $50,000 in exchange for dropping the lawsuit, which was pending in U.S. District Court in Lexington. The city's insurance through the Kentucky League of Cities paid the settlement as well as the defendants' legal fees during the case, Mayor Eddie Long said.

Lincoln County has reached an out-of-court settlement with a Casey County man who filed a federal lawsuit against two sheriff's deputies, alleging they aided and abetted in the taking of his personal belongings as he was being evicted from a Moreland rental home. In the confidential settlement, which The Advocate-Messenger obtained through an Open Records request, the county agreed to pay Rodney Cochran $93,000 to resolve a complaint against deputies Don and Dan Gilliam, who helped Cochran's former landlord evict him in 2008.

Dear Editor, Charles Dickens wrote in his book, Nicholas Nickleby, “gold conjures up a mist about a man, more destructive of all his old senses and lulling to his feelings than the fumes of charcoal.” The demand for five million dollars from a school district summons the order for gold. Educators make many decisions throughout their instructional days, one of which is managing behaviors. I grew up with nine siblings and have five children of my own. Behavior management and discipline has been a part of my upbringing and parenting, to be accountable for my actions, which begins when we are children.

The lawsuit of Spencer Rodgers vs. the city of Danville won’t make it to a jury after all. The City Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve terms of an out-of-court settlement that will pay the city’s former chief financial officer $125,000. Following an executive session, the commission agreed to pay Rodgers in two lump sums: $75,000 from the city and $50,000 from the city’s insurer, the Kentucky League of Cities Insurance Services Inc. Other terms of the settlement include Rodgers maintaining his current position as IT technician for six weeks, as well as the city agreeing to provide letters of reference verifying his dates of employment and respond to inquiries about his employment in the same way it would for any other employee.

Attorneys for Junction City Mayor Jim Douglas have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former police chief Jimmy Gipson, arguing it “fails in its entirety as a matter of law.” Gipson, who was fired by Douglas in December, filed a lawsuit last month alleging he was terminated in retaliation for calling another police agency to investigate after the mayor appeared to be drinking on the job. The firing violated the Kentucky...

The Advocate-Messenger is sticking by an attorney general's ruling that Danville City Commission violated the state's Open Meetings Act in its response to the city's lawsuit asking that the ruling be overturned. In a response filed last week in Boyle Circuit Court, the newspaper's attorneys maintain that commissioners acted illegally by deciding to purchase the BISCO property during an executive session instead of voting to buy the building in open session during its July 23 meeting.

STANFORD - A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week in Lincoln Circuit Court against Fort Logan Hospital. Billy Goens, administrator of the estate of Margaret Goens, claims the hospital is responsible for her death. According to the lawsuit, Margaret Goens, a former Richmond resident, was a patient at Fort Logan Hospital in July 2006 and was being treated for multiple conditions related to diabetes. The lawsuit states Goens was at a high risk for falling due to her weakened state.

LANCASTER - Plans continue to move forward to fund 911 service in Lincoln and Garrard counties with monthly water-meter fees, most recently with the filing of a "friendly lawsuit" by the city of Lancaster that will test whether the new fees stand up to constitutional muster. In the lawsuit filed Nov. 9, the city of Lancaster argues an ordinance passed by Garrard County Fiscal Court implementing a new water-meter fee violates citizens' rights. It asks for the fee to be declared unconstitutional.

LEXINGTON - A Garrard County property owner has filed a federal lawsuit against Fiscal Court and two county officers individually, alleging they wrongfully tore down her gate and allowed public access to her land. Donna Scott owns land adjoining Poor Ridge Road that contains "a private pathway" known as Lanham Lane, according to the lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Lexington. Scott's children play regularly along Lanham Lane, but they became "endangered" last year when people on ATVs began using the lane to gain access to adjoining properties.