The public could soon learn the details of the settlement that Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis made with a former employee before he resigned from the job for medical reasons.
The Citizen-Times reported that Judge Mark Powell ruled Friday in its favor in a lawsuit that sought disclosure of the lawsuit settlement. The settlement was filed by a female sheriff’s deputy. http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120714/NEWS/307140033/Judge-C-T-should-get-Davis-lawsuit-document?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

Henderson County attorney Russ Burrell had argued that state law prohibited release of the document, including a letter that detailing alleged inappropriate behavior by “a member of the sheriff’s department.” But with the judge’s ruling, Burrell signaled that the board may decline to join an appeal of Powell’s order. Commissioners have responded to complaints from the public that it wanted to release more details but could not because state law bars disclosure of personnel files.

“At present, it’s unlikely” the board will join Davis’s lawyer in an appeal of the order, Burrell told the Citizen-Times.