The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has paid $371,500 to settle a racial discrimination case filed by a former employee, according to a copy of the settlement agreement obtained Thursday.
The money is in addition to $231,376.32 the department paid to the Little Rock law firm of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, the outside counsel the agency retained to defend itself in the federal lawsuit filed by Darren Smith, a former Highway Police officer who was fired in 2012.
The terms of the settlement precluded either side from extended comment on the case.
"The Department is satisfied with the process that was followed and considers the matter resolved and will have no further comment on this case," Randy Ort, the department's assistant chief for administration, said in an emailed statement.
Neither Smith, who now is a patrol sergeant with the Forrest City Police Department, nor his attorney, Douglas Carson of Fort Smith, would comment on the settlement agreement, which the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
"The only thing I can confirm to you, in fact, is there is a settlement agreement," Carson said.
Under the 10-page agreement, the "full and final settlement" of $371,500 broke down this way:
•$178,178.29 for "non-wage damages."
•$128,321.71 in fees to Daily & Woods, Carson's law firm.
•$43,000 to Smith's retirement account at the Arkansas Highway Police, which is a division of the Highway and Transportation Department.
•$22,000 in back pay.
The department also agreed that Smith's "separation from AHP will reflect that he voluntarily resigned on Aug. 15, 2012," promised to provide a neutral reference letter saying he resigned and is eligible for rehire, provide a similar letter to the Arkansas Department of Correction and to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and purge Smith's file of any documentation regarding disciplinary action and complaints against Smith.
For his part, Smith agreed to waive any right to future employment with the Arkansas Highway Police or the department and discharges the department from any other claims.
The settlement agreement also provides that it cannot be "construed as an admission by AHTD of any liability whatsoever or as an admission by AHTD of any acts of wrongdoing, discrimination, or retaliation against Smith or any other persons, nor as any admission by Smith of any wrongdoing on his part."
Both sides sought to resolve Smith's lawsuit "solely to avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation," according to the agreement. The case was scheduled for a jury trial on April 20.
The settlement was reached in principal on March 20 following settlement discussions that lasted more than 10 hours before U.S. Magistrate Beth Deere.
Parties to the agreement included Scott Bennett, the department director; Ron Burks, the chief of the Highway Police; and Jeff Holmes, a captain with the Highway Police. Two other parties to the agreement, Maj. Paul Claunch and 1st Lt. James Moore, retired since the lawsuit was filed.
Smith, who is black, filed the lawsuit in May 2013, accusing the highway police and Burks, who is white, of racial bias in employment practices that led to Smith's firing in July 2012. According to the lawsuit, white officers were given the majority of promotions, and black officers are punished more severely than white officers for the same policy violations.
Smith's lawsuit stated he was fired for lying during a grievance hearing in which he was seeking reimbursement to pay relatives who helped him move when he was reassigned. Smith denied that he lied. The department had denied Smith's allegations.
The lawsuit asked that Smith be reinstated to his job, an injunction be issued prohibiting the department from further acts of retaliation or discrimination, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney's fees.
In a ruling last year, Holmes barred Smith from seeking federal oversight of the department's hiring, promotion and employment practices but otherwise cleared the way for trial.
Metro on 05/01/2015