FAYETTEVILLE -- A Washington County employee agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county and individual officials. The case is the third federal civil rights case resolved since March.
Jonathan Jarboe agreed last week to drop his case against the county and settled for $4,000, Steve Zega, county attorney, said.
Court documents don't show if there was wrongdoing by the county.
Zega said he didn't represent the county because he was a witness in the case. He referred questions on documents to Lanie Miller, county legal assistant.
Miller didn't return email or a phone message Tuesday. Attorney Josh Bailey, who represented Jarboe, didn't return a phone message or email Tuesday evening.
A joint motion for dismissal was filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes signed the order to dismiss the case Tuesday. It cannot be refiled.
Jarboe sued the county last year saying County Judge Marilyn Edwards retaliated against him because he supported her political opponent, then-Assessor Jeff Williams in the 2014 election.
Mandy Przysczpkowski, the county purchasing manager who was fired in 2014, said in court documents Edwards and others told her to prevent Jarboe from doing his job by blocking his ability to purchase anything or access county systems.
Przysczpkowski and Jarboe said in their lawsuits they were punished for supporting Williams.
The county and Przysczpkowski settled in March for $63,000. The county didn't admit wrongdoing.
A similar lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month. A judge said then-Road Department employee Brandon Holland didn't have enough proof he lost privileges, was reassigned to lower-skill jobs and was fired eventually because he supported Williams.
The county faces one more civil rights lawsuit. Road Department employee George Braswell sued the county claiming he was punished for pointing out flaws in the construction of two bridges and for supporting Williams.
That case is under appeal after a district judge ruled in March the county doesn't have individual qualified immunity.
NW News on 04/27/2016