Murray County sexual harassment lawsuit resolved [The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.]

Nov. 30--The federal sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a longtime Murray County government employee against former sole commissioner David Ridley and county government has been settled and will not go to trial, attorneys involved in the case said late Tuesday. They declined to reveal the terms of the settlement.

Charlene Miles filed the lawsuit against the county and Ridley after receiving a "right to sue" letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Miles accused Ridley of physically and verbally sexually harassing her and forcing her to give him oral sex. Ridley resigned in March, and the lawsuit was filed in April.

One of Miles' attorneys, McCracken Poston, said he understood the lawsuit has been resolved.

"My understanding is that Ben Mathis (the attorney for Murray County) has confirmed that it is settled," he said. "The only reason is that it is settled verbally, the paperwork hasn't been signed."

Poston likened the resolution to the circumstances surrounding presidential candidate Herman Cain.

"I don't mind saying this on the record -- I think what we have here is what Herman Cain called 'an agreement,'" he said. "And you know the nature of these is that nobody admits fault, that nothing is settled as proven and Mr. Ridley can now run for president ... it settles nothing factually, but it settles the dispute. I think it's an important thing for people to know."

Poston was asked if he could speak to how the lawsuit was settled.

"Well, of course, that's part of the nature of the settlement, the agreement, that there is no discussion of any terms," he replied. "The interesting factor is that Charlene is very well-liked in county government, and all along her values as an employee have never been challenged by the other side. And the good news is she will continue to work there."

Mathis took over representing the county for Travelers Insurance, which ensures the county, after county attorney Greg Kinnamon stepped aside. Mathis would not elaborate on the status of the lawsuit.

"(Kinnamon's) the county attorney, and any comments need to come from him if any can be made at this time," he said.

Kinnamon said he understood the suit is now resolved.

"I haven't seen the document yet, but it is supposedly settled," he said. "There's a confidentiality agreement, of course, where we can't really discuss much -- and I don't know that they've really signed off on it yet -- but I think we have agreed to terms. But we don't want her to breach the confidentiality agreement, and of course, we don't want to either."

Earlier this month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson dropped five of the six complaints Miles made against Murray County government in response to a motion for dismissal by Mathis. The complaint that Johnson allowed Miles to retain, that the county allowed a hostile work environment to exist, had a penalty cap of $200,000 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, based on the number of people the county employs.

Kinnamon was asked about the county's liability now.

"The county doesn't have to pay anything, Travelers would have to pay any kind of settlement," he responded. "Some of the negotiations were in process before that magistrate judge's ruling came out ... that ruling was just a recommendation to the district court judge who is Harold Murphy. It's just a recommendation. They were exculpated from most of the plaintiff's amended complaint."

Asked if the court is satisfied with the way the lawsuit was resolved, Kinnamon answered, "Yes, there won't be a trial in Rome."

A working phone number for Ridley could not be found. His attorneys, Phillip Friduss and Ellen Ash of Woodstock, could not be reached Tuesday evening.

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