BRIEF: Moosic agrees to settle legal fee dispute

April 15--Moosic agreed to settle a federal lawsuit over a legal fee dispute with an insurance carrier for $75,000, borough solicitor John Brazil said.

The borough sued Darwin Professional Underwriters Inc. in 2011, alleging it wrongly declined to defend borough officials in a lawsuit filed against them by Dr. Edward Zaloga and his company, Correctional Care Inc., which provides medical services to Lackawanna County Prison.

The lawsuit stemmed from Zaloga's dispute with borough officials over the expansion of a tire company warehouse near his home. Zaloga alleged borough officials were upset he opposed them on the matter, which led a councilman to unsuccessfully lobby the prison board in 2009 not to renew his contract. A federal appeals court dismissed the lawsuit in 2016.

The borough sought to recoup from Darwin about $134,000 in attorneys fees it spent defending the Zaloga suit. Brazil said the borough opted to settle the case to avoid the cost of litigating it further.

"We decided we were going to spend a lot of money taking it to trial, so we settled it," Brazil said. "We're happy it's over with."

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