Former Columbus and Lowndes County E911 director Jessie Colvin agreed to a $100,000 insurance settlement Thursday, bringing a close to her discrimination lawsuit against the county.
The lawsuit, which had sought damages for alleged race and sex bias by the E911 board, had been set for trial Monday before Northern District U.S. District Judge Michael Mills.
Colvin, both the first female and first black E911 director, sued the board in July 2009 after she was fired and replaced by a white man. The county claimed that her dismissal was due to her job performance.
In her complaint, Colvin had asked for $100,000 in compensatory damages, along with reinstatement or front pay, back pay, punitive damages, attorney”s fees, and costs and interests.
The county will not be out any money in the settlement, which is between Colvin and the county”s then-insurance company, Chartis Insurance, said county attorney Berkley Huskison, of the Mitchell, McNutt and Sams law firm.
“The insurance company wanted to get the case done,” he said. “They”re no longer insuring the county. It”s just a business decision.”
The settlement will be formally agreed to when Colvin”s check arrives, which will likely be within 30 days, Huskison said.
Her attorney, Jim Waide, of the Waide and Associates law firm in Tupelo, said Colvin settled partly because she”d found other employment and was ready to move on.
However, he added, “It”s inconceivable that she was not an outstanding employee” at E911.
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