A lawsuit alleging that a Eureka judge created a hostile work environment and spread lies about a former employee has been settled out of court, the Lincoln County Commission announced July 28.
Lincoln County has agreed to pay Chrystal Stacy $50,000 in a settlement resulting from a 2012 lawsuit in which the former Eureka Justice Court employee alleged that Judge Stormy Langston wrongfully fired her and spread mistruths about her.
Both Langston and the county disputed Stacey’s allegations.
Stacy was hired Aug. 27, 2007 and worked about 32 hours a week, according to court documents. In 2010, there was a disagreement between Stacy and co-worker Bonita Cook. Stacy’s attorney, Santana Kortum, said Cook created a hostile work environment that included name calling and yelling. Stacy asked Langston to address the problem in August 2010, but after multiple requests, according to the plaintiff, nothing changed and Stacy took sick leave and vacation time to avoid Cook.
The following month, Stacy again asked Langston to address the workplace situation and, although all three women met to discuss the issues, nothing was resolved.
In March 2011, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners recommended that Stacy be placed on administrative leave. Stacy’s attorney said that constituted retaliation on the part of the county.
On May 17, 2011, Langston fired Stacy for allegedly falsifying time cards in November 2010. Langston, however, did not have the authority to fire Stacy and the commissioners maintained that she was still employed. On June 28, the commissioners asked Stacy to return to work but she did not because of ongoing hostilities.
Langston then began accepting applications to replace her. According to court documents, Langston also made “false and maligning” statements to the Tobacco Valley News about the situation.
Stacy filed the lawsuit in 2012 in order to preserve the statue of limitations. Earlier this month, both sides agreed to a $50,000 settlement; $25,000 allocated to Stacy’s libel and slander claims and $25,000 for her wrongful discharge claims.
Commission Chairman Tony Berget said it was unfortunate that the county was being sued in the first place but that they “are pleased it has been resolved.”