City Settles Two Lawsuits with $422,480

City Settles Two Lawsuits with $422,480

During the City Commission meeting on Wednesday the City Commissioners approved the settlements of two cases involving the city. The cost of the settlements for both cases totaled $422,480.

In the first case, the city was sued by Mark Anthony Murray. Mr. Murray filed a lawsuit against the city in 2015 after his renamed position as the “Coordinator of Environmental Regulation and Security Compliance,” was eliminated. He was then given a position in the Community Relations department. The lawsuit filed in 2015 was settled in 2017 and around that same time the Community Relations department was dissolved and Mr. Murray found a new position in the Communications department. Not long after his switch to communications, it was determined that his position was not needed and Mr. Murray was released from his employment.

In 2018, citing whistle-blower retaliation, age discrimination, and retaliation related to his layoff, Mr. Murray filed a second lawsuit against the city. He was seeking back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. The city agreed to settle after evaluating and finding that the potential exposure was far greater than the settlement amount of $125,000 if the case went to trial and a jury found in favor of Mr. Murray.

In the second case against the city, Katie and Roy Young individually and as husband and wife, filed suit against the City of Tallahassee. The lawsuit was filed after Ms. Young was rear-ended by a city vehicle and required a great deal of medical care following the accident.

Ms. Young required extensive chiropractic care, had a cervical discectomy and fusion at the C5-6, C6-7, multiple orthopedic injections into her low-back, pelvic and hip area, and repair of a tear of the labrum in her left hip. Ms. Young will also need surgery to repair the labrum tear in her right hip.
The couple was seeking damages for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and other damages recoverable under Florida law. The total of the city approved settlement was $297,480.

8 Responses to "City Settles Two Lawsuits with $422,480"

  1. @ Harry Brown,

    Thank you for your service and thank you for being a brave community citizen.

    You were the one citizen who spoke out and told the truth and was met with abuse and retaliation that knew no bounds. I pray that it sees light one day and that all is restored to all the victims involved. This community must begin by apologizing and recognizing you as a true hero.

    I apologize for the those who won’t and also please know that you are a true hero. May God bless you and your family forever, Amen.

  2. It seems as though it is still not too late to seek justice for the minority individuals who mistreated so miserably by the city of Tallahassee. Minorities are never treated fairly by the City of Tallahasse. There should be someone out there who can seek justice for minorities.

  3. Addressing TONY’s comment:

    The sovereign immunity cap on damages against the City is $300,000 per incident. Thus, her settlement combined with the prior payment for property damage fully exhausted the maximum amount recoverable in a lawsuit… absent any passage of special legislation by the Florida Legislature.

    I agree with you, however, that Florida should raise this archaic and outdated amount to at least $1 million (as Georgia has done). $300k is nowhere near enough to compensate families who lose loved ones due to the negligent actions of governmental employees.

  4. Seems like Mr. Murray was being targeted and ultimately transferred right out of a job. When the frustration of constant shifting didn’t get him to quit, they went ahead and just pulled the termination trigger.

    Age Discrimination is a very real issue, particularly in the current Woke Supremist Progressive environment. Obama’s key medical advisor (and brother of Rahm Emmanuel) even admitted to their ultimate wish… that all people who reach 70-years old be euthanized.

    The left views “earned” Social Security payments, earned Medicaid/Care for senior’s, earned pensions, et al… as wasteful spending. They’d much rather use those funds to keep the younger generation of malleable snapperheads stoned and stupid, playing video games in mom’s basement, financing anarchy and hate, and getting fruitless and foolish degrees in basket weaving and one-legged lesbian urinal use studies…and voting for the left-wing wackos of course.

    Sadly, the most dependable, effective, and underutilized workforce available are those of the mature age category. They’ve been raised/reared to be honest, show up on time or even early to work, earn their keep, pay their bills, don’t wake-n-bake to start the day, have legible handwriting, and stay off their phones, Fakebook, Twidiot, and Instascam while at work. They have valuable and “real” life experiences – can read, write, and do arithmetic… and don’t use the word “like” to start a sentence. and the word “right” to end it.

    … like… then again, I’m just an older person of color… so, like… what do I know… right? 😉

  5. Where is the settlement for the Citizen and Veteran former employee, Harry Brown?

    He was retaliated against and spoke out about it for years, relentlessly, to be only taunted and called mentally ill by Scott Maddox.

    Mr. Brown was simply doing his job at the City of Tallahassee and his worker walked in on an inappropriate situation by Scott Maddox. I believe Scott Maddox retaliated and both of these people who are minorities lost their jobs.

    Scott Maddox is being sentenced today to federal prison, but not for this crime… where is the justice for Harry Brown and his worker who were so terribly mistreated by so many?

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