County settles lawsuit by ex-inmate
The Washington County commissioners have approved a $4,000 settlement with a former Washington County jail inmate who sued over the disappearance of a ring.
Eric Von Fisher of Ellsworth was jailed in August 2010 for contempt of a child-support order. When he was incarcerated, among the possessions he handed in was his father’s gold Masonic ring with a red gemstone.
He left the jail in November of that year, retrieving his street clothes. The ring, however, was logged as “not in security storage,” according to documents filed with the court.
Fisher filed suit in 2012, and his claim, which included “stress, emotional damages, pain and suffering” was slated for arbitration.
The county, through Travelers, its insurance company, initially disputed Fisher’s claim, but the plaintiff accepted a $4,000 settlement offer late last year. The commissioners approved the settlement Thursday.
In other action related to the county jail, the prison board Wednesday again elected commission Chairman Larry Maggi, former sheriff and state trooper, as chairman of the prison board.
Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan was elected vice chairman of the board that oversees operation of the jail.