Posted: 1/18/05
Coffield lawsuit settlement approved
Houston County and the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust (MCIT) have agreed to pay Linda Coffield $55,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit.
This amount includes $25,000 that the county board approved on December 21 when it approved the tentative settlement. The motion stated that Houston County was not admitting any liability or wrongdoing in the lawsuit.
The MCIT claims committee approved the settlement on January 14 at its office in St. Paul.
Coffield worked for the Houston County Sheriff's Office for 14 years in various positions, as a jailer, dispatcher, deputy sheriff, D.A.R.E. instructor, and investigator before resigning on December 31, 2003.
Her lawsuit claimed that she was a victim of sex discrimination and retaliation by the Houston Countyís Sheriffís Office and Houston County. It contained 10 instances of alleged sexual discrimination, and four instances of alleged retaliation.
The settlement amount was given to The Argus in a press release. Dyan Ebert, an attorney who represented the county, declined to comment further, as did Linda Coffield and county board chairperson Ann Thompson. Sheriff Mike Lee could not be reached for comment on January 17 because it was a national holiday.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com