The Texas Fifth Court of Appeals upended Fort Worth’s move yesterday to lock in an $850,000 mediated settlement with former crime lab scientist Trisa Crutcher, sending the fight back to the trial court. The reversal scrambles a deal the city signed off on last year and leaves a nagging question hanging over the case: what happens to the money that has already been funneled into court-controlled accounts. Attorneys for both sides say the decision puts the dispute squarely back in front of a trial judge and could shape whether Crutcher is reinstated or granted any other relief.
The appeals court ruled that the City of Fort Worth used the wrong legal vehicle when it tried to enforce the mediated agreement, then sent the matter back to the trial court to fix that mistake, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The opinion tells the lower court to sort out what procedure should actually be used and to settle remaining arguments about how far the settlement is supposed to reach. The ruling does not decide the merits of Crutcher’s whistleblower allegations, which stay on the trial court’s plate for now.
Crutcher and the city reached a mediated settlement last year, and the Fort Worth City Council signed off on the $850,000 payout in April 2024, according to Fort Worth Report. The dispute traces back to a whistleblower complaint Crutcher lodged while working in the police department’s biology unit, which later grew into multiple lawsuits...
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