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MORROW, Ohio — The Village of Morrow has agreed to pay a former maintenance worker $600,000 to settle a five-year legal battle over allegations of bullying, harassment, and wrongful termination.
A jury sided with former public works employee Timothy Erwin last May after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. The jury ruled officials in the small Warren County community unlawfully fired Erwin and intentionally inflicted "atrocious" and "utterly intolerable" emotional distress on him.
That verdict exposed the Village to a $1.1 million payout to Erwin for back pay, future wages, damages, and attorney’s fees.
Afterward, lawyers for the Village filed motions for a new trial, to overturn the verdict, and to reduce the payout. Erwin’s attorney, Jim Whitaker, told WCPO in July that he worried the Village didn’t have the money to pay the verdict award.
Both sides continued to fight over money this fall during hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Barrett. Finally, after a settlement conference, all parties agreed to a $600,000 payout, which was signed by Whitaker on Dec. 3.
WCPO obtained the settlement agreement after making a public records request to Village attorneys.
The agreement contains a confidentiality clause which prevents Erwin from discussing the settlement. The Village, which did not return a request for comment made to its lawyers,...
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