Hubert Dewayne HargisGrundy County, Tenn., will pony up $200,000 in a federal lawsuit filed by four former employees of the county highway department who allegedly were fired for political reasons, three of them immediately after last year's May primary elections.
Former employees Dennis Byers, Gregg Smartt, Leslie Brent King and Clarence T. Birdwell filed suit in U.S. Eastern District Court in Winchester, Tenn., against Road Superintendent Hubert Dewayne "Turkey" Hargis, individually and as road superintendent, the Grundy County Highway Department and Grundy County originally seeking $8 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A settlement reached in the case resulted in a $200,000 award for the plaintiffs.
McMinnville, Tenn., attorney Mike Galligan, who represented the four defendants, said Tuesday that the settlement stems from Hargis' actions after the May 6, 2014, primary elections. The suit claimed Hargis fired those he believed had voted against him.
The $200,000 settlement "covers emotional damage and humiliation" sustained by the plaintiffs, Galligan said.
According to Galligan and the complaint filed in court, the three men fired the day after Hargis won the Democratic primary -- Byers, King and Birdwell -- were told, "Y'all tried to take my job, now I'm taking yours."
The complaint asserts that Smartt was "constructively discharged" in February 2014 after Hargis accused him of campaigning for primary opponent Michael Meeks in the three-way primary race. Smartt denied that, but after Hargis persisted, he told his boss that he was voting for his other opponent, Johnny Ray Fults, court documents state.
Hargis' answer to the complaint, filed by Chattanooga attorney Thomas E. LeQuire in Winchester federal court, denies those allegations, although a settlement was reached before the case went to trial.
"This matter has been compromised and settled out of court as a doubtful and disputed claim," Hargis said in a statement emailed to the Times Free Press on Tuesday. "I am glad the matter is now behind us and I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of Grundy County as I have been elected to do."
Galligan said the case offers "a good lesson for people to learn that you cannot violate their Constitutional rights even if you're the employer and they are the employees."
"People cannot imagine how difficult it is for people who have worked for many years, such as my clients, and suddenly have to go home and tell their families that they are without a job because of the way they voted or supported another candidate," Galligan said. "They were proud of their service to Grundy County.
"It is my hope that the public knowledge of this resolution will restore some of the dignity lost by my clients," Galligan said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@times freepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.