Settlements and Verdicts

Deer Poaching

Carbondale, CO: (Apr-09-08) Tom McClelland, a former utilities department employee, brought charges against the town of Carbondale, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his job in early 2006. McClelland, a water and wastewater department supervisor from November 2005 until he was let go in January 2006, brought the charges naming the town and former Carbondale Utilities Director Ed Fortner, as defendants.

The suit alleged that McClelland was terminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle on Fortner over a deer poaching incident, and revealing that Fortner used public resources to get rid of the deer carcass. He claimed that a town employee under his supervision had informed McClelland that Fortner ordered town employees to dispose of the carcass using a town vehicle during work hours.

Court records show that the case was set to go to trial later this month in Garfield County District Court, but as reports indicate, the two sides had reached a settlement, resolving the dispute. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the town of Carbondale agreed to pay McClelland $50,000, keeping other terms of the deal confidential. [CARBONDALE VALLEY JOURNAL: TOWN SETTLEMS EMPLOYEE LAWSUIT]

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