News
Million Dollar Glouster Lawsuit ‘Resolved’
By: Steve Robb - Athens Messenger staff reporter
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A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit in which a jury, at one point, had awarded $1.04 million in damages against former Glouster officials.
David and Jennifer Dolan, who claimed Glouster officials had interfered with their towing company, filed a dismissal in their Athens County Common Pleas Court case last week. The entry, filed by their attorney, states that the parties have “resolved their dispute.”
Randall Lambert, an attorney hired by the village’s insurance company, said the amount of the settlement is confidential. He said it will be paid by the insurance company. The village has a $1,000 deductible on its insurance policy, which had already been met.
In 2010, following a trial in common pleas court, a jury awarded the Dolans $1.04 million in damages. Their lawsuit claimed that Glouster police had stopped using JD Towing after then-mayor David Angle had a dispute with David Dolan over a village resident’s tow bill. The judgment was against former mayors Angle and Robert Funk and former police chief Roger Taylor.
Then-Judge Michael Ward set aside much of the award, and ordered a new trial on the punitive damages and damages awarded for emotional distress. Ward said those awards appeared to have been influenced by “passion and prejudice.”
Various appeals were filed, which ended with the Ohio Supreme Court declining last October to hear the case. That left a pending retrial on much of the damage award, but the settlement was reached before the trial was held.
The entry dismissing the case releases three certificates of judgment — $145,553 against Taylor, $135,555 against Angle and $135,555 against Funk. However, Lambert said that does not mean that those are the amounts of the settlement.
The Dolans could not be reached for comment by The Messenger on Wednesday. Their attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment.