A settlement has been reached in the federal court case filed by a former jailer at the Baxter County Detention Center.
Tabatha King filed the lawsuit in mid-December 2021. It was based on allegations that in 2019 she had been sexually assaulted by a male co-worker in the jail and ultimately fired because she would not stay quiet about the incident.
King worked at the Baxter County jail beginning in April 2018 until she was terminated April 23, 2021. She filed the federal lawsuit in mid-December 2021.
CLAIMS AGAINST SHERIFF DISMISSED
Prior to the settlement, all claims against Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery in the case were dismissed by Federal Magistrate Judge Mark Ford in a February 12 ruling on summary judgment requests filed by both sides. Other claims against Sheriff Montgomery were dismissed based on King waiving them.
King had also requested that the court dismiss claims filed against 10 John Does. The “Does” were never identified in the case except by name.
The summary judgment ruling by Judge Ford and the waiver by King left only former jail employee Steven Goode, who was the person King had accused of the sexual assault, and Baxter County as defendants in the suit.
Attorneys for the county had filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his ruling leaving the county as a defendant in the case.
If the case had proceeded to trial, the only issues to be heard according to Judge Ford’s summary judgment ruling were:
— King’s claims of gender discrimination based on a hostile work environment against Baxter County and Goode.
— A state-law claim against Goode for the tort of outrage.
— King’s state-law claim against Goode claiming the commission of a criminal act.
A Rule 412 hearing was scheduled today in federal court in Fayetteville. The hearing was to determine if the history of King’s sex life could be admitted as evidence and heard by the jury.
A final pre-trial conference had been scheduled to be held after the Rule 412 hearing has ended.
The hearing, final pre-trial conference and the jury trial were all canceled after the court was notified the case had settled.
King first took her complaints to the Little Rock Area Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
After an investigation, the EEOC closed the case on several grounds, including that there was insufficient evidence to show a causal relationship between the alleged 2019 incident involving Goode and the “negative” evaluation and her eventual termination.
Details of such settlements are not generally made public.
The court ordered both sides to prepare a motion to dismiss.
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