Insurance will cover Ronan class action lawsuit
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RONAN — Insurance will cover the cost of a class action lawsuit filed June 3 against the City of Ronan, Ronan Police Department, and the town’s leadership.
City Attorney Kathleen O’Rourke Mullins told city council members in a July 21 meeting that she will relay costs for legal services to the city’s insurance provider.
The cost for Mullins’ services mounted from her $1,500 regular monthly fee to more $4,570 as the city tackled litigation. The City has turned future work on the lawsuit over to a Missoula law firm.
The lawsuit was filed by Anthony Chaney, who claims he was arrested in July 2013 by Trevor Wadsworth, an officer who was allegedly not authorized to act as a police officer at the time. Trevor Wadsworth’s father, Dan Wadsworth, was the longtime police chief at the time of the arrest. A few days after the incident Dan Wadsworth’s law enforcement certifications were removed by the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council for allegedly falsifying Trevor’s application to the Montana Law Enforcement Academy.
The lawsuit claims as many as 100 people may have been victim of illegal arrest by officers who were not properly trained or certified. It seeks punitive damages in the case, which are capped at $10 million.
Last month questions arose about whether or not the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority would cover the cost of the lawsuit because the insurance company noted in its August 2013 board meeting that the City of Ronan had been notified that problems presented by Dan Wadsworth might result in loss of coverage.
Though the company will cover the attorney’s fees for the city, O’Rourke Mullins noted that the City of Ronan is only defending some of the defendants in the case.
“I answered on behalf of Kim (Aipperspach) individually because he was the mayor and is still the mayor,” O’Rourke Mullins said. “I had the authority to do that and from the research I’ve done so far he was acting under the scope of his duties as mayor. I did not answer for Dan Wadsworth or Trevor Wadsworth, or appear for them in any way because I had no authority to do that.”
