FLAGLER COUNTY — A reluctant Board of County Commissioners voted 3-1 to approve a $20,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by former human resources manager Samantha Whitfield.
Commission Chair Leann Pennington did not attend the June 1 meeting.
Whitfield sued the county in October 2024 for wrongful termination, claiming then that it failed to take action when another employee was harassing her and staff chose instead to end her employment.
Commissioners were torn between the desire to resolve the matter (and avoid future legal costs) and the optics of settling a case where, several of them agreed, the county wasn’t at fault.
“This was a former employee, and I will say that every allegation in that lawsuit is completely frivolous,” said Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan. “It is completely incorrect and wrong and false.”
The county hired Orlando-based law firm Roper, Townsend & Sutphen to litigate the case, while Tallahassee-based attorney Marie Mattox represented Whitfield.
The settlement cost will be covered by the county’s insurance policy, without the need to cover Whitfield’s attorney’s fees.
“It’s never welcome or easy to settle a claim, but in the eyes of the insurance company, they are looking at this from a business perspective,” Moylan said. “If we were to litigate this through to conclusion, it would cost much more than $20,000, even though you come out victorious.
“So it’s less expensive to settle, as unsavory as that may be, than it is to fight it out and win in the end,” Moylan said.
Flagler commissioner refuses to approve lawsuit settlement
The settlement was included on the board’s consent agenda items list for the June 1 meeting, but County Commissioner Andy Dance pulled it for discussion.
“I philosophically oppose this, and as Mr. Moylan stated, it’s frivolous, and we have denied liability.”
The settlement agreement establishes that the county does not admit “liability,” but, according to a staff memo, “seeks to avoid the costs of litigation.”
Dance said he would oppose approval of the settlement, because it “perpetuates this perception that anything brought against us will be settled.”
“I understand the positives of it,” Dance said. “But these types of things can affect future rates.”
Why did Whitfield sue Flagler County?
Whitfield was hired in August 2019 as a human resources manager and worked until July 19, 2024.
The former human resources manager said she began experiencing a “hostile work environment” after she was offered a higher-paying position by another local government in March 2024, according to the lawsuit.
Flagler County officials made a counteroffer to match the proposed salary, which she accepted. She was promoted to a higher rank within the human resources department.
The same month Whitfield agreed to stay with Flagler County, she said her ex-husband, Timothy Whitfield, discovered a GPS-type tracking device in his car and pressed stalking charges against her (she says the couple had both used the “tile” devices on their car keys, which sounds an alert when either of the parties is within 200 feet of each other.) Samantha Whitfield was charged March 8, 2024, with installing a tracking device on her ex-husband’s car, a claim she settled Oct. 17 in a plea bargain agreement mandating she take part in a behavior modification course and 25 hours of community service within the next 12 months.
Whitfield said she informed staff, including former Human Resources Director Pamela Wu, of the case. Afterward, Whitfield claimed in the lawsuit, some fellow employees began to question both her promotion and potential stalking charges against her.
When Wu went on family medical leave, Whitfield took over as acting human resources director. It was then that Whitfield “engaged in protected whistleblower activity” to report to county administration that Benefits and Wellness Manager Anita Stoker was improperly accessing confidential personnel records about employees, including Whitfield, but no action was taken following the report, the claim states.
After Wu returned, Whitfield informed her in June 2024 that she could no longer take the hostile atmosphere in the office and would resign.
Attorney says Whitfield ‘stands by allegations’ against county
Moylan said after the county received and read through Whitfield’s allegations, “we could tell immediately, on their face, that they were false.”
“She was claiming gender discrimination, whistleblower protection, disability discrimination,” the deputy county attorney said. “And this is an employee who resigned.”
In an email to The News-Journal, Mattox said “Ms. Whitfield stands by those allegations.”
“The lawsuit would not have been brought on false allegations,” Mattox wrote. She recognized some of the commissioners were “upset about the truthful allegations but that does not make them false.”
Flagler County’s insurance premiums could increase without settlement
The county’s legal team was not directly involved in discovery in this case, since the matter was handled by the county-hired Orlando firm.
Commissioner Greg Hansen asked how the county’s insurance rates could be affected.
“While it won’t change this year’s premiums, I’m sure the carrier always looks at how many lawsuits are brought, how many are settled when they determine their premiums,” Moylan said. “But keep in mind, if we don’t settle and litigate until conclusion and come out victorious, that could impact our premiums even worse, because of the absurd cost of litigating, unfortunately.”
Commissioner Kim Carney said she “philosophically” agreed with Dance.
“I’m going to vote for it, only because I want to get it over with,” Carney said.
Former News-Journal reporter Colleen Michele Jones contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler BOCC approves lawsuit settlement to avoid litigation costs
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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