by Alex Brooks
The Eastwick Press filed a Freedom of Information Request with the Town of Grafton to learn the substance of the settlement the Town insurer reached with Tyler Sawyer to resolve his $1 million suit against the Town, former Deputy Supervisor Cathy Goyer and former Town Bookkeeper Victoria Nellis. Sawyer claimed damage to his professional reputation from comments made publicly by the two Town officials.
[private]It was announced at the Town Board meeting in December that the case had been settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential at the request of the Town’s insurer, the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR). But Robert Freeman, Executive Director of New York State’s Committee on Open Government and the State’s foremost authority on New York’s Freedom of Information Laws, said at the time that settlements involving a government cannot be sealed, and any such settlement is accessible under the Freedom of Information Law.
Grafton’s attorney, Sal Ferlazzo, agreed, and he directed Grafton Supervisor Frank Higgins to release the information, which was sent to The Eastwick Press this week.
NYMIR paid Sawyer $29,000 in exchange for his agreement to drop all claims against the Town, Goyer and Nellis related to his complaint. The settlement is not an admission of liability, according to NYMIR’s attorney Thomas Mortati. This information was contained in an email Mortati sent to Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins on December 6, 2013.
The Town’s insurance has a $1,000 deductible for a claim of this nature. That amount was billed to the Town by NYMIR, and the Town paid it. So far, that $1,000 has been the only direct cost to the Town from this lawsuit, but this claim may affect the Town’s insurance premiums going forward – that is not yet known.
Tyler Sawyer said it was never his desire to keep the settlement a secret, and he has no problem with public disclosure of the terms of the settlement.[/private]