City of Charleston approves $375,000 settlement in lawsuit by former employee

The City of Charleston Finance Committee on April 20 approved a $375,000 settlement in the lawsuit filed by former employee Chelsea Nicole McCoy, City Attorney Kevin Baker told the committee.

Baker said the city’s insurance policy includes a $300,000 self‑insured retention and that about $205,000 had already been spent defending the case. "At mediation, we had approximately $205,000 already spent in expenses in this case," Baker said, and he estimated the city would pay about $85,000 of the settlement with the remainder covered by the insurer. "This is, obviously, a disputed claim, and there's no admission of liability on behalf of the city," he said.

The mediation was handled by retired Judge Duke Bloom, Baker said when asked by Committee Member Janine. Baker also told the committee that an earlier motion to dismiss punitive damages was taken under advisement and not resolved before settlement discussions. When asked whether the settlement would resolve all claims, Baker said, "That's correct. This will resolve all claims." He added that the written agreement contains a mutual non‑disparagement provision: "The language in the settlement agreement is a mutual non disparagement."

Committee members said they had discussed the settlement approach with Baker and expressed support for concluding the case. Committee Chair (acting) called for the adoption of Resolution 25‑35; the committee approved the resolution by voice vote. The motion and vote were recorded as the committee’s adoption of Resolution 25‑35; no roll‑call tally was provided in the meeting transcript.

The settlement resolves the litigation identified in the agenda as Chelsea Nicole McCoy v. City of Charleston, Civil Action No. 24‑City‑360. The resolution does not include any admission of liability by the city, according to Baker.