The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors voted Nov. 10 to approve a term sheet settling a long-running lawsuit brought by former jail administrator Dean Naylor. The county’s outside counsel said the agreement would fully close the matter and staff will present a formal settlement agreement for the board’s signature.

ICAP attorney Caitlin McCullough summarized the case and settlement in the public meeting, saying the plaintiff’s initial demand was about $1.7 million and that the county ultimately agreed to pay $85,000 to resolve the dispute. "This will fully close the matter as to Dean Mailer and his litigation that has been going on for coming up on 6 years here," McCullough told the board. She also told supervisors opposing counsel had billed about $800,000 in legal fees during the course of the litigation.

McCullough said the case began after reporting in 2020 revealed public social-media posts by Naylor expressing anti-Muslim and other discriminatory views; the county said those posts violated the jail’s social-media policy and led to his termination. Naylor sued alleging religious-discrimination claims, the county won on summary judgment, and the case was appealed to the Eighth Circuit. McCullough said the Eighth Circuit agreed with much of the county’s position but identified factual questions for a jury, which led to the case being set for trial in April 2026 and to the recent settlement conference with a federal judge.

Supervisors discussed the settlement terms in open session and then moved to approve the term sheet. Supervisor (Speaker 3) moved approval and Supervisor (Speaker 4) seconded; the motion carried by voice vote. McCullough said a formal settlement agreement without a confidentiality provision would be circulated to the board for signature.

The board did not discuss further monetary allocations or fund sources during the meeting. The settlement closes a case that county attorneys said involved repeated litigation and appeals since 2020.