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County insurance, tribe reach $10 million settlement in lawsuit involving sheriff; board informed in closed session
Summary
Insurance counsel told the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners that the county's insurer and a tribal entity agreed to a $10 million settlement in Kloepfer & Mahler v. Sheriff Dustin Smith, et al.; counsel said the county's share was covered by insurance and the board did not need to vote on the settlement.
Insurance counsel told the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on May 20 that a $10 million settlement had been reached in Kloepfer & Mahler v. Sheriff Dustin Smith, et al.
Sean Perrin, insurance counsel, told the board in closed session that the settlement would be split $5 million from the tribe and $5 million from the county's insurance carrier, and that the county had paid a $5,000 deductible when the case was filed. He said the settlement did not involve the expenditure of county funds in a way that would require board approval and that the agreement would be reported to the U.S. District Court within 45 days and "most likely be made public tomorrow." The board returned to open session with no additional discussion or action recorded.
The statement to the board came during a closed-session attorney-client consultation under §143-318.11(a)(3), which was approved by unanimous vote before the session. County Attorney Darryl Brown was present for the consultation, according to the minutes.
Why it matters: A settlement of this size has financial and reputational consequences for the county even if, as counsel stated, the payment will be handled by insurers. The board's recording of the settlement and its reporting to federal court are the formal steps noted in the minutes; no further board action is recorded in the meeting minutes.
What the minutes show and do not show: The minutes record counsel's summary of the settlement terms and the reporting timeline but do not include settlement documents, detailed allocation of costs beyond the stated split, any claim releases, or a public statement from the sheriff's office. The minutes do not record a board vote approving expenditure because counsel stated that a board vote was not required. The settlement was discussed only in closed session except for counsel's summary to the board; the minutes note that the settlement "will most likely be made public tomorrow."
