MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown has countersued longtime employee Lamar Johnson, claiming the discrimination lawsuit he filed against the city in August violated the terms of a 2020 confidential settlement agreement between the parties.
In addition to legal fees, the city is seeking the return of the undisclosed payout Johnson received as part of that agreement.
Johnson, a 24-year employee of the city, filed suit Aug. 6, claiming the city failed to honor its end of the 2020 settlement reached in lieu of a potential civil suit claiming race-based violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
Johnson’s suit claims, in part, that the city did not live up to its end of the agreement by failing to provide him the same training and opportunity for promotion afforded other employees. It further claims Johnson continues to suffer under a “systematic culture of racism.”
In its response, the city says it has fulfilled those training and performance evaluation obligations and states Johnson’s suit is based upon alleged conduct and events that occurred prior to the execution of the 2020 settlement agreement.
Using the settlement as a foundation for a lawsuit – and publicly disclosing details therein – the city’s countersuit claims, is an express breach of the confidentiality and release provisions of the agreement.
In the city’s counterclaim, Kay Casto & Chaney attorneys Erin Webb and Matthew Elshiaty point out that as part of the settlement, Johnson agreed that he would not institute or be a party to “any future action, lawsuit, or other proceeding” against the city referencing the claims that led to its signing, and that the agreement would not be in any way used as evidence in any pending or future lawsuit.
By breaching the terms of that agreement, the city contends, Johnson has not only been unjustly enriched by accepting the monetary consideration provided, but the city has suffered damages including attorney fees, lost productivity and reputational harm.
