SALEM City and couple reach out-of-court settlement

Libel and harassment were among the allegations made in the lawsuit.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The city has settled a $2 million federal lawsuit with a Salem couple. The out-of-court settlement, reached earlier this month, requires the city and its insurer to pay out about $185,000, Mayor Larry DeJane said Friday.
Half the settlement will be paid from the city's general fund. The remainder will be paid by the insurance company.
George and Linda Henshaw filed a lawsuit in federal court in Cleveland in June 2000. George Henshaw is a former member of the city's board of zoning appeals.
Defendants named in the lawsuit were the city; Pat Morrissey, planning and zoning officer; and Joe Julian, service director.
Allegations: The Henshaws alleged in the lawsuit that Morrissey and Julian engaged in a "campaign of harassment" against them, damaging their reputations.
The couple also said Morrissey and Julian libeled them in a planning commission agenda about a plat map issue. Also claimed in the lawsuit was that Morrissey and Julian's concerted effort to discredit, destroy and humiliate the Henshaws constituted a civil conspiracy.
The Henshaws alleged in the lawsuit that the effort to libel and harass them stemmed partly from George Henshaw's claims about bidding improprieties surrounding a $500,000 city hall renovation project completed in 1998. In September 2000, the state auditor's office determined that the city should have sought competitive bids for the undertaking.
In their lawsuit, the couple asked for $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
Although the city initially contested the claims made in the lawsuit, DeJane said it decided to enter into a settlement agreement after being advised to do so by the insurance company's legal counsel.