Update: Mr. Yarber's lawyer, Judy Barnett, stated "My client did not pay any money toward the settlement. The
agreement between Yarber and Bracey was a non-monetary settlement
agreement to not discuss this case again. My client took a DNA test
that proved that the "evidence" Ms. Bracey had was not from my client
and that settled the lawsuit."
The city of Jackson settled Kimberly Bracey's sexual harassment lawsuit for $10,000. Mrs. Bracey was the executive assistant for former Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber. She sued then-Mayor Yarber and the city of Jackson in August 2016. The complaint alleged that Bracey had an affair with the Mayor and included more than a few lurid details. The city also agreed to pay $10,000 towards Mr. Yarber's attorney fees. U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan, III dismissed the lawsuit on November 9. JJ obtained a copy of the settlement agreements through a public records request. They are posted below.
The settlement agreement states:
7. In consideration of the settlement and release of all claims set forth above, the City agrees that Bracey will be paid a sum total of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). The payment will be made through one check made payable to Kimberly V. Bracey and her attorneys, Watson & Norris, PLLC;
The city also agreed to give Mrs. Bracey a neutral job reference. The city did not admit any liability in the agreement. The Jackson City Council approved the settlement. Melvin Priester, Jr. moved to adopt the agreement. City Council members Ashby Foote, Virgi Lindsay, Melvin Priester, and Dekeither Stamps voted to approve the settlement. Councilman Kenneth Stokes voted against the motion.
Mr. Yarber reached a separate settlement agreement with his former employee. The terms of the agreement are undisclosed.
The lawsuit made quite a few allegations such as this one:
18. In August or September 2014, Plaintiff was required to attend another fundraiser for Defendant Yarber and Tyrone Lewis in Atlanta that was hosted by Mitzi Bickers. Ms. Bickers had arranged for a woman to have a sexual relationship with Defendant Yarber while Plaintiff was attending this fundraiser in Atlanta, Georgia. The next day after the fundraiser, Plaintiff was required to go with Defendant Yarber for another gathering at Ms. Bickers’ home. Again strippers wearing only body paint greeted them at the door. While Tyrone Lewis and his staff were present at the fundraiser, they were not present the next day when strippers were present at Ms. Bickers’ home.She alleged the two had an affair a few months after Mr. Yarber married (as a minister) Mrs. Bracey and her husband. However, Mrs. Bracey never provided witness affidavits, text messages, or other forms of physical evidence in court.
Earlier posts
Settled
Bracey v. Yarber update: Get out the Lysol.
And the bombshell drops.
Mayor's lawsuit dismissed.
Mayor sues Bracey for defamation.
Mayor gets a lawyer.
Bracey amends complaint.
Mayor responds.
Former assistant sues Yarber for sexual harassment. (Copy of lawsuit)
13 comments:
Not a good outcome for her. She give 40% of $10,000 to her Lawyers & clears $6,000.
The question the taxpayers want answered is "how much did the City pay Phelps Dunbar for its representation in this matter". I heard it was more than $100,000!
Why would Stokes vote against the settlement? It's like he wants Jackson to fail. Just absurd.
WHY would they pay Yarber's attorney fees? He needed to defend himself 100% for violation of the Office of Mayor.
WHY SHOULD THE TAX PAYERS PAY FOR THESE HORNY BASTARDS' MISTAKES !!!
Our Federal Government has paid out $17,000,000+ to settle with sexually harassed victims over the last few years and I think we need to know what members of Congress were involved and how much of tax dollars went to each victim.
We need to call Our Senators & Congressmen and demand an accurate accounting of the funds. I'm calling mine now---it's you right and duty.
Seems like a lot for a piece, and Tony says he didn't get it!
If he violated it. All she has provided is "She said" claims.
This is a cheap, on-the-fly settlement of a tenuous harassment claim and not the first time this particular plaintiffs' law firm has taken a financial bath on an overly publicized and sensationalized sexual harassment lawsuit. Everyone involved appears nasty, just plain ole' nasty.
Come on, Kingfish! You are starting to sound like Trump defending Roy Moore. You know damn well he did it.
Guys, I'm no Tony fan, but this nuisance value settlement shows that there was nothing to Bracey's claims, or at least that she couldn't prove them in court.This is a cost of litigation settlement, one to avoid spending a whole bunch more money. Also, I'm not sure whether or not it took care of this particular matter, but municipalities pay into Mississippi Municipal Insurance, a self insurance fund that pays attorneys and settlements/judgments. At the end of the day it is ultimately tax payers, yes, but insurance, not tax payers directly, probably paid for this. Now if they paid her $100,000 to go away, that's a different story. But a $10,000 settlement shows the Plaintiff had a loser case.
At least the women accusing Victor kept all the text messages!
This was a giant nothingburger. The amount of the verdict confirms that she really couldn't prove her claim. Yeah, he may have done every nasty thing she said and more but she couldn't prove it to a court of law. This small settlement seems to acknowledge that something wasn't right about her termination but not on the grounds of sexual harassment.
She claims that Yarber's sperm was on Her necklace, when tested for DNA, it was another man's sperm. Her explanation was that her daughter also borrowed th necklace.
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