County officially settles lawsuit brought by former warden

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·3 min read

Jul. 29—The county has settled a lawsuit with its former jail warden who claimed he was forced out of his job in 2019.

Crawford County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to settle the suit filed by Kenneth Saulsbery last year.

The settlement is for a total of $20,000, which includes Saulsbery's legal fees, and will be paid out by the county's liability insurance. The Tribune filed a Right-to-Know request with the county to obtain a copy of the settlement.

Saulsbery sued the county last year over his October 2019 resignation as warden at the Crawford County Correctional Facility. In the suit, he claimed the resignation was coerced.

Saulsbery declined comment on the settlement when contacted by the Tribune on Wednesday.

Prior to the commissioners' vote on the settlement, Keith Button, the county's attorney, read a brief statement on behalf of the commissioners, saying it would be the board's only statement on the case.

"While the commissioners have been successful in defending Mr. Saulsbery's claims in both federal and state court, appeals are still pending and the litigation has reached a point where it is more economical to the county to settle the matter than to continue to pay defense costs," Button said.

"The board of commissioners firmly believes that it handled the Saulsbery matter appropriately at the time, and the courts thus far have upheld that view," Button said. "But the time has come where financial practicalities warrant bringing the matter to a close, instead of continuing to dispute Mr. Saulsbery's claims based on principle."

The county had spent $10,000 on a general liability insurance deductible for defense of the lawsuit, according to the county's finance office.

Under terms of the settlement agreement, Saulsbery will receive $13,333.34 while his attorneys The Newborg Law Office and Mick & Wallisch LLC, both of Pittsburgh, each receive $3,333.33. The payments will be made by the county's liability insurer, Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool, according to the agreement.

In return, Saulsbery releases all claims against the county and Commissioners Francis Weiderspahn Jr. and Christopher Soff, and that he won't seek or accept employment from the county.

In February 2020, Saulsbery filed a federal civil rights suit against only Crawford County in U.S. District Court in Erie in February 2020, but it was dismissed in April 2020 at his request.

In May 2020, Saulsbery then sued the county and Weiderspahn and Soff in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.

Saulsbery's suit claimed in early October 2019 that he was told by Weiderspahn and Soff that he could either "resign or be fired" because of anonymous complaints about him berating jail employees. Saulsbery denied the allegations, the suit stated.

The suit claimed Saulsbery was wrongfully discharged as the two county commissioners themselves didn't have the authority to terminate him, but required approval of a majority of the Crawford County Prison Board. The county's three commissioners were part of the six-member board in October 2019. The three other seats were held by the district attorney, county treasurer and county sheriff.

In a ruling in October 2020, Senior Judge Christopher St. John dismissed Saulsbery's claims against the two commissioners, citing their public official immunity, but did also allow him to file an amended complaint.

Saulsbery filed an appeal with Commonwealth Court in March of this year. It was followed in May with court filings of a notice to settle and discontinue the case.