Ottawa County tries to back out of $4M settlement. Hambley heads to court.

OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County's embattled administrative health officer is heading back to court, this time to ask a judge to enforce the $4 million settlement agreement she reached with commissioners on Tuesday, Nov. 6, in exchange for her resignation.

Ottawa County voted to accept the agreement after eight hours in closed session, agreeing to pay Adeline Hambley a total of $4 million to step down 10 months after trying to demote her without cause — the largest settlement in the county's history and nearly the exact amount the board cut from the public health department's budget this year.

Commissioners were expected to formalize the agreement Tuesday, Nov. 14, but no such vote occurred. Instead, representatives immediately went into closed session, where they met for more than 6.5 hours before recessing again until Nov. 28.

More: Ottawa County walks back settlement agreement with Hambley

The settlement was meant to be the culmination of a termination hearing that began for Hambley on Oct. 24. It's now had five separate sessions over the past month, with no conclusion in sight.

Hambley's attorney, Sarah Riley-Howard, wrote in a filing Thursday, Nov. 16: "The parties agreed to settle this matter on Nov. 6, 2023. Now, defendants have remorse and want out of the deal."

More: Ottawa County votes to accept settlement in Hambley case

More: Instead of firing her, Ottawa Impact plans to give Hambley millions to resign

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is currently led by an Ottawa Impact majority. OI is a far-right fundamentalist group created by now-Board Chair Joe Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea after they unsuccessfully challenged the previous board and county health officer over COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020 and 2021.

Howard said, after the board agreed to the settlement and its terms — which included the resignation of Deputy Health Officer Marcia Mansaray — in closed session, Moss made a motion in open session to “accept counsel’s recommendation regarding litigation and settlement activities in the case of Hambley v. Ottawa County."

The board's OI majority voted yes, while three non-OI commissioners — Doug Zylstra, Roger Bergman and Jacob Bonnema — voted no. Commissioner Kyle Terpstra left before the vote.

Howard said emails between the attorneys memorialized the agreement after the board voted. She also said, after The Sentinel reported details of the settlement on Nov. 8, "There was significant public outcry opposed to the agreement."

"On Nov. 9, 2023, defense counsel sent an email to plaintiff’s counsel that attached a draft formal settlement document that included the terms of the Nov. 6 agreement," Howard wrote in the Thursday filing. "The text of the email provided the first indication that defendants might attempt to back out of the agreement, stating that 'until the board votes on terms of a final settlement agreement, there is no final resolution.'"

Howard said, when the board reconvened Monday and went into closed session again, "defense counsel notified plaintiff’s counsel that defendants did not intend to honor the Nov. 6 agreement," saying the board failed to consult with its insurance provider.

"Defendants’ counsel claimed that they did not notify the primary or excess insurer before negotiating or agreeing to the deal, and they had since learned of potential negative consequences as a result, and so defendants wished to start again with negotiations for different terms to resolve the litigation and termination hearing," Howard wrote.

"Again, plaintiff’s counsel asserted the Nov. 6 agreement was binding. Neither public outcry, defendants’ general remorse about the agreement, nor unforeseen potential negative financial consequences are enough to make the Nov. 6 agreement non-binding or unenforceable."

The parties will appear before Muskegon County's 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny McNeill at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27, for a hearing on the matter.

Hambley sued the board in February, claiming the attempt to demote her was unlawful and alleging the OI majority has repeatedly interfered with her state-authorized health duties.

In April, McNeill granted Hambley a preliminary injunction that allowed her to remain in her role until a trial could take place later this year, however, the Michigan Court of Appeals partially vacated the injunction, saying the board has the legal right to fire Hambley if state law is followed.

Moss filed notice Sept. 27 that a removal hearing was planned over allegations of “incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty.” Moss’ allegations revolved largely around health department budget negotiations.

And yet, even after several OI commissioners indicated a series of witnesses presented during the termination hearing hadn't changed their mind about Hambley, settlement negotiations began before a vote could be taken to fire her.

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Howard said the negotiations have been “quasi-typical” in terms of process, but added, “It’s just not typical you would do it in the middle of a public hearing context like this where everybody is waiting and nobody can see what’s happening.”

Hambley remains in her position as health officer for now.

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarahleach@hollandsentinel.com. Find her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County tries to back out of $4M settlement. Hambley heads to court.