The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
An unconventional 483-page lawsuit filed in Anderson County Circuit Court seeks an audit of the 2020 election, asks for the results to be re-counted and possibly decertified, accuses federal legislators of treason, and demands a restraining order against electronic voting machines.
Two of the three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit are Oak Ridge residents. One of those plaintiffs has also unsuccessfully filed federal lawsuits in Washington, D.C., against the president and vice president, chief justice, a former acting attorney general, and many members of Congress, according to court records.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A lawsuit was filed this year against a federal contractor in Oak Ridge that terminated an employee after she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
In her lawsuit, the former employee argued that it is illegal under state law to compel her to provide proof of vaccination if she objects to the vaccine.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
 A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable. Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County. Now that’s on hold. The former employee, Gail Harness, has appealed her $7.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Anderson County to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable.
Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County.
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
 A jury found she had been sexually harassed while working for Anderson County, but the county was not liable. Then, since she did not prevail in the civil trial, she was ordered to pay about $1,800 in costs to Anderson County. Now that’s on hold. The former employee, Gail Harness, has appealed her $7.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Anderson County to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:Basic
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CHATTANOOGA—Four women who testified during a civil sexual harassment trial in federal court last week said their former boss, a former Anderson County elected official, caressed them around the waist, rubbed them, sent graphic messages about oral sex, and asked them to have sex with him and his wife, among other allegations of inappropriate behavior. The experiences have left them traumatized, the women said, unable to eat or sleep, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and in one case, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.Â
Two of the women have filed lawsuits in federal court over the alleged harassment by former Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who served one term from 2014 to 2018. A trial was held for one of the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga last week. That lawsuit was filed in March 2018 by former employee Gail Harness, who started working for Jones as a college intern in 2016. The lawsuit had alleged that Harness had endured a hostile work environment in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Human Rights Act.Â
On Thursday, a seven-person federal jury found that Harness had been sexually harassed while working for Jones, but the jury found that the county was not liable. No damages were awarded.
Jones was originally a defendant in the lawsuit, but he was dismissed in June 2019, leaving Anderson County as the sole defendant. Jones was not the employer, so Harness could not sue him, Senior U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier said in court Wednesday.Â
Jones had denied the allegations of sexual harassment, and he filed counterclaims in response to both lawsuits, the one filed by Harness and a second filed by Amy Ogle. In response to the Harness lawsuit, Jones had alleged that he had been defamed and his privacy invaded. But that was before before a jury found that Harness had been sexually harassed. Responding to the Ogle lawsuit, Jones has asked for at least $15,000 for legal services and fees.
The trial of the Harness lawsuit left unanswered, at least for now, a question about what can be done when an elected official violates constitutional rights. The county’s human resources director said a change in law might be required.Â
The four-day trial included disagreements between the testimony of former Anderson County Human Resources Director Russell Bearden and Mayor Terry Frank. The two disagreed about when the mayor knew about allegations of sexual harassment by Jones. They disagreed about whether the mayor retaliated and whether she protected Jones over the women he allegedly harassed. And they disagreed about whether she told the former human resources director to not take a complaint to the county law director because that would “cause a political storm.”Â
The trial, which was Monday to Thursday, had nine witnesses. They included Harness, the former employee who filed the $7.5 million lawsuit against Anderson County in 2018; her psychologist, who testified that Harness had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder; three other alleged victims of Jones; the current human resources director, Kimberly Jeffers-Whitaker; a deposition of the county law director, Jay Yeager; Frank; and Bearden.Â
Attorneys for Harness said the litigation will continue, and they said during the trial that it could be appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Harness’ attorneys disagreed with the jury instructions. Among the questions raised by the judge during the trial was whether Jones made policy for Anderson County and whether he is a county official or state official. The defense, Anderson County, argued that the office of circuit court clerk is created by the state constitution, while Harness’ attorneys said the county had delegated authority to Jones and he supervised county employees.
The allegations against Jones became public in February 2018. The Anderson County Commission censured Jones that same month. Jones ran for re-election despite the allegations, although he lost the May 2018 Republican Party primary to the current clerk, Rex Lynch. However, Jones remains involved in local politics; he is currently vice treasurer of the Anderson County Republican Party. Jones declined to comment about the lawsuit or trial on Thursday.Â
The presentation of the evidence during the civil trial last week lasted three days, Monday to Wednesday. The jury deliberated Thursday. Here we have included a chronological summary of the evidence presented to the jury. It includes information about the allegations of sexual harassment, the county’s response, and Jones’ response. We have also summarized discussions between the attorneys and Collier, the judge, and included more information about the jury verdict.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:
Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831
We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.
We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.
Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CHATTANOOGA—Four women who testified during a civil sexual harassment trial in federal court last week said their former boss, a former Anderson County elected official, caressed them around the waist, rubbed them, sent graphic messages about oral sex, and asked them to have sex with him and his wife, among other allegations of inappropriate behavior. The experiences have left them traumatized, the women said, unable to eat or sleep, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and in one case, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Two of the women have filed lawsuits in federal court over the alleged harassment by former Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who served one term from 2014 to 2018. A trial was held for one of the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga last week. That lawsuit was filed in March 2018 by former employee Gail Harness, who started working for Jones as a college intern in 2016. The lawsuit alleged that Harness had endured a hostile work environment in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Human Rights Act.
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CHATTANOOGA—Four women who testified during a civil sexual harassment trial in federal court last week said their former boss, a former Anderson County elected official, caressed them around the waist, rubbed them, sent graphic messages about oral sex, and asked them to have sex with him and his wife, among other allegations of inappropriate behavior. The experiences have left them traumatized, the women said, unable to eat or sleep, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and in one case, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.Â
Two of the women have filed lawsuits in federal court over the alleged harassment by former Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, who served one term from 2014 to 2018. A trial was held for one of the lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga last week. That lawsuit was filed in March 2018 by former employee Gail Harness, who started working for Jones as a college intern in 2016. The lawsuit had alleged that Harness had endured a hostile work environment in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Human Rights Act.Â
On Thursday, a seven-person federal jury found that Harness had been sexually harassed while working for Jones, but the jury found that the county was not liable. No damages were awarded.
Jones was originally a defendant in the lawsuit, but he was dismissed in June 2019, leaving Anderson County as the sole defendant. Jones was not the employer, so Harness could not sue him, Senior U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier said in court Wednesday.Â
Jones had denied the allegations of sexual harassment, and he filed counterclaims in response to both lawsuits, the one filed by Harness and a second filed by Amy Ogle. In response to the Harness lawsuit, Jones had alleged that he had been defamed and his privacy invaded. But that was before before a jury found that Harness had been sexually harassed. Responding to the Ogle lawsuit, Jones has asked for at least $15,000 for legal services and fees.
The trial of the Harness lawsuit left unanswered, at least for now, a question about what can be done when an elected official violates constitutional rights. The county’s human resources director said a change in law might be required.Â
The four-day trial included disagreements between the testimony of former Anderson County Human Resources Director Russell Bearden and Mayor Terry Frank. The two disagreed about when the mayor knew about allegations of sexual harassment by Jones. They disagreed about whether the mayor retaliated and whether she protected Jones over the women he allegedly harassed. And they disagreed about whether she told the former human resources director to not take a complaint to the county law director because that would “cause a political storm.”Â
The trial, which was Monday to Thursday, had nine witnesses. They included Harness, the former employee who filed the $7.5 million lawsuit against Anderson County in 2018; her psychologist, who testified that Harness had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder; three other alleged victims of Jones; the current human resources director, Kimberly Jeffers-Whitaker; a deposition of the county law director, Jay Yeager; Frank; and Bearden.Â
Attorneys for Harness said the litigation will continue, and they said during the trial that it could be appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Harness’ attorneys disagreed with the jury instructions. Among the questions raised by the judge during the trial was whether Jones made policy for Anderson County and whether he is a county official or state official. The defense, Anderson County, argued that the office of circuit court clerk is created by the state constitution, while Harness’ attorneys said the county had delegated authority to Jones and he supervised county employees.
The allegations against Jones became public in February 2018. The Anderson County Commission censured Jones that same month. Jones ran for re-election despite the allegations, although he lost the May 2018 Republican Party primary to the current clerk, Rex Lynch. However, Jones remains involved in local politics; he is currently vice treasurer of the Anderson County Republican Party. Jones declined to comment about the lawsuit or trial on Thursday.Â
The presentation of the evidence during the civil trial last week lasted three days, Monday to Wednesday. The jury deliberated Thursday. Here we have included a chronological summary of the evidence presented to the jury. It includes information about the allegations of sexual harassment, the county’s response, and Jones’ response. We have also summarized discussions between the attorneys and Collier, the judge, and included more information about the jury verdict.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
The Joel W. Solomon Federal Building United States Courthouse is pictured above on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 p.m.
CHATTANOOGA—A seven-person federal jury on Thursday found that a former Anderson County employee had been sexually harassed by former Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William Jones, but the county was not liable. The former employee, Gail Harness, had filed a lawsuit in federal court because of the sexual harassment, and she had sought $7.5 million in damages.
The lawsuit was tried in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga from Monday to Thursday.
Attorneys for Harness had alleged that Anderson County had inadequate training or supervision and had tolerated violations of federal law. Harness had endured a hostile work environment caused by the pervasive, unwelcome sexual advances from Jones, and her rights had been violated under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the attorneys said. Harness had sought damages for pain and suffering, embarrassment and humiliation, permanent injury, and loss of enjoyment of life and reputation.
But attorneys for the defendant, Anderson County, said the county had no control over Jones, an elected official, and the county had investigated after Harness filed her complaint in 2017.
Four women testified in federal court in Chattanooga this week. They said Jones had caressed them around the waist, rubbed them, whispered inappropriate things about how other employees looked, sent graphic sexual messages about oral sex, asked them for “alone time” and to accompany him on a trip, and responded to a question about a job with a message that included a suggestion to send a picture of breasts, among other allegations. Jones referred to himself as “Daddy,â€Â the women said, and he asked Harness to have sex with him and his wife, according to her testimony. Jones boasted about being unaccountable to anyone except the voters of Anderson County, according to the witnesses. Employees said they worried about being moved to the Oak Ridge court—the “clerk’s graveyard”—or fired if they didn’t please Jones or comply.
“He is an elected official, and he told us all the time, no one can touch me,†said employee Tracy Spitzer, a witness for Harness.
“They were all scared to do anything about it,” said Richard Collins, one of three attorneys for Harness.
Jones said he could do whatever he wanted, including masturbate in his office, according to the testimony.
An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.
Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.
The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.
Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.
The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.
Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.
The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:
Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831
We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.
We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.
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An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.
Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more each—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.
An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.
Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.
The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.
Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.
The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.
Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.
The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
Structural steel installation is under way on the eastern half of the Main Process Building of the Uranium Processing Facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)
Note This story was last updated at 9:38 a.m. Sept. 25.
A federal judge in Knoxville on Tuesday said a critical decision made in 2016 for enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility, violated a national environmental law, and she ordered the decision vacated, or set aside.
The UPF is already under construction, and Wedenesday morning, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees work at Y-12, said construction will continue.
The 104-page opinion and order was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.
One of the plaintiffs said the decision to vacate the amended record of decision published in the Federal Register in 2016 means the NNSA no longer has the legal authority to continue construction work at UPF.
But the NNSA said it was pleased that the court’s memorandum opinion rejected almost all of the plaintiff’s claims regarding National Environmental Policy Act violations related to UPF construction.
“However, with the court agreeing that there was inadequate consideration of new information concerning seismic hazards at Y-12, NNSA will review the seismic analysis while conferring with the Department of Justice on the possibility of appeal,” the NNSA said. “In the meantime, construction of UPF will proceed.”
Besides the amended record of decision, Reeves said supplement analyses prepared in 2016 and 2018 also violated the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and she said they were to be set aside as well.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Anderson County in December seeks up to $5 million in damages from the driver of a pickup truck who struck a man riding a commercial lawn mower on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge in September.
The driver of the lawn mower, Danny Palmer, 75, of Oak Ridge, died after the crash.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Palmer in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on December 5 by his wife, Barbara Palmer, who is represented by attorney Bruce D. Fox of Clinton.
The crash between the commercial mower being operated by Palmer and the GMC pickup truck was reported near Summit Place on South Illinois Avenue at about 2 p.m. Thursday, September 13. Preliminary findings indicated that the pickup truck hit the mower, which was in the roadway at the time of the crash, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department. Palmer died of his injuries, the ORPD said. [Read more…]
The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed three years ago after Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC began managing and operating the Y-12 National Security Complex and made changes to health care benefits.
The changes in benefits led to protests, mostly by retirees, near Y-12 and the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office just before they took effect January 1, 2015.
Y-12 retirees Betty Hatmaker and Charlene Edwards, who had been among the protesters, filed the lawsuit that summer. The 31-page civil complaint was filed August 12, 2015, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Hatmaker and Edwards sought to make their lawsuit a class action complaint, meaning they could have represented other plaintiffs, possibly including several thousand former Y-12 workers who retired between 1975 and 2015.
A trial had been scheduled for June 25, but the case was dismissed by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan on May 30.
The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.Â
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A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex, one of the buildings mentioned in a federal lawsuit filed in July over the proposed Uranium Processing Facility.
Note: This story was updated at 8:30 a.m.
The plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in July alleged that there is a risk of a catastrophic collapse of old buildings containing nuclear weapon components at the Y-12 National Security Complex, possibly due to a large earthquake. A catastrophic collapse “would likely†result in the release of nuclear or toxic materials and place the environment and local residents in “extreme peril,†the plaintiffs said.
But federal officials denied that allegation and others in a response filed in late September.
The 44-page civil complaint, which is related to the planned Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12, was filed July 20 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The seven plaintiffs include three public interest organizations—Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, and Natural Resources Defense Council of Washington, D.C.—and four people who live in Oak Ridge and Knoxville.
The federal lawsuit asked for an environmental review of the new design for the UPF, where design plans have changed from one building to three. The lawsuit alleged that the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration have violated a federal environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, as they implement the major design change.
Specifically, the plaintiffs have requested a new supplemental environmental impact statement or a new site-wide environmental impact statement for the revised UPF design. They cited the decision to build several new buildings and the plan to continue using existing buildings that the plaintiffs say have significant structural defects. They want the U.S. District Court to vacate, or void, a supplement analysis and an amended record of decision prepared by the NNSA in 2016. [Read more…]
The crash between a car and trailer with a skid steer loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday evening, Sept. 2, 2016, happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said. It took firefighters and rescuers about 55 minutes to free the female driver pinned inside the car, and they used a tow truck to help lift the trailer and loader to take weight off the woman. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A negligence lawsuit of up to $10.5 million was filed last month after a September 2 crash between a car and a trailer carrying a skid steer loader injured an Oak Ridge woman and pinned her inside her car for almost an hour before rescuers were able to free her and fly her to a trauma center in Knoxville.
Arminda “Mindy” Carter, a nurse who lives in Oak Ridge, was driving west on Emory Valley Road in her 2010 Toyota Camry at about 5:29 p.m. September 2, headed to her job at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, according to the legal complaint, which was filed in Anderson County Circuit Court in Clinton on June 2.
Headed the other way, toward the Oak Ridge Marina, was an eastbound 1994 GMC dump truck driven by Gerald D. Cureton, 71, of Knoxville. He was pulling a trailer with a CASE skid steer loader that weighed about 6,000 pounds, the complaint said.
As the two vehicles approached the intersection of Emory Valley Road and Carnegie Drive in east Oak Ridge, the trailer with the loader on it came off the hitch of the dump truck driven by Cureton, the complaint said.
“Once detached from the dump truck, the trailer and skid steer then crossed into the westbound lane of travel, where it violently collided with the plaintiff’s vehicle (the Camry driven by Carter),” the June 2 lawsuit said. “The trailer and skid steer came to rest on top of the plaintiff’s vehicle, leaving her trapped under its weight for nearly an hour as rescue workers scrambled to free her.”
The trailer carrying the skid steer loader did not have operational brakes or adequate safety chains, a violation of state law, according to the lawsuit. [Read more…]
A former football coach and teaching assistant has filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against Oak Ridge school officials alleging that his firing in February was based upon a single “false complaint†from a student who alleged inappropriate contact—and he never had a chance to respond to the charges.
Coach Donald Colquitt suggested his reputation has been sullied by the unspecified complaint of “inappropriate contact with an Oak Ridge High School student,†and his local football career has been ruined. He filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court on August 4.
“The ‘unanswered’ cloud of secrecy over the vague complaint allegedly filed against the plaintiff by an Oak Ridge High School student has caused him to effectively lose his career as a football coach in the Oak Ridge community, where he has engaged in that activity for some 19 years, and has further affected his reputation and character as a civic leader and football coach in the Oak Ridge school system,†the lawsuit said. “He will be unable to engage in such activity in the future and has sustained damages for loss of his career and future as a football coach, with damages resulting from the adverse imputation to his name, as well as his reputation in the community.”
The defendants are Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and the Oak Ridge Board of Education.
Colquitt said he has never acted inappropriately or made any inappropriate contact with an ORHS student while employed by Oak Ridge Schools, but both the superintendent and school board have denied his right to be heard, including through a grievance hearing before the board. [Read more…]
