Water authority settles with engineer

Officials and employees of the authority are prevented from commenting on the settlement by a confidentiality agreement. The Commerce News received a copy of the settlement from the authority following a request under the Open Records Act.
According to the settlement, “the termination of Armentrout’s employment by the Authority was requested by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in office at the time of such termination, which board was seeking that all professional contracts be re-bid.”
Armentrout filed suit in the U.S. District Court in 2005 alleging copyright infringement because the successor engineering firm, Prime Engineering, used plans Armentrout had developed to finish water projects. There were also claims and counterclaims attached to the suit alleging work not paid for or work not done properly.
Judge William O’Kelley granted an authority motion for summary judgment regarding the copyright aspect of the case, effectively throwing out the copyright issue, but Armentrout appealed that ruling successfully. The settlement comes after months of negotiations.