Patterson Harkavy obtains settlement valued at more than $600,000 in First Amendment retaliation suit

Yesterday, Patterson Harkavy dismissed the lawsuit it filed on behalf of Jeffrey Randleman after Mr. Randleman received a settlement of cash and benefits valued at more than $600,000.

Mr. Randleman had worked as a Deputy Sheriff for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office for more than twenty years until Sheriff Johnson fired him in 2014, shortly after he testified against Johnson in the Department of Justice’s lawsuit claiming that the sheriff engaged in racial discrimination.

Mr. Randleman sued Sheriff Johnson, alleging that Johnson fired him for testifying truthfully, violating his rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The settlement provides Mr. Randleman $327,000 in cash, guaranteed health insurance for life, health insurance for his son, and the monthly supplemental retirement payments provided to law enforcement retirees.

Patterson Harkavy attorneys Narendra Ghosh and Paul Smith represented Mr. Randleman in his lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Sheriff Johnson twice attempted to have the suit thrown out of court. Judge Thomas D. Schroeder rejected Sheriff Johnson’s arguments, denying his motion to dismiss in February 2016 and denying his motion for summary judgment in July 2017.

Mr. Randleman's settlement has received coverage in the Greensboro News & Record.