City of Ronan’s insurance coverage part of lawsuit concerns
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RONAN — The extent of insurance coverage for the City of Ronan and Ronan Police Department has come into question because of a class action lawsuit recently filed against the two entities and city leadership.
Last week Mayor Kim Aipperspach said he couldn’t comment on whether or not the city or police department’s coverage has lapsed in the past year because that information may be relevant to the city’s legal strategy. Aipperspach said the Valley Journal could file an open records request to obtain the information, but it is unlikely the city will release the documents. The Valley Journal filed the request June 26.
The Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority is the insurance provider for many small Montana governments, including the City of Ronan. Minutes for the authority’s August 23, 2013 board meeting detailed warnings conveyed to the city that the Ronan Police Department was at risk of losing coverage. At issue was the employment of former Police Chief Dan Wadsworth, who was stripped of his law enforcement certification on July 16, 2013 by the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council for allegedly falsifying the law enforcement academy application of his son Trevor.
“Staff reported on recent communications with the City of Ronan concerning coverage for their Police Department,” the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority’s minutes read. “The Police Chief has been presenting problems for many years now. The POST Council finally issued a final order whereby they have revoked various certifications and suspended the basic certification of the Police Chief. (The authority’s CEO) recently sent a letter to Ronan’s Mayor to inform the City that the Mayor and the Police Chief may be excluded from coverage under the MMIA Memorandum of Liability if the city should elect to disregard the POST order.”
Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority CEO Alan Hulse said legal review prevented him from saying more about the issue.
“I am really not at liberty to comment on coverage for Ronan beyond what you have read in our minutes, as we have had a complaint tendered for coverage and our general counsel is currently in the process of reviewing coverage for that complaint,” Huse said in an email. “We should be providing the City with a response in the very near future.”
The Valley Journal asked for copies of the complaint and response, but had not received them as of press time.
Liability is in question in a class action lawsuit filed June 3 against Dan Wadsworth, Aipperspach, Trevor Wadsworth, the City of Ronan, the Ronan Police Department and a number of John Does.
The lawsuit is filed by Anthony Chaney, who claims he was arrested July 14, 2013 by Trevor Wadsworth, Dan Wadsworth, and other officers. Trevor Wadsworth allegedly cuffed Chaney. Montana POST Council had sent the City of Ronan a letter eight months prior to the incident stating that Trevor Wadsworth should not perform police duties until he was properly certified through the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. Trevor Wadsworth never received his certification.
The suit alleges the City of Ronan was negligent in hiring and training officers, and says as many as 100 people may have been negatively impacted. It seeks punitive damages to punish the town leadership. The state caps the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded at $10 million, although that cap is being challenged in court. A Lake County jury handed out a $248 million punitive damages settlement against a Korean automobile manufacturer that far exceeded the limit in April.
