MUSKEGON, Mich. — A Muskegon County judge ruled Wednesday that a settlement between the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners and Health Officer Adeline Hambley was agreed upon properly; however, it still cannot be enforced.
In an order dated February 28, 2024, Hon. Jenny L. McNeill wrote the following: "The court finds that the Board members had reached a general agreement on a settlement and directed legal counsel to write up a written agreement with those terms."
But, the judge writes, Chairperson Joe Moss’s motion on November 6, "was too ambiguous to ratify the Board's agreement to the terms that the parties negotiated."
FOX 17 previously learned through several sources close to this deal that the board looked to spend $4 millionto get Hambley and her deputy health administrator to step down.
READ MORE: Ottawa County looks to spend $4M to end health officer's case against the county
At a recent board meeting, Moss told fellow commissioners and those in attendance that the $4 million was, "a false narrative from the media and from other people."
Wednesday’s written order reaffirmed what Hon. McNeill said back on January 19. It reads, "the open portion of the meeting failed to effectively ratify the agreement the parties reached because it was ambiguous."
She added she couldn't enforce the agreement, "without an adequately clear public vote."
Just this week, Hambley’s attorney and Ottawa County Corporation Counsel participated in mediation.
Ultimately, both sides reached an agreement allowing Hambley to keep her job. As part of the agreement, Hambley must drop her lawsuit against the county, and the county must drop its charges against Hambley.
The settlement comes after more than a year of legal back and forth.
Ottawa County's Ottawa Impact-majority Board of Commissioners voted on January 3, 2023, to demote Hambley to interim health officer and replace her with their own pick.
The Kallman Legal Group provided a statement following the order on Thursday.
KALLMAN LEGAL GROUP STATEMENT REGARDING COURT ORDERS DATED FEBRUARY 28, 2024.
We are pleased that Court orders were issued yesterday in the Hambley v. Ottawa County matter. The first order denied the Holland Sentinel's motion to release the transcript and video of Clerk Roebuck's testimony and other information from the closed session on November 6, 2023. The Court properly ruled that to do so would violate both the Open Meetings Act as well as attorney-client privilege
The second order also correctly found that there was no enforceable agreement between the parties for an alleged Four Million Dollar settlement to Ms. Hambley. While we agree that the Court made the correct decision, we strongly disagree with any speculation that there was a general settlement agreement between the parties. The Court's characterization that an agreement may have been reached on November 6th is impossible, because it is uncontroverted that the Board had no statutory or legal authority to make or accept any offers, and could make no agreement to settle, while in closed session. Moreover, there was never a meeting of the minds between the parties to settle the case on November 6th. Any inference as to a possible intent of the Board for a general settlement of the matter is unfounded speculation. As the Court correctly noted, the Board can only act through its public votes.
However, despite any disagreement over such dicta in the order, we are pleased that the correct result was reached, the order was entered, and that this matter is resolved. We trust that all parties can now move forward in good faith and work for the benefit of all the citizens of Ottawa County.
February 29, 2024 by Kallman Legal Group:
Jack Jordan
Lanae Monera
Stephen Kallman
David Kallman
Hambley v. Ottawa County by WXMI on Scribd
