City faced substantial legal exposure if Copeland lawsuit was successful
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette/ WBRT Radio
COUNCILWOMAN KECIA COPELAND
Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017 — An Aug. 18, 2017, letter from the attorney representing Councilwoman Kecia Copeland stated that his client had considered stepping down from her council seat to pursue legal action against the City of Bardstown “and putting on full display how a crew of City officials openly wronged her, and others recklessly participated or failed to take any action to stop it.”
The letter from Bardstown attorney Keith Sparks lists several of the claims Sparks planned to pursue on Copeland’s behalf if it became necessary to file a lawsuit on her behalf.
But instead of resigning her seat and filing a lawsuit, Sparks’ letter notes that Copeland opted to give the city “a chance to do the right thing and acknowledge that she was wrongly victimized.”
After deliberating in a closed meeting Tuesday night, the council approved an agreement to pay Copeland $40,000 in exchange for a release of the City’s liability in any of the well-documented past actions against her by elected officials or employees of the City.
The claims attorney Keith Sparks listed in the letter are almost all related to the actions that took place during former Mayor John Royalty’s time as mayor. The partial list of potential claims listed in the letter included:
- Download attorney Keith Sparks’ Aug. 18 letter to Mayor Dick Heaton.
- Download Copeland’s $40,000 settlement agreement
DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER / CAST IN A FALSE LIGHT. The letter cites “substantial evidence” that the former mayor and others improperly gathered information about Copeland and disseminated the information to the public and the media — a reference to the packets of documents that appeared at the Nov. 1, 2016 Bardstown City Council work session targeting Copeland one week before the council election.
“The conduct by City officials was purposeful and malicious,” the letter states, adding that “the dossier was almost certainly created by the Mayor, and/or others within his administration or others with whom he conspired.”
The letter notes that former City Clerk Barbie Bryant testified under oath that she was aware of the contents of the packets. It also claims that Bryant exceeded her authority by viewing or obtaining Copeland’s private utility records. As a result, Bryant resigned her position, the letter states, after Copeland asked her removal because of her involvement in the actions during Royalty’s administration as mayor.
The packets included fire department reports about past house fires at Copeland’s residences. The letter states that sources within Royalty’s administration provided the reports to the media and alleged they showed Copeland committed arson.
INVASION OF PRIVACY. This claim is related to the actions by city employees to gain access to Copeland’s private emails in order to embarass and harm her. Her emails — including some from before she was a member of the council — were “wrongly accessed, viewed, copied and disseminated,” the letter states.
“The City must now atone for that conduct.”
CONSPIRACY. The letter cites the actions taken by multiple individuals against Copeland during Royalty’s time in office and at his direction would rise to the level of a civil conspiracy to wrongly cause damage to Copeland.
INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. During Royalty’s administration, Copeland “was bullied, harassed, humiliated, defamed and distressed by a conspiracy of multiple actors, all of whom were in authority positions within the City.”
The letter states that Copeland sought protection from almost everyone in a position of authority in City Hall. Because of the distress she endured, she eventually sought medical attention.
If a lawsuit became necessary, Sparks’ letter states he planned to investigate possible claims against the City of Bardstown under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act due to the racial undertones identified in Royalty’s deposition and the City’s investigation.
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