news-record.com

WENTWORTH — Gary Lawrence Walker is a good man who placed his trust in the wrong people, his attorney Robert Elliot told a jury Thursday during closing arguments in Walker’s civil suit against the town of Stoneville.
 

Walker, who retired as a police officer for the city of Eden and was later appointed Stoneville’s police chief, trusted town officials to see that his employment with the town did not violate the state’s retirement rules, Elliot said.
 

But Walker’s job did break those rules, and he lost thousands in retirement benefits.
 

A jury decided late Thursday afternoon that the town of Stoneville acted negligently and that Walker suffered financial damage as a result. The jury awarded him $170,000.
 

“He was elated and totally relieved,” Elliot said of Walker’s reaction to the verdict.
 

Elliot said Walker, who is 70, was facing the next 10 years with only his Social Security as income.
 

Town officials say they are baffled as to how the jury came to its verdict.
 

“We were upset with the verdict,” said Stoneville Town Administrator Kevin Baughn. “It was not enough evidence to support it.”
 

The town’s attorney, Elizabeth Martineau, has asked Judge James Webb to enter a directed verdict on the negligent misrepresentation claim, which would essentially mean Walker failed to prove his case. Martineau asked for and received such a verdict on the age discrimination claim that had been a part of Walker’s suit.
 

The judge will consider a verdict on the negligence claim on June 15. If that avenue fails, there will be an appeal, Martineau said.
 

“It’s not over yet for us,” Baughn said.
 

The jury’s verdict is yet another chapter in the saga between Walker and the town of Stoneville. He was demoted, suspended and finally fired from the police department in February 2008.
 

Walker retired as an Eden police officer in April 1994, and then went to work as a part-time patrol officer for the Stoneville police, according to court documents and testimony. He was appointed chief about a year later.
 

But Walker’s full-time status placed him over the maximum hours he could work and still receive retirement benefits, according to testimony.
 

In December 2006, the state notified Walker that his employment with Stoneville made him ineligible for the retirement benefits he had been collecting and ordered him to repay more than $174,000 he received between September 1995 and November 2006.
 

The state also said he should have been enrolled in the retirement system during that time period. The state suspended Walker’s retirement benefits, declaring he was a regular employee with the town of Stoneville.
 

Walker claimed in his suit that the town’s finance officer at the time and other town officials repeatedly told him that his employment there did not violate the state’s rules.
 

Elliot argued in his closing argument that the case was one of responsibility. The town’s finance officer was responsible for enrolling employees in the state retirement system, and thus should have kept track of any regulations governing that system, he said.
 

Their negligence set in motion a chain of events that cost Walker his retirement, he said. “The natural sequence of events led to his debt, to Mr. Walker owing $170,000,” Elliot told the jury.
 

Martineau argued that it was ultimately Walker’s responsibility to ensure he was in compliance with state retirement rules. She said no one with the town prevented Walker from contacting the state to find out what the rules are.
 

Instead, Martineau said, Walker pocketed a lot of extra money and claimed numerous comp time hours that he initially planned to get reimbursed for once he left the police department.
 

There were also allegations from the town that Walker received benefits such as sick time that placed his retirement at risk, but Elliot denied that he received any such benefits.
 

Baughn said finance employees are trained on state retirement rules, but Walker presented a unique situation because he retired and returned to work as a part-time employee and later became full-time.
 

Most of the town’s staff are full-time, and therefore are automatically enrolled in the retirement system once they start work, he said.
 

If the jury’s verdict withstands the June hearing and an appeal, the money awarded to Walker will be used to repay the state and his retirement benefits will be reinstated, Elliot said.
 

“I think the law is with us, and the facts are certainly with us,” he said.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com