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Joseph Sledge photo credit to www.newsobserver.com — Joseph Sledge
photo credit to www.newsobserver.com

The city officials of Hickory, North Carolina approved paying out $3.25 million back in August, 2016, in a lawsuit settlement for a wrongful conviction. Bladen County is facing a similar lawsuit along with 12 other lawsuits, two appeals and one Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case, according to county attorney Leslie Johnson.

For the past 38 years, Johnson and his law firm, Johnson Law Firm, has represented Bladen County, but reportedly never facing so many lawsuits and cases before. This year the 16 cases the Mother County is facing, makes 2016 the worst year the county has seen, according to Johnson.

Johnson said he has never lost an EEOC case before and feels confident about all the cases he and his firm are working on for the county. The biggest case, he revealed, is the Joseph Sledge vs. Bladen County.

In the case of concern, Joseph Sledge served almost 40 years behind bars before he was found innocent of a double murder with a DNA test. This case is similar to the case Hickory, NC settled in August with the city paying over $3 million to the plaintiff imprisoned for around 24 years even though he was innocent.

Another issue with the Sledge case is none of the insurance companies the county has paid to be insured for lawsuits over the past 38 years are willing to provide the coverage needed for the monumental case, according to the county’s law firm.

Bladen County is paying more than the usual for attorney fees due to all the disputes and claims against the county, but has not exceeded the budgeted expenses. Johnson said he is working hard and fighting the insurance companies in the Sledge case to save the county money. He has contacted each of the insurance companies the county has paid in the past 38 years and will be taking legal action against them if necessary.

Bottom line, times have changed. More people are making their complaints a legal process, which in turn, is costing our communities more money.