State settles lawsuit against attorney general

By Mike Carter
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Janet Capps will receive more than $220,000 in cash and will be given a $50,000 a year job with the state Office of Archaeology and Historical Preservation. The state will also pay $100,000 to Capps' attorney.

Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democratic candidate for governor this year, said the state moved to settle the lawsuit - which was set to go to trial next week - after learning of new evidence that indicated that Capps did not intentionally let an appeals deadline pass in what, at the time, was the largest tort verdict in state history.

Capps, who denied any wrongdoing, was forced to resign. A lawyer hired by Gregoire to investigate the incident concluded that Capps had acted intentionally.

The state says the new information involves a medical condition and medication that Capps was taking at the time of the incident.

"Had I known then what I know now, I would have done things in a more compassionate and understanding way," Gregoire said at a news conference after shaking Capps' hand in court and wishing her luck.

Gregoire said the settlement was "in the best interest of the taxpayers of Washington." A trial would have cost the state $500,000 for its lawyers and taxpayers faced a possible verdict of $3 million.

Capps, who has been unemployed for most of the four years since losing her job, said Gregoire's response and explanation of the settlement were self-serving and wrong.

As for Gregoire's explanation for the settlement, Capps said: "That's what Ms. Gregoire, as a candidate for governor, has to say to explain what happened."

Suzanne Thomas, Capps' attorney, believes the reason the state settled was because it's case had unraveled.

Since the discovery of the missed appeal in April 2000, the state has maintained that key documents had sat in Capps' office while a crucial deadline passed. They predicated that belief on a sworn statement by a paralegal which she placed the documents in Capps' inbox.

However, recently uncovered documents indicated that statement was misleading. The paralegal told key individuals in Gregoire's administration at the time that she could not recall whether she put the documents in Capps' box or not.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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