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Collin County reaches $1.75 million settlement agreement in lawsuit against DA Greg Willis

The North Texas Regional Veterans Court is the first regional veteran's court program in the U.S.
Azul Sordo
/
KERA
The North Texas Regional Veterans Court is the first regional veteran's court program in the U.S.

Plaintiffs who originally accused Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis of sexual harassment and employment discrimination have settled their case.

An attorney for Willis said the plaintiffs dismissed their claims against the DA.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that had no mention of sexual harassment a few days before a “mutual release of parties” appeared on the commissioners’ court agenda.

The plaintiffs will split the $1.75 million settlement equally, according to an emailed statement from their attorneys. In exchange, the plaintiffs dismissed their claims and resigned from any positions they had with the county.

Susan Hutchinson, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the settlement will be paid for out of the county’s insurance, not public funds.

“This settlement essentially maxed out the county’s available insurance money,” she said.

Rogge Dunn is Willis’ attorney. He said Willis had the support of “numerous female employees” in his office.

“Given the compelling evidence in his favor, I was always confident DA Willis would be exonerated and expected the sexual harassment claims would be withdrawn or dismissed.”

The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 31 in the Northern District of Texas court. The 75-page original petition alleged that Willis treated "many female employees as objects that, without their consent, must gratify his sexual impulses and personal vanity." The word “moan” appeared in the suit 19 times.

The original petition also accused Willis’ first assistant, Bill Wirskye, of running the office “as a crass, misogynistic fraternity complete with systemic hazing of the County’s attorneys, investigators and staff."

Wirskye has not responded to requests for comment.

Willis has publicly denied the allegations, calling them an “unfair attack.” He shared a recording in November of an exit interview with one of the plaintiffs, Fallon LaFleur.

LaFleur said in the original complaint that Willis had moaned and gratified himself during an unwanted hug. Willis the audio recording during a press conference, where LaFleur can be heard asking him for a hug.

“You just heard the recording. Did you hear me moan? Did you hear me make a noise of any kind?” he said.

In a statement emailed to KERA, Willis said the settlement was “inevitable” after that press conference. He also said in an email to KERA that the lawsuit was settled because of the insurance company.

“This case only settled because an insurance company decided it was cheaper to settle now than pay lawyers to defend the case,” Willis said.

Jeffrey Simon, another attorney representing the plaintiffs, has said LaFleur was recorded without her knowledge or permission.

“The fact that Mr. Willis appears to have tried to secretly set her up in the event she later exposed his behavior is again entirely consistent with the conduct alleged against him,” Simon said in November.

The suit also named Collin County Judge Chris Hill and the Collin County commissioners as defendants, claiming the commissioners court knew about the misconduct in the DA's office for years but refused to take action or investigate. Hill did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Simon said that the plaintiffs were courageous for filing the lawsuit.

“These individuals care very deeply for each other’s well-being,” he said. “That support gave them the courage to stand up for themselves, their rights, and those of their colleagues.”

The settlement documents aren’t publicly available yet.

Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.

Caroline Love is a Report For Americacorps member for KERA News.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.

Caroline Love covers Collin County for KERA and is a member of the Report for America corps. Previously, Caroline covered daily news at Houston Public Media. She has a master's degree from Northwestern University with an emphasis on investigative social justice journalism. During grad school, she reported three feature stories for KERA. She also has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas Christian University and interned with KERA's Think in 2019.