By Michael Howell
Following a stipulated agreement between suspended Treasurer Valerie Stamey, aka Valerie Scott, aka Valerie Addis, and James Woy and the accounting firm Anderson-Zurmuehlen in which both parties agreed, Judge James Haynes dismissed the case with prejudice on June 26.
Stamey filed suit against Woy and the accounting firm he works for over a remark made by Woy in one of his initial reports concerning the status of the Treasurer’s Office. Woy noted that it was apparent the duties of the Treasurer’s office were not being properly executed and that the office was in disarray. Close to a million dollars in undeposited funds was found in the office the day that Stamey was placed on administrative leave. She was suspended without pay following the completion of the accounting firm’s investigation and the investigation of Stamey’s allegations by retired Judge Nels Swandal.
In her lawsuit Stamey claimed that Woy’s statement exposed her to “hatred, contempt, ridicule, and obloquy” and caused her to be “shunned and avoided.” She sought damages of up to $10 million for libel and slander.
Immediately prior to suspending Stamey on June 25, the County filed its own lawsuits against Stamey to collect $29,000 in fines for failure to carry out her duties as Treasurer and for Official Misconduct. Those lawsuits are still moving forward through the court.