County Settles Ex-Prosecutor’s Suit
Orange County officials agreed Thursday to pay a cash settlement to the former top assistant in the district attorney’s office who sued the county last year after being demoted, according to sources familiar with the case.
Devallis Rutledge alleged in his lawsuit that he was unfairly demoted because he refused to get his wife to drop her lawsuit against the district attorney’s office.
The settlement came shortly before Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas was expected to be called as a witness at the trial in Santa Ana.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but sources said the county agreed to pay Rutledge $45,000 plus retirement benefits. Both sides will pay their own legal fees.
Neither the county nor Rackauckas admits to any wrongdoing. Rutledge and Rackauckas each declined to discuss the settlement.
The settlement likely will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors, which must approve all legal payments above $25,000.
Rackauckas is seeking reelection in March in a race against prosecutor Wally Wade.
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