Legal-Courts
Lowdown On Lowe Settlement
August 7, 2012 
Still no official word on the amount of the settlement between former Idaho Transportation chief Pam Lowe and the state. She sued for unlawful dismissal and gender discrimination, but agreed to settle out of court.
In response to a GUARDIAN (and other) record request, the State Controller’s office tells us:
1.) Currently, our system does not show any payments being made to Pam Lowe or her attorneys.
2.) A payment of $15,759.50 was paid from the Department of Administration to the law office of Holland & Hart in defending the case. This payment posted on our system Friday night.
That brings the total spent just to defend the case up to about $556,239.
Chatter among attorneys speculating on the amount puts it at somewhere between $1.25 million and $1.5 million. These coffee klatch counselors’ calculations are based on the number of lawyers the state hired, their “going rate,” the number of depositions (statements) taken, along with all sorts of other “billable time,” expert consultations, etc. Then they figure what it takes to make a good wage off 40% of the settlement.
Not an exact science, but certainly better than the secret non-disclosure the state has offered taxpayers.
UPDATED 8/8/12
One reader has suggested the payoff could have been hidden in the half million dollar payments to Holland & Hart–which could mean a much lower settlement. That theory is based on a tip which said, “look at the attorney fees.”
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Aug 7, 2012, 9:28 am
So, roughly $1 for each man, woman, and child in the state. Maybe more.
Might it be time to raise that “temporary” 6% sales tax to 7%? (Just temporarily, of course, until we dig out of the hole.)
Aug 7, 2012, 11:35 am
Based on what I have heard about this case (99% of it on this website) the GOP should have to pay all the state’s expenses for this debacle, since it was all about funneling state contracts to political contributors.
Aug 7, 2012, 12:25 pm
Republican cronyisim funded by taxpayers. Most of the voters are Republican so getting fleeced by the party is probably similar to tithing for the new temple. It’s all good.
Aug 7, 2012, 3:12 pm
So, if this is a gender bias case, will only male taxpayers have to pay for the Gov’s chauvinism?
Aug 7, 2012, 7:20 pm
Wow, that’s not much. They blow that much on new office chairs every year.
Aug 8, 2012, 5:51 am
Too bad Ron Twilegar wasn’t representing the people of Ada county… would have only cost them twice as much.
Aug 8, 2012, 6:30 am
You can do what ever you want when your a one party State.
Aug 8, 2012, 9:11 am
Robert: You can do what ever you want when your [sic] a one party State.
Is this a party-politics thing? Several commenters sure seem to think so. And if so… what’s the deal with Idaho Democrats? If these misogynistic GOP dimwits and losers keep getting elected, how bad must their Democrat opponents be?!!!
Aug 8, 2012, 3:20 pm
It’s too bad we can’t sit down and piece together the entire “chain of command” on this thing. Maybe it’s in depositions, which are likely not in the court file. Everyone in the chain of command should be made personally liable for this fiasco, because the legal answer to her status has been well-known for many years. This was gross negligence, so to speak, at best. Cannot imagine any halfway intelligent person choosing to ignore such a clear-cut law.
Aug 9, 2012, 8:36 am
Bike boy, it’s not about the Dem opponents who don’t get elected. This is one of the most Republican states in America so Idahoans basically like the direction we are going and see no reason to vote for anything different. If all you eat is meat and potatoes why would you want to eat vegetables?
Aug 9, 2012, 12:31 pm
Dog, maybe it’s possible that having a few vegetables along with the meat and potatoes would make you healthier?
Aug 10, 2012, 5:16 am
Dog
If all you eat is vegetables why would you want meat and potatoes.
Hey I know I’m a little strange here but I also like fish!
Aug 11, 2012, 1:06 pm
I seem to recall former Sen. John McGee was right in the middle of this along with Gov. Otter in the termination of Ms. Lowe.
I tend to think it all boiled down to the “right way, the wrong way and the McGee/Otter way”.
Once again, the crony Repug’s have cost taxpayers a bundle of cash.