The Springfield City Council will vote this week on whether to finally pay a $750,000 judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit – plus an additional $100,000 in accumulated interest and costs.
Mayor Misty Buscher is seeking emergency passage of an ordinance to pay more than $850,000 to resolve the lawsuit brought by Mary Yarbrough, whose 16-year-old son Eric Jones drowned at Lake Springfield Beach in 2007.
A jury found in favor of Yarbrough in 2021, but the city did not pay the judgment while it considered appealing the verdict.
However, while the case is unresolved, the city is racking up interest on the unpaid judgment to the tune of more than $850 a week. The ordinance says the city has decided not to pursue further appeals.
The money would come from the city’s self-insurance fund, and would be repaid out of CWLP’s Water Fund over the next five years.