Lorain County's insurance carrier settled Michelle Hung lawsuit for $211,000

Lorain County's insurance carrier paid more than $211,000 to settle a 2024 defamation lawsuit brought by former commissioner Michelle Hung against Commissioner David Moore. The Chronicle-Telegram obtained the amount through a public records request for information on the settlement approved by a visiting judge in February. A closing notice from the County Risk Sharing Authority, or CORSA, said the settlement amount was $175,000 plus an additional $36,591 in expenses. The total paid was just over $211,591. Visiting Judge Janet Burnside accepted the proposed settlement and dismissed the case Feb. 26. Messages seeking comment were left for Hung and Moore. Moore previously said CORSA, a program of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio that provides insurance coverage and risk management services to counties, made "a business decision" to settle the lawsuit. Hung previously declined comment and her attorney told The Chronicle the lawsuit was resolved "in a satisfactory manner." Hung sued Moore in Common Pleas Court in 2024 after he called her "a perjurer" in an Oct. 25, 2023, story in another newspaper. Moore said Hung pleaded the Fifth when questioned in a federal investigation and that she was under criminal investigation. Hung said in court documents that an attorney for Moore's longtime ally, former county administrator Tom Williams, asked her questions that were meant to make her look like a criminal and a liar as well as unethical during a 2022 lawsuit deposition. She said her attorneys advised her to plead the Fifth and not answer some of the questions. Moore and Hung hired Williams in January 2021. Then-commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, was the lone "no" vote. Williams, himself a former county commissioner, was gone by August that year, fired by Hung and Lundy over Moore's objection. Williams sued Hung and Lundy for wrongful termination in federal court, demanding his severance package. He got $450,000. Hung's tenure as commissioner was marked by disputes with Moore and fallout from her extramarital affair with Harry Williamson, the county's former 911 director. Hung voted to hire Williamson in 2021 without telling Lundy or Moore about the romantic relationship. Lundy and Moore fired Williamson after they found out about the affair. Hung lost her bid for a second term to Marty Gallagher in the 2024 Republican primary. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com