Defense Win Secured on Behalf of Benton County, WA

On Dec. 5, 2025, following a four-week trial in Walla Walla County Superior Court, attorneys with the Law Office of Andy Cooley and Baker Sterchi secured a defense verdict on behalf of Benton County, Washington. In Caughey et al. v. Benton County, Cause No. 22-2-00214-36, the six plaintiffs were employed by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

In October 2019, the then-sheriff was accused of assaulting his wife and tampering with her as a witness. Plaintiffs alleged the sheriff engaged in threatening and abusive workplace conduct that led one plaintiff to self-demote and two others to resign. The sheriff refused to resign and was later recalled by election, the only sheriff in Washington state to ever be recalled.

Multiple claims, including federal claims bearing fee exposure, were dismissed on summary judgment. The two claims that proceeded to trial were outrage claims asserted by all six plaintiffs and wrongful termination claims asserted by two. The case presented several issues of first impression that placed the parties and the court in a challenging position, including questions about a county’s obligations regarding the workplace conduct of an elected official it did not hire and whether intentional torts such as outrage fall outside the scope of an elected sheriff’s official duties. In the weeks leading up to trial, the court addressed these issues and eliminated the county’s available defenses shortly before trial.