How much did Boise boss Ryan Lee’s departure cost in legal fees?

The fallout from Lee’s departure led to three lawsuits and the possibility of a fourth lawsuit against a current and two retired BPD officers and the former director of the Office of Police Accountability. Of those lawsuits, the City of Boise settled the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by fired OPA Director Jesus Jara and Sergeant Kirk Rush for the neck injury. A federal judge last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by retired Internal Affairs Capt. Tom Fleming.

Retired BPD Captain Matt Bryngelson, who was later revealed in 2022 to be associated with a white supremacist group, filed a discrimination complaint with the Idaho Human Rights Commission, but the state never publicly responded on the matter. He never filed a lawsuit against the city of Boise.

Legal costs, including attorneys’ fees and settlements, incurred to handle all four men’s legal complaints to the city of Boise totaled nearly $2.7 million.

The costs were partially covered by the city’s insurance carrier, which chose to settle both Rush and Jara’s cases through mediation.

According to city spokeswoman Maria Weeg, the policy covers legal fees and settlements totaling $500,000.

How much did the city spend?

Rush’s lawsuit against the city of Boise and Lee was the most costly lawsuit.

The settlement in that case paid Rush $850,000. Additionally, the city had to hire two different law firms to defend the lawsuit because Lee was working for the city of Boise at the time of the incident and therefore the city had to cover his defense costs. The total cost of legal fees was $523,131, according to invoices obtained by BoiseDev through a public records request.

The city paid Anderson Julia & Hull $173,938 and another law firm, Jones Williams Fuhrman Gourley, $342,018. Best Day HR and Romney Financial Forensics also billed the City of Boise $3,150 and $4,125, respectively, in connection with the lawsuit.

Legal fees to defend Jara’s lawsuit cost the city of Boise $380,496. Officials appointed Jones Williams Fuhrman Gourley as outside counsel for the case. He settled for $675,000.

The city of Boise hired the same firm, Jones Williams Fuhrman Gourley, to defend it from Fleming’s lawsuit in federal court. Those charges totaled $210,500 before a judge dismissed the case in November.

The cost of defending Bryngelson’s HRC complaint was $44,156.