What started out as a wrongful termination lawsuit against Cumberland County has become quite an expensive liability for the County.  Benton Threet, former Judicial Commissioner Director, was fired from that position last fall by Circuit Court Clerk Larry Sherrill.   Threet has been Judicial Commissioner Director, which is an appointed position by the County Commission, for over ten years and has been employed by the County for thirty years, 19 of which were with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department.  Judicial Commissioners are responsible for the issuance of criminal arrest warrants upon finding probable cause and, according to Tennessee Law, can only be removed by an ouster hearing and only after charges of wrongdoing have been brought against a Commissioner, neither of which occurred in Threet’s case.

AGE DISCRIMINATION CHARGE ADDED

Threet claims he was terminated in October of last year by Circuit Court Clerk Larry Sherrill without cause.  No reason was ever given for Threet’s termination so now Threet has added Age Discrimination to the original lawsuit…stating that Sherrill had brought up Threet’s age and asked when he was going to retire often in recent times.  Court Clerk Sherrill’s only comment thus far has been he “has the highest regard for Benton”.   In Threet’s allegation that the County violated  State Law which prohibits Judicial Commissioners from being “fired” by anyone and removed only by an ouster hearing, the County’s legal response was simply, “that’s a question of law, not fact, therefore no response is required.

NASHVILLE LAW FIRM REPRESENTING COUNTY

The County has retained a Nashville Law firm for representation in the case rather than use it’s own County Attorney. It is estimated that the additional legal fees for the County could reach into the tens of thousands of dollars before a settlement or verdict is made in the case.   Threet was termniated just shy of his full retirement and is asking for his job back, back pay and back benefits.