Orban Suit Finally Reaches Settlement
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
The Orbans were arrested and charged with multiple felonies after a dispute with their Carpet Express business partner David Melching.[[In-content Ad]]The State of Indiana and the insurance carrier for the City of Warsaw paid the entire amount of the jury verdicts against Department of Revenue Agent Rick M. Albrecht and former Warsaw Police Department Captain R. Paul Schmitt. The insurer for Schmitt and the city contributed more than half of the total settlement.
Schmitt currently is the town marshal of Winona Lake.
Warsaw City Attorney Mike Valentine declined comment, citing the nature of the settlement, which was confidential.
Rick Orban said that he and his wife were relieved with the verdict but that the settlement couldn't bring back the 10 years they spent dealing with the case.
"This should have never happened," said Rick Orban. "People see you were arrested and the police charge you with something. They see that in the newspaper and no matter what happens they think you're guilty."
Orban cited what Indiana Court Of Appeals Judge David Hamilton's assessment when he heard the case.
"Judge Hamilton said that it was either 'the most incompetent investigation in the history of Indiana or the most malicious'", said Orban.
A state court jury found Revenue Agent Albrecht liable in 2006 for conspiring with then-detective Schmitt to wrongfully prosecute the Orbans for crimes they did not commit.
The jury determined that the Orbans' damages from their wrongful prosecution, including damage to their reputation and earning ability, totaled $1,575,000.
That jury verdict was reversed on appeal because the Court of Appeals held that Schmitt was entitled to a separate trial of the claims against him in Federal Court.
In April of this year, a Federal Court jury agreed that Schmitt conspired with Albrecht to wrongfully prosecute the Orbans. The federal jury independently reached a nearly identical damages verdict of $1,586,000.
In addition to paying the entire judgment, the state and Schmitt's insurer agreed to pay the Orbans' attorney fees and expenses in both the federal and state trials and appeal.
At the April trial in federal court, Albrecht testified that he agreed with the verdict that was entered against him in the 2006 state court trial.
Schmitt's trial counsel in federal court did not dispute that the Orbans were innocent of the criminal charges that were filed against them, but Schmitt denied that his actions were malicious.
The defense argued that Schmitt acted reasonably on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate information he had been given at the time the charges were first filed. The jury disagreed.
The entire settlement contribution from Schmitt and the City of Warsaw was paid by the city's insurance company.
No city tax money was used to settle the case.
A call was made to Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins but he wasn't available this morning.
Warsaw Police Chief Perry Hunter, who was not the chief during the Orban investigation, was unavailable for comment as well.
The Orbans were arrested and charged with multiple felonies after a dispute with their Carpet Express business partner David Melching.[[In-content Ad]]The State of Indiana and the insurance carrier for the City of Warsaw paid the entire amount of the jury verdicts against Department of Revenue Agent Rick M. Albrecht and former Warsaw Police Department Captain R. Paul Schmitt. The insurer for Schmitt and the city contributed more than half of the total settlement.
Schmitt currently is the town marshal of Winona Lake.
Warsaw City Attorney Mike Valentine declined comment, citing the nature of the settlement, which was confidential.
Rick Orban said that he and his wife were relieved with the verdict but that the settlement couldn't bring back the 10 years they spent dealing with the case.
"This should have never happened," said Rick Orban. "People see you were arrested and the police charge you with something. They see that in the newspaper and no matter what happens they think you're guilty."
Orban cited what Indiana Court Of Appeals Judge David Hamilton's assessment when he heard the case.
"Judge Hamilton said that it was either 'the most incompetent investigation in the history of Indiana or the most malicious'", said Orban.
A state court jury found Revenue Agent Albrecht liable in 2006 for conspiring with then-detective Schmitt to wrongfully prosecute the Orbans for crimes they did not commit.
The jury determined that the Orbans' damages from their wrongful prosecution, including damage to their reputation and earning ability, totaled $1,575,000.
That jury verdict was reversed on appeal because the Court of Appeals held that Schmitt was entitled to a separate trial of the claims against him in Federal Court.
In April of this year, a Federal Court jury agreed that Schmitt conspired with Albrecht to wrongfully prosecute the Orbans. The federal jury independently reached a nearly identical damages verdict of $1,586,000.
In addition to paying the entire judgment, the state and Schmitt's insurer agreed to pay the Orbans' attorney fees and expenses in both the federal and state trials and appeal.
At the April trial in federal court, Albrecht testified that he agreed with the verdict that was entered against him in the 2006 state court trial.
Schmitt's trial counsel in federal court did not dispute that the Orbans were innocent of the criminal charges that were filed against them, but Schmitt denied that his actions were malicious.
The defense argued that Schmitt acted reasonably on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate information he had been given at the time the charges were first filed. The jury disagreed.
The entire settlement contribution from Schmitt and the City of Warsaw was paid by the city's insurance company.
No city tax money was used to settle the case.
A call was made to Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins but he wasn't available this morning.
Warsaw Police Chief Perry Hunter, who was not the chief during the Orban investigation, was unavailable for comment as well.
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