BEATRICE — Gage County has reached a settlement with insurance companies that officials argued should provide coverage for the $28.1 million judgment in the Beatrice 6 case.
On Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors approved memorandum of understandings with the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association, Employers Mutual Casualty and four excess insurance carriers for settlements.
The county expects to collect a total of $5.98 million from the carriers to put toward the judgment.
“We started with an understanding that there may or may not be any coverage,†County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann said. “We reached this point, and I think we all are in agreement that this is the best possible outcome at this time.â€
The Beatrice 6 — Ada JoAnn Taylor, Thomas Winslow, James Dean, Kathleen Gonzalez, Debra Shelden and Joseph White — were convicted in the 1985 rape and murder of Helen Wilson in her downtown Beatrice apartment.
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They were arrested in March and April 1989 and ultimately spent a combined 75 years in prison until DNA evidence showed another man had committed the crime. In 2016, a federal jury awarded the six a combined $28.1 million.
After the judgment, Gage County filed lawsuits against the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association and Employers Mutual Casualty, which both argued they were not obligated to provide coverage.
Joel Bacon, an attorney with Keating O’Gara Nedved & Peter law firm in Lincoln, said Employers Mutual Casualty is paying $3.9 million, the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association is paying $1.98 million, and $95,000 is being paid by four other insurance companies.
"The total settlement amount of just under $6 million is modest compared to the judgments entered against the county and its former employers, but in our professional opinion, this outcome is the best that could be achieved under the circumstances," Bacon said. "We hope it will be some relief on the burden of the taxpayers of Gage County.â€
The judgment is being paid by property tax revenue and a half-cent additional sales tax that went into effect at the start of the year.
The insurance settlements could mean the judgment will be paid two years sooner, for a total of about five years. The first payment to the Beatrice 6 was made last June.
Tiemann said Gage County has also accumulated a total of $2.1 million in legal fees fighting the judgment and arguing the insurance companies should provide coverage.