Florida’s Attorney General, Department of Children and Families settle civil lawsuit with Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence

To keep up with the latest local news subscribe to our TV20 newsletter HERE and receive news straight to your email every morning.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - We have a update on a state story with Gainesville ties we’ve been following since early 2020.

Florida’s Attorney General and Department of Children and Families have settled their pending civil lawsuit with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence for more than $5 million.

This follows an investigation into CEO Tiffany Carr and several others in the organization paying themselves with funds intended to help victims.

The initial investigation into the group began in February 2020 after Governor DeSantis signed a bill putting DCF in charge of funding for victim resources and taking power away from the coalition.

RELATED STORY: Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence

The scandal first came to light in a joint report published by the Miami Herald and Tampa Tribune.

The director of Gainesville-based Peaceful Paths was one of the subjects of the investigation.

Theresa Beachy was treasurer of the statewide coalition in 2017.

She approved increases in pay and PTO for Carr.

TV20 reached out to Beachy. She refused to comment, but her lawyer, Stephanie Marchman, released the following information:

The litigation against Dr. Theresa Beachy, Angela Diaz-Vidaillet, Shandra FernandezKvam, Melody Keeth, Laurel Lynch, Penny Morrill, and Sheryl Schwab, all of whom served as unpaid volunteer members of the Board of Directors (“Directors”) for the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc. (“FCADV”), has come to an end, so long as the Court approves. The Florida Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) and the FCADV, through its Receiver, sued the Directors in their individual capacities. Additionally, FCADV’s Insurers disputed that FCADV’s insurance policies covered the Directors in these lawsuits, and coverage litigation ensued, which also named the Directors in their individual capacities. Ultimately, the Court consolidated the lawsuits for purposes of mediation. After over eight months of mediation, the parties reached a Mediated Settlement Agreement, which was filed with the Court for approval this morning. Under the terms of the Mediated Settlement Agreement, FCADV’s former officers, Tiffany Carr, Sandra Barnett, and Patricia Duarte (“Officers”), and the Insurers will collectively make a settlement payment of nearly $4 million to DCF and FCADV’s Receiver. The Directors are paying nothing and, indeed, specifically deny any wrongdoing of any kind. Further, under the terms of the Mediated Settlement Agreement, the Directors will be dismissed from the lawsuits with prejudice and released from any claims arising out of their association with the FCADV. All terms of the Mediated Settlement Agreement must be approved by the Court and are subject to the Officers and Insurers making their settlement payments. The unproven claims lodged in the lawsuits have had devastating personal and professional consequences for the Directors, all of whom are women who have selflessly dedicated their lives to helping victims of domestic violence throughout the State of Florida. Some Directors lost their jobs at their domestic violence shelters as a result of the allegations lodged against them, while others went into substantial debt to finance their legal defense. A number of Directors continued to successfully run domestic violence shelters in their communities, at a time when domestic violence cases sky rocketed due to the pandemic, even with the drain the litigation had on them personally and professionally. Despite all they have been through, the Directors are relieved that the litigation is resolved and seek to move forward, heal, and continue to serve domestic violence victims. Dr. Theresa Beachy was represented by Stephanie Marchman and George Levesque at GrayRobinson, P.A. Angela Diaz-Vidaillet, Shandra Fernandez-Kvam, Melody Keeth, Laurel Lynch, Penny Morrill, and Sheryl Schwab were represented by Tom Findley at Baker Donelson. All of the Directors were represented by Jim Dean and Rob McNeely at Messer Caparello, P.A. in the coverage litigation. Please direct any questions to Ms. Marchman at stephanie.marchman@gray-robinson.com.

Copyright 2021 WCJB. All rights reserved. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.