Rick Carter's lawsuit against Lee County is finally over after the Iowa Supreme Court denied his latest request for review. The denial came in the form of a one sentence statement from Chief Justice Mark Cady: "After consideration by this court, en banc, further review of the above-captioned case is denied."
A spokesperson for the Court said all seven justices concurred, adding this ends all opportunities to continue the lawsuit at the state level.
Carter filed the lawsuit in May 2011, roughly six months after he was fired from his job as Lee County Maintenance Director.
The Lee County Board of Supervisors claimed to have fired Carter over communication and management issues. Carter countered that by saying he was fired for being a whistle blower.
Carter pointed to instances in which he questioned how the supervisors handled county resources and oversaw the expansion and renovation of the county jail.
The lawsuit went to trial in February 2013. After four days of testimony and more than a dozen witnesses, the jury sided with Carter and awarded him $186,000 in damages.
Carter's victory was short-lived. District Court Judge Mary Ann Brown set aside the verdict in July 2013 and ruled for the county.
She said in a 17-page ruling that it was clear Carter failed to prove his claims and the case should not have gone to the jury. She also said everything Carter spoke out against was either publicly known or well known by those involved in county government.
Brown's action prompted Carter to make his first appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. The justices declined to take up the case, instead handing it off to the Iowa Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals heard the case in December 2014 and issued its ruling about one month later.
The panel was split 2-1 in favor of the county, stating no reasonable jury could find Carter earned whistleblower protection for venting his complaints at meetings. The lone judge to side with Carter said the original verdict and damages should have been reinstated.
This ruling again led Carter to seek out the Iowa Supreme Court, but the opportunity to argue in front of the justices was eliminated with the one sentence statement from Chief Justice Cady.
When asked for comment on the case, Carter's attorney, Curtis Dial of Keokuk, only said "I thought the jury did a great job with the case."
Dial did not indicate whether a federal lawsuit was possible.
