Jackson County Jury Awards $6.99 Million to Deputy Forced Out After 34 Years

Doug Caster spent 34 years as a Jackson County sheriff's deputy. Three days before Christmas 2015, at age 59, he was fired. The termination capped a period of escalating pressure that Caster said was designed to push out older, senior deputies.

Caster alleged that former Sheriff Mike Sharp and Undersheriff Hugh Mills singled him out and other veteran officers for harassment. He took medical leave twice for diabetes treatment, and the disciplinary scrutiny intensified after each absence. When an investigation into an unrelated personal matter led supervisors to demand he disclose communications with an attorney, he refused. He was suspended and then terminated.

Caster sued Jackson County for age discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation. Dennis Egan of The Popham Law Firm, joined by co-counsel David Lunceford of the Lunceford Law Firm, took the case to trial in April 2022 before Judge Roger Prokes in Jackson County Circuit Court.

On April 22, 2022, the jury returned a verdict of $6,984,515, comprising roughly $984,515 in actual damages and $6 million in punitive damages. The county denied the allegations and maintained that Caster had been terminated for rules violations.

Jackson County appealed the verdict. Rather than litigate the appeal to a decision, the parties reached a resolution: in December 2022, the Jackson County Legislature voted 6-2 to approve a $5.3 million settlement, the amount the county counselor recommended to end the litigation. Caster received that sum, closing a seven-year dispute over his firing.