The family of former firefighter Anthony Bailey has agreed to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Warrenton Fire Protection District, according to court documents.

Former firefighter Anthony Bailey, who died unexpectedly in January 2022, had sued the fire district in March 2021 after being terminated more than a year prior. Following his death, the lawsuit was continued on behalf of Bailey’s family.

The lawsuit had alleged that the fire district used an off-duty fight as a pretext to fire Anthony Bailey, but that the real reason he was terminated was because he complained after supervisors made purportedly discriminatory comments about his age and weight. The fire district pushed back, saying Bailey was terminated in December 2019 after district leaders reviewed a police report and photos from a road rage fight in which Bailey allegedly pummeled another motorist.

After more than a year of depositions and court filings, the fire district petitioned Judge Jason Lamb in August to issue an immediate judgment in favor of the fire district. The district stated that Bailey’s attorneys had not made a case to prove that discrimination was relevant to his termination, rather than the justification provided by Bailey’s alleged conduct.

However, a month later, as the deadline approached for Bailey’s attorneys to respond, they instead sent the court a letter stating that they had entered settlement negotiations with the fire district. They requested that Judge Lamb postpone his consideration of the case.

On Nov. 18, Bailey’s attorneys sent a new letter to the court simply stating that they wished to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning that the case is fully decided and can’t be the subject of further litigation. Judge Lamb affirmed that dismissal three days later.

Documents submitted to the court contained no additional information about any settlement between the two sides of the case.

Warrenton Fire Chief Anthony Hayeslip said the fire district’s side of the case was being handled by the district’s insurance company. None of the fire district administrators or board members had a hand in directing the case or negotiating any potential settlement, Hayeslip told The Record.

“(The insurance company) would check in with us from time to time,” Hayselip noted. When the case was dismissed, he said, “All I got was an email that said it’s being dismissed and we owe them a deductible.”

A request for additional comment had not been returned as of press time.