The Della Femina Tab

The secret settlement of Jerry Della Femina's civil rights lawsuits against East Hampton Village has ended up costing taxpayers $42,500. This figure was revealed in documents obtained Monday by The Star under the State Freedom of Information Law.

The money, paid to the National Casualty Company, one of the village's insurance carriers, includes a $10,000 deductible. The remainder is the village's share of the final settlement.

The sum appears to represent the village's out-of-pocket expenses in defending itself against the ad man's two lawsuits. Beyond that, its overall significance remains cloudy, as a result of a gag order imposed on the usually talkative Mr. Della Femina, village officials, and their lawyers by Federal District Judge Arthur D. Spatt.

Documents Obtained

The documents obtained by The Star show the village's liability carrier picked up the entire tab for its lawyer's bills and may or may not have contributed an additional amount to pay some or all of Mr. Della Femina's bills too.

The Star asked Judge Spatt for a copy of the stipulation of settlement on April 14. While court records normally are public documents, the judge instead sealed the stipulation the same day, at the village's request.

The $42,500 payment does not include earlier costs incurred by the village in arresting and prosecuting Mr. Della Femina and his partner in the Red Horse Market, David Silver. The initial charges, in 1993, were mere violations of zoning, involving a display of pumpkins, hay bales, and flowers the village deemed an illegal sign.

Violations Dismissed

In all, there were 27 related violations cited and all were eventually dismissed. Mr. Della Femina, who later ran unsuccessfully for Village Board, filed the lawsuits, one challenging the constitutionality of the village sign law and the other demanding $500,000 in damages for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution.

At first, all three of the village's insurance carriers denied coverage. The documents released Monday show that, for a time, Janine Broomhall, a Nassau County lawyer hired to defend the village, billed the village for half her fees and National Casualty for the other half.

But, the papers show, in September 1995, the carrier reimbursed the village for $5,819. This represented every penny it had paid Ms. Broomhall for its defense and indicated that National Casualty had agreed at some point to cover the village entirely.

Legal Bills

A spokesman for the carrier, Chris Behymer, said lawyers for his company advised him that National Casualty also should comply with the gag order, though it was not a direct party to the suits. As a result, he declined to say how much the village's legal defense or the settlement had cost altogether.

He did say, though, that a municipality's legal bills typically are covered 100 percent by liability insurance once the deductible is met. He added, however, that some policies do not pay damages to plaintiffs who successfully bring charges such as malicious prosecution.

That may mean that National Casualty agreed to defend the village but would not pay the portion of the settlement related to Mr. Della Femina's bills, which may or may not suggest that Mr. Della Femina received a $32,500 settlement from the village.

Silence Maintained

Citing Judge Spatt's gag order, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., Village Administrator Larry Cantwell, and Ms. Broomhall declined to answer any of The Star's questions, as did Mr. Della Femina's lawyer, William W. Esseks of Esseks, Hefter & Angel.

Mr. Della Femina, not to be silenced entirely, did have a comment:"I'm happy and I'm sure the village is happy this is over. I don't want to say much more and risk being held in contempt of court. It's not the court I hold in contempt." He added that the village "should always remember this and try to settle these things early on."

He had long contended he would not settle out of court for anything less than his legal bills. In December 1994, after the violations were dismissed but before his two suits moved into high gear, Mr. Della Femina said those bills came to $30,000.