{"id":249558,"date":"2026-07-22T17:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/249558\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T17:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:55:11","slug":"continuing-coverage-erie-county-struggles-with-lawsuits-claims-and-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/249558\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuing coverage: Erie County struggles with lawsuits, claims and insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six months ago, Erie County was facing nearly half a dozen civil trials and pushing back against other multimillion-dollar judgments. Then last month, a federal jury awarded an $80 million judgment against the county for the wrongful conviction of Darryl Boyd, a Buffalo man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he swore he didn’t commit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n \"Record
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

The Boyd case was one of a number of high-profile cases the county was expecting to defend against, all of which have long-term implications for the county’s finances and debt.<\/p>\n

As the end of the year approaches, some cases have been settled and cleared off the table.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n


\n \"A
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

The $4.5 million figure does not count additional, undistributed settlements from last year and multimillion-dollar civil judgments the county is still trying to fight on appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Convicted<\/p>\n

Darryl A. Boyd, left, and John H. Walker each served 20-plus years in prison for a 1976 murder they say they did not commit. A judge set aside the convictions in 2021.<\/p>\n

Derek Gee, News file photo<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n


\n \"Erie
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Erie County could have settled a lawsuit over the death of inmate Richard A. Metcalf Jr. for $17 million, but instead took the case to a trial that ended with a jury’s $95 million judgment against the county on Monday \u2013 the largest known civil verdict ever against the county.<\/p>\n

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