Fulton settles sexual harassment claim

Fulton County has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against its county attorney for $100,000, but the price tag for taxpayers is substantially higher.

Three women accused County Attorney David Ware of repeatedly making unwanted sexual advances and retaliating when they turned him down. Ware has called the lawsuit a “blackmail attempt,” and Fulton officials have said they believe the claims were baseless.

But earlier this year the county settled the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. And the litigation cost the county nearly $650,000 including attorney’s fees and litigation costs, according to information provided by the county’s outside counsel.