East Haven Inks $11M Settlement In One Barberry v. Joseph Maturo

EAST HAVEN, CT — The town reached an $11 million settlement in the One Barberry v. Joseph Maturo lawsuit "bringing closure to a legal dispute that originated during the administration of former Mayor Joe Maturo," town Assistant Director of Administration Ed Sabatino said.

In the case, plaintiff John Patton accused Maturo and members of his administration of unlawfully shutting down his quarry.

"In its ruling, the Court noted Maturo acted out of self-interest for his own political goals," Sabatino said.

The case, which went to trial in 2023, resulted in a federal court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding $9.47 million in damages along with over $1 million in prejudgment interest.

The town's liability would have risen to over $12 million in the coming months, and had the case not settled, post judgment interest would have continued to accrue at approximately $38,000 per month, Sabatino said.

"The Carfora administration took office in November 2019 and inherited several challenges from the Maturo administration, with One Barberry v. Maturo being the most significant," Sabatino noted. "As a result, it was the first case the town’s legal team reviewed upon taking office. After a forensic analysis of the case, the town fortified its defense team and took immediate action against its two insurance carriers. As an administration, it was time to bring this litigation to a close."

Sabatino said that discussions with Mr. Patton's counsel began in December 2024. Two weeks ago, the parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve the case for $11 million, the town's Assistant Director of Administration said. He added that the final settlement terms were recently completed, and the necessary documents were submitted to U.S. District Court with dismissal documents slated to be filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

In August, after extensive negotiations with the plaintiffs, the Town deposited $13.5 million into a restricted interest-bearing account to secure the judgment. This approach was chosen as an alternative to purchasing an appeal bond and incurring its associated costs. To date, the account has accrued over $220,000 in interest.

The settlement payment was made from this account, and the remaining balance of approximately $2.7 million was returned to the town, which will "continue the actions against its two insurance companies." The town contends the insurance carriers "should have defended this case from the beginning and should bear financial responsibility for this settlement payment," he said.

"We firmly believe that insurance coverage should have been, and should still be, provided in this case, and that the legal foundation of the Court's decision supports this position," Sabatino said.