LOUDON — Loudon County is facing a $3 million lawsuit
that claims a law enforcement officer allowed an
intoxicated driver to drive away from the scene of an
accident only to be involved in another accident minutes
later.
The case was filed in August in Loudon County Circuit
Court by Courtney Lee Slabinski of South Carolina.
Listed as defendants are Loudon County Sheriff's Office
Deputy Chad Petty, Sheriff Tim Guider, Loudon County,
Western Surety Co. and Tony Edward Goddard.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol and Loudon County
Sheriff's Office reports, Petty responded about 1:45
p.m. Sept. 1, 2014 to a non-injury wreck on U.S. Highway
70 in the parking lot of Eaton's Food Mart, where a
15-year-old Kaylin Goddard, who was not licensed to
drive, had hit another vehicle.
Petty reported he wasn't paying attention when he was
filling out his report, and the girl's father, Tony
Goddard, Lenoir City, drove away in a pickup with Kaylin
Goddard, two of her friends and his wife.
About 2:45 p.m., Goddard was driving the truck west on
Highway 70 when it went into the eastbound lane and hit
Slabinski's vehicle. Slabinski had to be extricated from
her wrecked vehicle and was taken to the University of
Tennessee Medical Center.
Goddard was charged with second offense DUI, three
counts of reckless endangerment, failure to maintain a
lane and failure to exercise due care.
A few weeks later Petty was moved from patrol to
corrections duty for what Sheriff Guider described at
the time as "poor judgment."
Previously a jury found Petty at fault in a case in
which he arrested a Loudon County resident and charged
him with driving under the influence after he mistook
the driver's cerebral palsy as a symptom of
intoxication. Jurors awarded the person $80,500.
Slabinski's lawsuit claims Petty had an operational duty
to prevent Goddard from driving his vehicle from the
Eaton's Food Market while under the influence of
intoxicants. The deputy is also accused of "reckless
conduct" and "criminal acts," including criminal
responsibility and official misconduct.
Sheriff Guider had an operational duty to train and
supervise his deputies, the lawsuit alleges.
Loudon County is liable for the actions of Petty, Guider
and deliberate indifference to and reckless disregard
for the welfare of the public, according to the lawsuit.
Goddard is accused of violating a number of traffic
laws, including failure to insure that he could safely
operate the vehicle.
Western Surety, the bonding company for the county, is
also listed. The company filed a motion to have itself
dismissed from the case in October. No action has been
taken on the motion.
The lawsuit asks that Petty be removed from the
sheriff's office. It also seeks compensatory damages not
to exceed $2 million, punitive damages not to exceed $1
million and legal costs.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants could not be
reached for comment.