The lawsuit also alleges the employee, Mitchell Mustaine, was required “to perform manual labor, such as mowing his lawn, landscaping, moving furniture at Judge Skelton’s residence, as well as closing down Judge Skelton’s private law office.”
“Judge Skelton regularly required Mr. Mustaine to perform work outside of his regular job duties,” the lawsuit alleged.
Skelton did not return a request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
The Dayton Daily News uncovered the settlement while analyzing county payroll records as part of the annual Dayton Daily News Payroll Project. In those records, the settlement payment appears as a $22,955 bonus to Mustaine in 2023.
The Montgomery County commission in April 2023 approved a $70,000 payment for Mustaine and his attorney.
Skelton was elected as a common pleas court judge in 2014 and took office in early 2015.
Mustaine began working for Skelton in 2014 at the judge’s former law firm, and worked for the county as an assistant to Skelton from January 2015 to December 2018, according to the lawsuit.
Mustaine’s lawsuit says he had surgery on his shoulder in May 2017, requiring a medical leave of six weeks post-surgery.
The lawsuit says Mustaine was on medical leave a few times in 2018 for treatment of mental health conditions and another surgery to correct a wrist injury.
Mustaine was diagnosed with cancer in December 2018 after undergoing two biopsies, according to his lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that when Mustaine told Skelton of the diagnosis and that he required the second biopsy, Skelton remarked: “Oh great, just what you need, more appointments.”
After his second biopsy, Mustaine allegedly told Skelton he would need more time off for surgery to treat his cancer.
Days after that conversation, Skelton terminated Mustaine’s job, the suit alleged.
“During his termination meeting, Judge Skelton told Mr. Mustaine that he had no use for him because of his health issues,” the lawsuit alleged.
Brian Butler, an attorney representing Mustaine, declined to share details about the settlement, pointing to “confidentiality issues.”
The Dayton Daily News requested a copy of the settlement agreement from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, which represented the county and Skelton in the suit.
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