A much ballyhooed civil lawsuit filed by a Fort Smith non-profit director against another Fort Smith woman claiming libel, slander and defamation was dismissed by Sebastian County Circuit Court earlier this year after both parties agreed to a settlement on all pending matters in the case.
Judge Diana Ladd issued and signed an Agreed Order between Darla Lackey/Pay it Forward Fort Smith and Susanna Sisson after the case was dismissed with predjudice in late June.
The agreement enjoins either party from "making, issuing or otherwise publishing any statements or disparaging remarks" toward the other party and specifically addresses "social media 0r online posts".
You can read the entire text of the Agreed Order by clicking this link:
The lawsuit was filed in January by Lackey amid claims Sisson had harmed the reputation of both Lackey and the non-profit when she made allegations of embezzlement after she said Lackey used funds earmarked for the charity to fund a personal move. Sisson claimed Lackey used the funds despite the sitting board of directors refusing to give her permission.
The money in question came to the organization in the form of grant money gifted from AT&T Philanthropy through the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance that was regranted to several local organizations including Pay It Forward Fort Smith.
In the Fall of 2019 the AHRA was made aware of the allegations against Lackey.
A letter to the Arkansas Attorney General's office concerning the operations of non-profit signed by Sisson and three other board members including Zach Mulson, Robbie Wilson and Renee Hill, leveled more allegations against Lackey.
The situation led to the removal of a number of board members by Lackey. Sisson maintains that neither she or the other board members resigned from the organization on the advice of Detective Kevin Bolin of the Fort Smith Police Department and the witness coordinator in the Attorney General's Office.
The events occurred in late November of 2019 and in January of 202o the Fort Smith Police Department said their investigation rendered the allegations of embezzlement "unfounded".
Lackey filed the lawsuit in Circuit Court on January 22 of this year and Ladd signed the Agreed Order in late June. The case information has never been updated on Arkansas Court Connect or the Sebastian County Circuit Court website case summary system.
Essentially, no one "won" the case and a dismissal with predjudice renders a decision in a lawsuit on its merits and prevents the plaintiff from bringing the same lawsuit against the same defendant in the future.
In a related matter, as of close of business August 6, 2021 a online search at the Arkansas Secretary of Sate website lists Pay it Forward as "not current" under Business and Commercial Services -Charities.
According to the Secretary of State offices, the "not current" status involves annual paperwork the non-profit has failed to file.
