Update published on June 6, 2025 @ 1 p.m.:
The Stephanie Woodard saga in Hall County has seemingly come to an end.
That comes after more details have emerged about the settlement between former Hall County employee Michelle Daniel and the county.
The settlement document obtained from Hall County by AccessWDUN details a payment of $337,500 to Daniel.
Hall County Administrator Zach Propes signed off on the agreement on May 22. Daniel and her counsel Joey Homans signed it on April 30.
This comes after a civil case alleging retaliation by former Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard after Daniel interviewed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) regarding Woodard’s alleged theft from the county.
The payment is based on Daniel’s claims of “personal injuries … emotional distress, anxiety, humiliation, pain and suffering, embarrassment, mental anguish and severe emotional distress,” according to the document.
There was also an agreement that Daniel releases the county from any suits or actions she may have had, currently has, or might have in the future based on any actions “from the beginning of the world to the date of execution of this agreement…”
Hall County did include a portion that Daniel "further acknowledges that consideration for this agreement consists of financial payments … to which [Daniel] has no legal entitlement.”
That language is common in settlements, where the defendants do not admit wrongdoing but are choosing to settle.
The article detailing all of Daniel’s claims of retaliation in the original June 27 filing is linked here.
Original story published on June 5, 2025 @ 3:15 p.m.:
The civil case that former Hall County employee Michelle Daniel filed against the county and former Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard has been dismissed.
That’s according to Daniel’s attorney Joey Homans and court filings on Thursday.
The dismissal said that each party will pay their own legal fees and costs.
Daniel filed the lawsuit on June 27 of last year alleging that Woodard retaliated against her.
Daniel worked for Hall County for 33 years and was most recently Woodard’s executive assistant.
Daniel was reportedly interviewed by Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents in November of 2022 regarding Woodard’s conduct related to alleged theft from the county over a four-year period.
Woodard and Hall County attempted to dismiss the complaints. The county claimed that they could not be held liable for actions taken by an elected official.
Judge David Emerson decided in late November that Hall County was to be kept on the case.
The exact details of a possible settlement have not been confirmed to AccessWDUN at this time.
