The lawsuit claimed the employee assistance provider, Milwaukee-based NEAS Inc., did too little to calm Doug Williams' simmering rage before he unleashed it in a deadly attack on his co-workers.
Williams, who had worked at the plant for almost 20 years, killed five people and wounded eight others on July 8, 2003, before taking his own life.
The lawsuit was filed by Erica Willis, the daughter of one of Williams' victims. She claimed the attack was preventable and that NEAS should have done more to defuse the situation when Williams was sent for counseling after a racially charged argument with a co-worker.
Willis' attorney, William F. Blair, told The Associated Press on Monday that a trial was set to begin next week, but the case was settled. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
'It is confidential, but it will resolve all issues. There will be a hearing in Lauderdale Chancery Court to approve the settlement,' Blair said. 'The driving force in the settlement was the fact that this preparation was bringing immense pain to Thomas Willis' family in reliving this tragic event.'
In a past interview, Blair said the suit sought damages and acknowledgment that the attack could have been prevented. No date has been set for the hearing to approve the settlement.
Philip Chard, NEAS' president and chief operating officer, did not immediately respond to a message left Monday. He has declined to comment in the past.
Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., was not a party to the lawsuit and has declined to comment for that reason. The lawsuit is at least the second case related to the shooting to be settled; others have been dismissed.
Some of Williams' black co-workers at the plant said they complained for months that he threatened them and used racial slurs.
Willis' lawsuit had alleged that Williams was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation more than a year before the shooting because he allegedly made racist threats. Lockheed, the lawsuit alleged, decided Williams' employment would be contingent on completing counseling and referred him to NEAS.
NEAS allegedly sent Williams to an affiliate in Meridian called Psychology Associates. However, the lawsuit says NEAS failed to communicate with Psychology Associates the nature of Williams' problems, saying only he had 'boundary/communication issues.'
Williams was cleared to return to work in January 2002 after just three counseling sessions. Just over a year later Williams walked out of a mandatory diversity training class and returned with a shotgun and a rifle. He stalked around the plant shooting those is his path.
Psychology Associates was dismissed as a defendant in Willis' lawsuit last year.
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© 2008 AFX News
