The Smithville Board of Aldermen voted last week to settle a lawsuit brought last year by two former city employees for $130,000.The two men, Kenny Waymon Dyal, Sr. and Christopher Derrick Ferrell, lost their jobs after being charged with theft for allegedly taking scrap brass from the water treatment plant and selling it to a recycler.Dyal and Ferrell filed the lawsuit against the city in DeKalb County Circuit Court on Feb. 17, 2011, asking for a jury trial.The men’s demands initially included reinstatement of their jobs, compensatory damages for wages and benefits lost during their unemployment, punitive damages for intentional, malicious, and reckless conduct of the city, attorney fees and costs, and any other relief to which they may be properly and justly entitled.In the event they could not be given back their jobs, Dyal and Ferrell asked for lost differential wages and benefits to the date of their expected retirement.Dyal was the supervisor of the Smithville Water Treatment Plant and Ferrell was a city maintenance employee and water meter reader.During a special called meeting last week, Dan Rader, the attorney appointed by the city's insurance carrier, recommended that the aldermen approve an offer to settle the lawsuit for $130,000.The settlement would include $100,000 in city funds, $30,000 from insurance funds, and up to $2,500 for mediator, discretionary, and court costs."This lawsuit was filed quite some time ago and it has been pending by Kenny Dyal and Christopher Ferrell," Rader told the board. “We've been defending that and we had a mediation. Prior to that we had an attorney/client meeting and I won't reiterate or recount what the attorney/client advice was, but we have attempted to negotiate a settlement of this lawsuit.“The plaintiffs started at $700,000 as their demand.