Sheriff’s Office Challenges $15M Jury Award as Mediation Fails, Sheriff's Appeal Moves Forward

GAINESVILLE – One year after an Alachua County jury awarded Sgt. Kevin Davis $15 million in his discrimination and retaliation civil lawsuit against the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), settlement talks have failed and the case is now moving into the formal appeals process.

Sheriff Chad D. Scott has asked Florida’s First District Court of Appeal to resume briefing deadlines after court-ordered mediation ended in an impasse, with the Sheriff expected to challenge both the size of the verdict and key legal issues surrounding whether jurors were required to find the alleged wrongdoing stemmed from an official agency policy.

Because the court paused the appeal deadlines while the parties tried mediation, the Sheriff now wants the appellate court to confirm that his first brief is due March 27, 2026, about 45 days after mediation ended.

The appeal stems from a February 2025 jury verdict awarding Davis $15 million in non-economic damages in his discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office. Circuit Judge Gloria Walker denied post-trial motions seeking a new trial but trimmed the back pay award, ruling the jury had mistakenly added compensation for future earnings, and reduced it from $115,724 to $16,457.

The size of the verdict remains central to the Sheriff's appellate challenge. The $15 million award was 130 times the original back pay amount submitted to the jury. After reducing the back pay award, it is more than 900 times larger than the $16,457 in back pay allowed by the court. Defense attorneys have argued the large gap shows the jury’s award was not supported by the financial evidence presented at trial.

At trial, Davis testified that he suffered emotional distress during a 19-week paid administrative suspension. But in post-trial filings, the Sheriff’s Office argued that no medical records, counseling documentation, psychological evaluations or expert testimony were presented to support any claims of mental health or physical harm. The agency has also maintained that Davis was never demoted, never lost pay and never had his rank reduced.

On appeal, the Sheriff is expected to argue that Davis was required by the federal Monell doctrine to show the alleged discrimination or retaliation stemmed from an official Sheriff’s Office policy or practice and that jurors were never asked to decide that specific issue on the verdict form. Davis has pursued similar retaliation claims in the past, including a lawsuit against former Sheriff Sadie Darnell that he later dismissed voluntarily.

The appeal may also revisit a separate criminal investigation that unfolded alongside Davis’ civil lawsuit. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) opened the probe at the request of Davis’ attorney, Bobi J. Frank, on the same day the discrimination and retaliation case was filed. Frank was also allegedly involved in the incidents reviewed by FDLE and represented several witnesses questioned during the investigation, including Brandon Kutner, who later testified in Davis’ civil trial.

Ultimately, the Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney declined prosecution, saying the allegations did not warrant prosecution and that the alleged incidents rested largely on the testimony of immunized witness and Frank’s client, Kutner, and found insufficient evidence implicating former Sheriff Clovis Watson or his administration.

Defense attorneys for ACSO have argued that repeated references to the FDLE investigation during Davis’ civil trial unfairly cast Sheriff’s Office leaders in a negative light, even though the investigation ended without charges.

With mediation unsuccessful, the focus now shifts to written briefing before the First District Court of Appeal. The Sheriff's initial brief, expected by March 27 if the court confirms the deadline, will outline the legal grounds for reversal or further reduction of the verdict.

For now, the record is set, settlement efforts have ended, and the $15 million judgment stands pending appellate review.

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