Former Carter County emergency management director files $2 million lawsuit

Former Carter County emergency management director Billy Harrell just filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday seeking $2 million over his December 2024 firing. Court documents reveal that Harrell is alleging First Amendment retaliation, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit says Mayor Patty Woodby falsely claimed Harrell had no emergency plan at a December 2024 county commission meeting and that Woodby fired Harrell because of his interview with WCYB the next day where he denied her claim. Woodby responded in a statement to News 5 that “The truth always comes out in the wash.” Documents from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency show the state most recently approved Carter County’s Basic Emergency Operations Plan in 2021 and Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2023. Those plans were set to expire in 2026 and 2029 respectively. . The county’s Basic Emergency Operations Plan included a letter signed by Mayor Woodby approving and executing the plan.