VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach police officer killed Donovon Lynch during a chaotic night at the Oceanfront in March 2021.
Now Wayne Lynch, Donovon's father, tells 13News Now the $3 million settlement with the city is not a done deal. He says he's parted ways with his case attorney for the suit, former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.
RELATED | Virginia Beach reaches $3M settlement with Donovon Lynch's father in wrongful death lawsuit
This comes two weeks after Wayne and Fairfax stood side by side outside the federal courthouse in Norfolk, celebrating what appeared to be the closing of this case.
In an email Lynch sent Tuesday, he wrote:
The Settlement and Release in the Lawsuit has not been finalized. I regret that it was publicly disclosed before all non-monetary terms were finalized.
It goes on to read:
Justin Fairfax and Tom Martin no longer have any connection or relationship with me, or the Estate. The Estate terminated their short-lived representation of the Estate in the Lawsuit for the second time on Monday, December 26, 2022. The first time was on October 27, 2022.
Wayne said he's hired another attorney and plans to renegotiate the settlement.
The development comes roughly two weeks after Lynch's signature appeared on a "Memorandum of Understanding" over the settlement. The MOU establishes the settlement amount, as well as how Lynch is bound to the terms of the agreement.
Days before this update, Fairfax filed a court motion for a judge to order the completion of the settlement as agreed upon in the MOU, saying Jeff Reichert --the attorney representing the Lynch family estate -- was "preventing the parties from completing the settlement" after allegedly telling Lynch not to sign the agreement.
It also comes several months after a federal judge called Lynch and Fairfax to court to clarify his legal counsel for the case moving forward.
A spokesperson for Fairfax released the following statement in response:
“Justin E. Fairfax and Thomas B. Martin have been honored to secure a $3M settlement in the death of Wayne Lynch’s son Donovon Lynch. This historic settlement for the Lynch family will soon be completely settled in Virginia federal court.
When Justin E. Fairfax and Thomas B. Martin took over this litigation in October, not a single deposition had been taken. In 64 days, the case was settled. They remain the attorneys of record in this case.”
The settlement, first reported by 13News Now and later confirmed by a joint statement between all parties, stems from a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Virginia Beach and the officer who shot Donovon.
The suit alleged that officer Solomon Simmons and the city violated Lynch's constitutional rights with excessive use of force, and that Virginia Beach had failed to properly train its police officers.
The email sent by Wayne Lynch also expresses frustration with the fact that Simmons is back to full duty with the Virginia Beach Police Department.