YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. – Yakima County has agreed to settle two lawsuits out of court, providing $65,000 and text messages between County Coroner Jim Curtice’s wife, Christy Foster, and County Prosecutor Joseph Brusic to the plaintiff, Timothy Hall.
The lawsuits originated from two public records requests made by Hall. The first, in September 2024, sought all emails from county officials discussing Coroner Curtice. The second requested every police report from 2023 related to officer assaults in Yakima County.
Hall received multiple public records, including a notable email from Prosecutor Brusic in November. Hall says the email included text messages between Jim Curtice and his wife, which were relayed to Brusic.
After receiving the email, Hall sought additional records but faced multiple extensions, prompting him to take legal action.
“At that point, I just decided to go ahead and file a lawsuit and, immediately, I think the next day after they were served, the county was served with the lawsuit, they sent me an email saying there are more no records,” Hall said.
Hall pointed out that the email referenced other text messages, but the county claimed his request didn’t match any other information they had. As part of the settlement, Yakima County must provide the remaining texts between Brusic and Foster by March 1.
Hall believes the $65,000 settlement will be paid by the county or their insurance company.
NonStop Local has also reached out to the Yakima County Prosecutors Office, but have not heard back yet.
