LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A federal civil lawsuit filed by a Letcher County woman against a sheriff's deputy and the county sheriff's office ended in a settlement on the day jury selection was set to begin, according to court records filed March 3, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Sabrina Adkins filed the lawsuit against Ben Fields, individually and in his official capacity as a Letcher County Sheriff's deputy, and Billy Jones, the Letcher County Sheriff.
Court records show that as the jury pool was brought into the courtroom, attorneys and all parties announced they had reached a settlement agreement and confirmed on the record agreement to all material terms. The specific terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court documents.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier ordered both sides to split the cost of the jury. Adkins owes half of the total, and the defendants together owe the other half. The court also ordered that settlement funds may not be disbursed to Adkins until both sides have paid their share of jury costs.
All payments are due to the Clerk of the Court no later than April 3, 2026. The parties have also been ordered to file an agreed order of dismissal to formally conclude the case by that same date, records read.
During the pretrial conference, Judge Wier granted a motion by Fields barring all parties from posting any trial-related content on social media for the duration of the jury trial. That prohibition ended with the conclusion of the trial.
The case has been administratively closed and struck from the active docket, according to court records.
