Langley paid $1,000 and agreed to disclose documents to settle a lawsuit by a Clinton man earlier this month.

Eric Hood, a former South Whidbey School District teacher, sued Langley for allegedly violating the Public Records Act in January. He filed a request in December 2013 for any records and correspondences that mentioned his name. His lawsuit claimed the city withheld documents from his request.

Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy was the school superintendent when Hood’s teaching contract was not renewed. Hood is currently in litigation with the school district.

The settlement agreement, obtained through a records request, included a stipulation that neither the city nor Hood speak to the news media. Only the statement: “The parties have reached an amicable settlement,” was allowed under the agreement.

Hood did not respond to a request for comment. McCarthy said only that he was not able to speak about the deal.

“I’m not at liberty to say much about the Hood settlement,” McCarthy said. “Part of the agreement was to only say we reached an amicable settlement.”

In Hood’s lawsuit, he claimed the mayor kept a “secure confidential file” that was discussed via email to the city council. As part of the deal, the city maintained it had previously disclosed all of the records contained in that file.

The ninth stipulation was that Hood would not make further public record requests concerning personnel matters related to himself, concerning McCarthy or himself for as long as the mayor serves, up to five years.