Litigious London Mayor Weddle involved in nearly a dozen state, federal lawsuits
The latest civil lawsuit alleging London Mayor Randall Weddle of wrongfully terminating and sexually harassing a former city clerk is just the latest in a string of legal complaints against the city leader who has been embroiled in public controversy since he first entered politics in 2022.
Weddle is a former co-founder of a London-based freight-hauling company who ran for mayor four years ago. He was a top Democratic donor who put more than $200,000 in financial gifts to the Kentucky Democratic Party and Gov. Andy Beshear’s re-election bid on his personal credit card.
The move thrust him into the statewide spotlight after the 2022 election when it emerged he had far exceeded individual campaign donor limits and was under investigation for that and sponsoring a free gasoline giveaway during his campaign.
Since then, Weddle has been involved in more than a dozen state and federal civil legal disputes as mayor and named a defendant in 10, according to court records reviewed by the Herald-Leader. Those cases range from since-dismissed slander claims he filed against some negative Facebook commenters shortly after winning the election to the ongoing effort by the London City Council to impeach him.
Meanwhile, Weddle’s administration is reportedly under criminal investigation by the FBI for misuse of federal criminal background checks. Plus, the city council has launched three of its own probes into Weddle and his associates for their use of federal criminal information database, annual budget preparation and their handling of the investigation into a Laurel County man’s death at the hands of London Police Department officers in late 2024.
State Auditor Allison Bell is also conducting a special examination of the city’s spending since Weddle took office.
For his part, Weddle, who is running for reelection this year, has called the drama unfolding in the courts and the investigations against him and his political allies a witch hunt. He has claimed residents elected him to root out longstanding corruption in city hall and has labeled his critics pedophiles.
Weddle did not immediately respond to a Herald-Leader request for comment Tuesday.
City attorney Larry Bryson, who has been named a defendant in his own share of lawsuits, partly due to his connection with the mayor, told the Herald-Leader last week the allegations against him and Weddle are untrue and part of an ongoing effort “to cause disruption within the city.”
“I had hoped that some of these would be resolved, but it appears not,” he said. “They’re just getting worse.”
Here’s a rundown of the active civil disputes in which Weddle is involved as London mayor.
Jarvis v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
London resident Elijah Jarvis filed a defamation suit against Weddle on Feb. 14, 2025, after the mayor appeared on a true-crime podcast where he accused Jarvis and other critics of a suite of unsubstantiated crimes, including sex trafficking, drug dealing and murder.
Jarvis amended his complaint days later after Weddle hosted a news conference where he accused Jarvis and others of participating in an organized group of pedophiles — another unsubstantiated claim. A month later, he sought a restraining order against Weddle and the city for allegedly digging up dirt on him.
He later withdrew that injunction after both parties agreed the city did not possess the records Jarvis believed they had.
Attorneys are taking depositions in the case.
Phelps Brothers v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
Former Kentucky State Troopers and brothers John and James Phelps filed their own joint defamation suit against Weddle and the city Feb. 21, 2025, following the true-crime podcast episode.
The two brothers had been critics of the mayor since the election, but ramped up their comments following the Douglas “Doug” Harless shooting, plus Weddle’s response to the manhunt for an interstate mass shooter and a devastating tornado that killed 17 Laurel County residents in 2025.
Weddle filed an expedited motion for relief to dismiss the suit over the summer under the Kentucky Uniform Public Express Protection Act, which protects defendants in lawsuits that aim to silence free speech on matters of public concern.
The filing pressed pause on other proceedings in the case and has been fully briefed, but a formal hearing on the motion has been delayed.
Hale v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
Former London Police Officer Jared Hale sued Weddle and the city Aug. 14, 2025, claiming the mayor and city attorney had conspired to publicly blame the Harless shooting on Hale.
The former cop said he was not directly involved in serving the warrant the night Harless was killed, but Bryson tipped off the media he had been placed on administrative leave following the shooting, implying his guilt.
Harless’ death in rural Laurel County, well outside the London Police Department’s jurisdiction, marked a turning point in Weddle’s tenure as mayor. Police, who were investigating lawn equipment stolen from Judge-Executive David Westerfield’s house, reportedly ended up at Harless’ double-wide mobile home by mistake. Police say Harless pointed a gun at officers when they kicked down his door and they shot him five times killing him.
A Laurel County grand jury declined to indict any of the officers involved in the shooting last month, triggering protests and calls for justice from the public, county officials and former prosecutors.
Weddle and the city have denied Hale’s claims and asserted the facts laid out are insufficient. Attorneys are deposing witnesses in the case.
Weddle v. London City Council (KY Court of Appeals)
Shortly after the London City Council impeached Weddle on several charges in September, the mayor’s legal counsel appealed to a Laurel Circuit special judge, who found there were insufficient grounds for his removal. He was immediately reinstated.
The council appealed that decision and filed a motion requesting Weddle be removed from office again and Tracie Hadley be reinstated as acting mayor pending the appeal. A panel of judges denied the council’s motion for temporary relief, finding the city government would not suffer irreparable harm under Weddle.
The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld that decision in December, but the appeal itself is still active. Judges have yet to rule on the underlying merits of the council’s appeal. As of early last month, the court said it was fully briefed, meaning a decision on the lower court’s reinstatement order could happen at any time.
Bormann v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
Jacob Bormann, a former sergeant with the London Police Department K-9 unit, filed a defamation suit against Weddle on Nov. 7, claiming the mayor accused him of mounting a mutiny against former Police Chief Darrel Kilburn after he signed onto a no-confidence letter shortly before Weddle took office.
Weddle fired Bormann and other sergeants who signed that letter shortly after he took office and allegedly remarked he had removed problems at the police department, according to the lawsuit.
Bormann also claimed former City Clerk Marcy Berry, who he is in a relationship with, was sexually harassed by Weddle and pressured to share information with him from inside city hall the then-candidate used to secure his election victory.
Weddle has denied those claims and said Bormann lacks sufficient facts, among other defenses. Depositions are slated to begin shortly.
Doug Phelps v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
Nov. 10, a third Phelps brother, Doug Phelps, accused Weddle and several other members of his administration of civil conspiracy for negligence and invasion of privacy.
Shortly after the 2022 election, Doug Phelps says, Weddle and his allies disseminated thousands of anonymous mailers to Laurel County residents that contained personally identifying information about Doug Phelps and other political foes.
Doug Phelps, who is a former school administrator, pleaded guilty to child porn and witness tampering charges in 2013, but was later pardoned by former Gov. Matt Bevin. He has since claimed the conviction was the result of an unsolicited message he received, but Weddle still allegedly used that information to paint Doug Phelps in a negative light, issuing statements that purportedly came from “Saveachild.org” and featured the Save Kentucky Children logo.
Former Laurel County Schools Superintendent Doug Bennett is accused of sharing information with Weddle the mayor used in his mailer campaign.
The lawsuit also targets Weddle’s personal attorney and media consultant Jeremy Bryant for allegedly cooking up the February 2025 news conference where Weddle called his critics pedophiles. Doug Phelps says Bryant marketed that conference to social media entities he owns that appear to be local news outlets.
Weddle, Bryant and Bennett have denied Doug Phelps’ claims and moved for the court to dismiss them.
James Phelps v. City of London (Laurel Circuit Court)
James Phelps and Keith Higginbothom, a London business owner, filed another class-action lawsuit against Weddle and the city in December for allegedly overcharging for trash-pickup and using the proceeds for city operations.
The two men claim the city overcharged garbage fees and used the funds to cover electricity to customers, professional fees, insurance, public relations and to pay fire and police department salaries. The city’s trash collection ordinance prohibits fees from generating revenue, the lawsuit claims.
London is budgeting more than $7 million in garbage collection service this fiscal year, up nearly $4 million from the 2020-21 budget, according to their claim. In January, they filed for injunction to stop the city from using garbage fees for other city services. A judge in the case will hear arguments on that motion in May.
Defendants have denied the claims. Weddle filed a motion to dismiss the case, calling it an “attempted money-grab.”
“While the Plaintiff may seek headlines, the City of London deserves more — and the Law requires it,” lawyers for the mayor wrote.
Ellison v. Weddle (US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky)
Independent Southeastern Kentucky journalist Bobby Ellison filed a lawsuit against the city and Weddle in both his personal and official capacity in early January, claiming he was improperly removed from a London Police Department media distribution list and his access to the city’s social media pages was restricted.
Ellison, who is better known by his social media handle Crime with Bobby, says he was hand-selected by the mayor to cover the manhunt for the I-75 gunmen, but his relationship with Weddle soured when he later turned his attention to the Harless shooting.
His lawsuit makes four claims against the mayor and city, including due-process violations, First Amendment violations and retaliations and a violation of the equal-protection clause. Ellison has also requested injunctions asking for reinstatement to the police department’s distribution lists.
The city and Weddle has said media distribution lists are not a legal requirement and denied Ellison’s claims his access was conditioned on coverage that put the city and mayor in good light.
Estep v. Wolfe (US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky)
An elderly man who was forcibly removed from a contentious city council meeting in December filed a federal lawsuit against the city, naming Weddle in both his personal and official capacities.
The Dec. 1 meeting was attended by primarily city council supporters, and 77-year-old Don Estep claims he was discriminated against because of it. When another member of the public interrupted proceedings to ask members of the council why none of its supporters were present that evening, Estep outed himself by pointing to himself and his wife, he says.
Only a short time later, he claims, Weddle ordered five London police officers to restrain Estep and escort him out of the building. An attorney for Estep says he suffered various bruises and his shoulder was popped out of its socket twice during the police encounter.
Estep claims the city violated his free-speech and due process rights, assaulted and battered him. He is seeking damages exceeding $75,000.
Weddle has said Estep was an agitator at the evening meeting and he later made threatening comments online. The city filed a response to the lawsuit last week denying most of Estep’s claims.
Weddle v. Dyche (Laurel Circuit Court)
For years, Weddle and the city council have squabbled over appointments to the city’s ethics commission, a board responsible for holding elected officials accountable under the public’s trust.
The council has accused Weddle of failing to abide by his legal mandate to appoint members, while the mayor contends the council has refused to confirm his appointments.
In the days following Weddle’s impeachment and temporary removal from office, Acting Mayor Hadley appointed two members to the board who then went on to hold a meeting late last month, well after the mayor had been reinstated.
Weddle and the city sued the council and those newly appointed members the next day, asking the court to overturn Hadley’s appointments and halt the board’s activities. A judge overseeing the case recused himself, passing the buck to Regional Circuit Judge David Williams, the same special judge who reinstated Weddle following the council’s impeachment.
On March 2, the council OK’d two new appointments to the board over Weddle’s objections.
City attorney Bryson filed a motion to dismiss the case Monday, stating both parties had reached an agreement and do not need to continue with the action. Williams has not yet ruled on the motion.
Berry v. Weddle (Laurel Circuit Court)
The former city clerk, Berry, filed her own lawsuit last week against Weddle and Bryson, claiming she was wrongfully terminated and sexually harassed by both men during her more than two years at city hall.
Her lawsuit claims Bryson and then-mayoral candidate Weddle worked together to preserve Bryson’s position as city attorney after it was jeopardized following the release of a scathing state auditor’s report in 2022. In return, she says, Bryson worked to get Weddle elected mayor and instructed Berry to share information from inside city hall about his political appointments.
Meanwhile, Berry said she was subjected to harassment by city employees and Weddle and Bryson participated in that harassment. Instead of putting an end to it, she claims, they retaliated against her when she reported it.
No formal answers have been filed yet, but Bryson denied Berry’s claims when reached by phone last week.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
