Family of former Carmel IT manager Steve McInchak reaches $275,000 settlement with Carmel.

Two years after Steve McInchak was put on paid administrative leave from his IT position at the city of Carmel, his family has finally reached closure fromt the drawn out legal battle that followed.

Carmel officials alleged two years ago that McInchak—who passed away last October from a heart attack—had improperly accessed sensitive files of other employees. His computer and IT equipment were confiscated from his Carmel Valley home, but a year-long investigation by Carmel police produced no substantive evidence and the case was dropped. 

Despite that, McInchak was never given his job back and remained on paid leave until his death, last Oct. 22. 

In the months following his removal from his position, McInchak filed a lawsuit against the city for defamation and emotional distress, among other things, and the litigation finally came to a close yesterday when McInchak's wife Karen agreed to settle with the city for $275,000.

"It’s been an ordeal for her family for two years," says Karen McInchak's attorney Michelle Welsh. "She had wanted to resolve the matter and move on.

"I think the situation is tragic that Steve didn’t live to see any vindication of his rights and reputation, and for a gratified as we are that everything is now settled, it still feels tragic what he had go through in the last year and a half of his life."

Two prominent former Carmel employees who were at least partly involved in putting McInchak on leave, former city administrator Jason Stilwell and former administrative services director Susan Paul, both resigned last year just weeks before McInchak's death.