By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee

The lawsuit brought by three community service officers against El Dorado County has been resolved.

The suits were filed by the three community service officers with the sheriff’s office – Nicole Sahaj-Myers, Stacie Walls and Jona Scher – in June 2010.

The women complained that other members of the department had harassed and discriminated against them.

County officials denied that there was a violation of the law. The parties were scheduled to begin trial Monday in federal court on the claims of gender discrimination and harassment.

A joint statement released Friday said that rather than go through the expense and uncertainty of a jury trial, the parties agreed to settle the case for $95,000.

The sheriff’s office and the three plaintiffs thought they had good cases. However, the county sought to avoid plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees that would be rewarded if the jury awarded even $1 to any of the women. And the plaintiffs agreed to settle to resolve the issue and avoid the risk of having to pay county costs if the women lost at trial.