MASON CITY — Christian Fellowship Church was awarded nearly $85,000 in a settlement of its legal case against the city of Mason City, Police Chief Michael Lashbrook and Lt. Logan Wernet, according to an attorney involved in the case.

The Rev. Shane Philpott, church pastor, filed suit in federal court in 2009, claiming Wernet made damaging statements that led to an Internal Revenue Service investigation of the church’s financial records.

The IRS cleared the Philpotts of any wrongdoing, according to the suit.

Further, the suit claimed Lashbrook referred to the church as a cult and said there was a “gun room” in the church.

The total settlement was $85,000, according to attorney Timothy Boller of Waterloo, who represented the city.

A total of $1 was paid to Philpott, $1 to his wife Lisa and $84,998 to the church.

Boller said the settlement was funded solely by the city's insurance carrier.

A phone call to Shane Philpott for comment Friday was not returned.

Submission by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2011