A civil rights lawsuit filed against a state trooper, who last year arrested the owner of the Forgotten Hearts Horse Sanctuary in Morrisdale, Clearfield County, has been settled out of court, according to an order filed this week by U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines in Johns­town.

The case was resolved during a mediation session conducted Monday by attorney David B. White of Pittsburgh, who is listed as an Alternative Dispute Resolution lawyer.

The lawyers involved in the case would not comment on the settlement, but attorney Dylan Hastings of Philadelphia, who represented the owner of the horse sanctuary, Lana Hubler-Thompson, stated his client was “happy to move on from this.”

A big part of the lawsuit, he stated, was to clear the name of Hubler-Thompson, 59, whom he described in the initial lawsuit filed this year as “a sweet Christian woman.”

Deputy Attorney General Joan E. Owhe, the attorney for State Police Trooper Austin Woolcock, who was the defendant in the case, indicated she had no comment concerning the settlement, but she did confirm the case had been resolved.

The lawsuit came about because of a traffic stop made by Woolcock during the night of June 14, 2023.

The weather at the time was “wet and foggy,” and Hubler-Thompson was driving her truck that was loaded with a 750-pound bale of hay for the farm.

The trooper began to follow Hubler-Thompson when she made a turn toward Morrisdale at the intersection of Naulon Road and State Street in Curwensville.

He eventually pulled her over, and according to legal documents in the case, the trooper asked her to take a walk with him.

He indicated he stopped her because her headlight was out.

Hubler-Thompson denied her headlight was out.

After the two took a walk, the trooper accused her of driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

She claims he frisked her, then conducted a search of her vehicle in an effort to find a stash of drugs.

Woolcock, in his answer to the lawsuit denied these events — that the two took a walk and that he frisked her and conducted a search of her vehicle.

However, he arrested her for being under the influence of drugs and impaired driving. He cuffed her and took her to Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospital for a blood draw.

The lawsuit against Woolcock charged a violation of Hubler-Thompson’s Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure and false arrest.

No charges were ever filed against Hubler-Thompson because, according to the defendant’s answer to the lawsuit, the blood draw showed “no positive finding.”

However, Hubler-Thompson’s arrest received publicity in a local newspaper.

The lawsuit charged that the false arrest and subsequent publication caused Hubler-Thompson “severe emotional distress.”

Clearing her name, Hastings stated, “is probably the best outcome we could receive.”

He said Hubler-Thompson is continuing to operate her horse sanctuary, adding she has nine or 10 horses that she rescued.

“It’s a pretty nice operation she has,” he explained.