The saga of the multiple lawsuits involving construction of the new Butler County Prison has nearly come to an end, and the county won't be paying any settlements.

Following a marathon mediation session Wednesday in Pittsburgh, a settlement between the county, A.G. Cullen Construction and Travelers Casualty & Surety was reached.

The settlement covers a county court case filed against the county by Cullen, the project's initial general contractor, and a federal lawsuit filed against Cullen and the county by Travelers, Cullen's insurer.

Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, board chairman, said in an interview Thursday the settlement is good news for the county.

"We're very pleased to be out from under that," he said.

Under the settlement terms, the county retains the roughly $6.5 million paid by Travelers to complete the project after Cullen left the South Washington Street job site in December 2007.

Travelers also will pay the county an additional $229,000.

Attorney Tom King of the Butler firm Dillon, McCandless, Coulter, King & Graham, special counsel to the county, said in an interview more money initially was sought from Travelers. But, the county settled on the $229,000.

As part of the settlement, Cullen and Travelers dropped their claims against the county.

"We have no downside," King said.

The settlement was reached during a 12.5-hour mediation session conducted by retired Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell.

The only remaining litigation involves claims by two other prime contractors from the $43 million project: Clista Electric and Enders Plumbing and Heating against Travelers for delays in the project's completion.

Following Cullen's departure, the county eventually hired Rycon Construction of Pittsburgh to finish the job.

Originally set to be done October 2007, the prison was finished in the spring of 2009.

The county, which has secured releases from both Clista and Enders, has no liability in that case.

King said the county may even receive money, depending on the outcome of Clista and Enders' case.

The county in August 2008 paid both contractors extra money to remain on the job.

Clista received $250,000 while Enders was given $25,000.

King said those amounts would be reimbursed to the county if the contractors are awarded a settlement from Travelers.

"We get all our money back," he said. "If they recover, we recover."

Neither King nor attorney Richard Kalson of the Pittsburgh firm Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir, who represented Cullen, would confirm the contractor received money from Travelers under the settlement.

"The case was settled to the mutual satisfaction of all parties," Kalson said.

King said the resolution saves the county future legal expenses and consulting fees.

The county in July hired Bottom Line Construction of Charlotte, N.C., to be a prison expert in preparation for court testimony.

Bottom Line was being paid between $45 an hour and $175 an hour, depending on the position of the employees working on the case.

As of July 14, the county paid a total of $568,425 to three legal firms and a New York-based mediator.

Litigation began in April 2007 when Cullen filed a $1.5 million breach of contract lawsuit against the county.

Cullen's civil complaint was later amended to increase the amount to $3.8 million.

Travelers later filed a federal lawsuit against Cullen, eventually adding the county as a defendant.

King said the settlement ends a protracted legal battle for the county.

He compared the resolution of the lawsuits to current events: "The ground troops are done fighting in Iraq," he said.