The Michael Franchek settlement most people are asking about is the 2020 federal whistleblower deal in which his former employer, Workrite Ergonomics, and its parent company agreed to pay $7.1 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. Franchek received roughly $1.27 million of that as the relator. His separate, higher-profile fight with Park City police over a 2019 arrest at his home never produced a settlement: the federal civil rights case he filed was dismissed for failure to prosecute.
The Workrite Whistleblower Settlement
Franchek, a former sales manager for Workrite Ergonomics LLC, filed a qui tam lawsuit alleging that Workrite and its parent, Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Co., overcharged the federal government for office furniture sold under General Services Administration contracts between 2009 and 2017.
The case, United States ex rel. Franchek v. Workrite Ergonomics, LLC, No. 16-cv-02789, was filed in the Northern District of California. It resolved on December 3, 2020, when the companies agreed to pay $7.1 million. The settlement contained no determination of liability. Under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions, Franchek’s share came to approximately $1.27 million.
That is the only Franchek matter that ended in a payout.
The Park City Police Case Did Not Settle
On September 27, 2021, Franchek and his minor son sued Park City Municipal Corporation and four police officers in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. The complaint alleged warrantless entry into the home, unlawful arrest, assault and battery, excessive force including being tased and locked in a hot car without air conditioning, failure to provide a Miranda warning, and interference with the son’s attempt to record the encounter. Both plaintiffs said they developed post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident.
The suit sought more than $900,000 in compensatory, punitive, and medical damages (one report put the figure at a little over $1.1 million), a public written and verbal apology, the unsealing of certain records on one of the officers, and reforms to police training and hiring. Franchek represented himself. Park City moved to dismiss or stay, arguing that the federal court should abstain while criminal charges against Franchek were still pending in Summit County Justice Court.
The case, 2:21-cv-00563, never reached trial and never settled. On August 30, 2024, the court dismissed it without prejudice after Franchek did not respond to an order to show cause and did not update his address with the court. He moved to reopen the case in September 2025; the court denied that motion on September 2, 2025.
The 2019 Arrest Behind the Civil Rights Suit
The lawsuit grew out of a September 29, 2019, encounter at Franchek’s Park City home. Officers had responded to a report of a loud argument between two men near Racquet Club Drive and Spaulding Court, involving teenagers on a gas-powered bicycle. A witness told police she had seen a gun on Franchek as he walked away from the argument.
Officers went to his house and asked him to step outside. He refused to answer questions and tried to go back inside; officers followed him in, citing concern that he might be armed or retrieving a weapon, and arrested him. He was booked into the Summit County Jail on four charges: failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, refusal to comply with a police order, and failure to disclose his identity. The Park City Attorney’s office referred the case to Salt Lake City prosecutors for independent screening.
Franchek’s teenage son recorded roughly 40 minutes of the encounter, and the footage circulated widely online. Franchek filed a formal complaint against the arresting officer. Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter later said internal investigations and an independent review by the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office found policy violations and that discipline was “appropriately administered,” but no officers were terminated, contrary to Franchek’s public claim that three officers had been fired.
Later Filings
Franchek filed a second federal civil rights case against Park City, 2:25-cv-00694, on August 19, 2025, again under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983. Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead recommended dismissal after Franchek failed to comply with a court order to submit summons and service forms, and Judge David Barlow adopted that recommendation and dismissed the case on June 4, 2026.
In June 2021, Franchek, then 56, ran for Park City City Council on a platform of police reform, government accountability, environmental sustainability, and fiscal responsibility. He was eliminated in the primary.
In October 2025, Charles J. Kraft III filed a personal injury suit, Kraft v. Francheck et al., in Summit County’s Third Judicial District Court (Case No. 240500107) against Michael J. Franchek and Matthew Franchek. Michael Franchek’s attempt to remove the case to federal court was terminated on October 17, 2025, as a duplicate of an earlier removal (2:25-cv-00337), and he requested a refund of the $405 filing fee. Available records do not detail the underlying facts of the injury claim.