A Kalama home developer won a $5.8 million settlement against the man who shot him four times in 2008, according to court documents.

Clark County Superior Court Judge Barbara D. Johnson ruled last week that the shooter, Roy S. Jorgenson of Woodland must pay the damages to Chad Wilson, who underwent 14 surgeries following the attack and racked up more than a half-million dollars in medical bills.

Wilson's lawyer doesn't expect his client to ever see anywhere near that amount, however.

A jury convicted Jorgenson of second-degree assault in March. He is serving a nine-month sentence in the Cowlitz County Jail.

Wilson, the developer of the high-end Dave's View housing tract in Kalama, said this week that it's been a difficult stretch, with one legal battle after another.

In 2007, the city of Kalama accused Wilson of stealing two million gallons of water from a city reservoir for two ponds at the development's entrance and his personal home. The prosecutor dropped charges against Wilson of defrauding a public utility in November 2007 and Kalama officials withdrew a civil claim against him in 2008, Wilson said in court documents.

Wilson filed a civil claim for unspecified damages against the city of Kalama in June, saying the imbroglio cost him past and future earnings. Kalama City Attorney Paul Brachvogel declined to comment on the claim, except to say, "We'll defend any claim like that that's brought against the city - vigorously."

In addition, Wilson faces a lawsuit from his development's residents, saying he improperly assessed and collected fees against members of the developments' homeowners' association. He said he suspects the allegations of water theft lead residents to believe he mishandled the homeowners' association's funds.

"He's had an awful lot on his plate between the shooting and this," said Longview attorney Duane Crandall, who is representing Wilson in his claim against the city of Kalama. "He's kind of swimming for the surface at this point."

At the time of Jorgenson's sentencing, Wilson said he was infuriated by a jury's decision to convict Jorgenson of a lesser charge, which carried what he considered a light sentence. He said this week that the award in the civil case restored "some needed confidence in our overall justice system."

Crandall said the suit over the shooting was filed in Clark County because Jorgenson owns property there. It's unclear how much Wilson will be able to collect from Jorgenson, Crandall said. Wilson said this week that the value of Jorgenson's assets is "not even in the ballpark" of $5.8 million.

Prosecutors said Wilson and his wife discovered Jorgenson looking at some landscaping in their development on May 18, 2008. Jorgenson refused to leave and punched Wilson in the face, prosecutors said. When Wilson fought back, Jorgenson pulled a gun and began firing as Wilson tried to run away. Wilson was shot four times at a range of at least 30 feet, prosecutor's said.

Jorgenson said he acted in self-defense because Wilson was severely beating him.

Wilson said he underwent 14 surgeries over three months. Some of his fingers were permanently paralyzed, he said. A portion of his intestines were removed and, he said, he had to use a colostomy bag for about a year.

He said he is a country and classic rock musician who has toured with bands and lived in Nashville, but playing guitar is too difficult now.

"Oh my God, we're still struggling," Wilson said. "We're still trying to get back on track."

Wilson said his claim against the city of Kalama - the first step in filing a lawsuit - is aimed mainly at clearing his name.

"I just really feel strong in my heart that my family deserves an answer; my friends deserve an answer; my business associates deserve an answer," Wilson said. "If I could clear my name, I'd feel a lot better about doing business here."

He said the city gave him permission to hook up to the reservoir and that much of the water disappeared as a result of a leak. He provided to the newspaper an affidavit from Paul King, a Kalama landscape contractor, which says the city gave him unmetered access to the reservoir in August 2005 to construct the development's "entry monument."

"These construction practices are fairly routine and have been applied in the field regularly by the city of Kalama and other municipalities in the past," King said.

Wilson also provided three affidavits from Confer Road area residents saying the city of Kalama was in the neighborhood repairing a water main leak in August 2006. The city has provided no documentation of the repairs, Wilson said.

Wilson said he paid the city $1,000 to settle the question of the stolen water, largely because it would have been more expensive to pay an attorney than to drag the matter through the court system.

Sometimes, he said, "life comes at you.