City sets aside $550,000 to defend claims by former employees

Fri., Dec. 16, 2016

By Kip Hill kiphillreporter@gmail.com

Straub legal costs continue

The three law firms contracted to provide legal services to the city of Spokane arising out of the ouster of former police Chief Frank Straub were given contract extensions last month totaling $115,000.

Kutak Rock, the firm that was contracted to oversee the attorneys working on the case, will be paid a maximum of $65,000 for their work on the case. John Spencer Stewart, who represented former City Attorney Nancy Isserlis in the $4 million lawsuit Straub filed against the city, will be paid up to $20,000. Keller Allen, the attorney representing City Administrator Theresa Sanders in that same lawsuit, will be paid up to $30,000.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice dismissed Straub’s lawsuit in June, finding that the former chief resigned and wasn’t fired. Straub, who is now working for the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C., has appealed that ruling to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kip Hill

The Spokane City Council this week unanimously approved contract extensions with a private law firm totaling more than half a million dollars to help resolve legal claims by former employees.

The firm Etter, McMahon, Lamberson, Van Wert & Oreskovich may be paid up to $550,000 for legal work representing the city in a sexual harassment claim brought by Sonya O’Brien, a former wastewater treatment plant operator, and Patrick Maggart, a former Spokane Fire Department captain.

O’Brien alleges sexual harassment, including smearing of feces and urine in the women’s bathroom at the sewage plant, between 2008 and 2013, when she left the city’s employ due to ongoing mistreatment. She also claims, in a tort claim against the city seeking a settlement of $2.5 million, that when she filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – the first step to filing a lawsuit against the city – officials released her complaint to co-workers unredacted, prompting further harassment.

Brad Axtell, the attorney representing O’Brien, said the sides are taking depositions and a settlement is still possible.

“I hope they’ll come to reason,” Axtell said.

The city, in its response to the lawsuit, denied all O’Brien’s allegations, and said it took corrective action after her complaint was filed. A trial date is set for August.

City Council President Ben Stuckart said he believed the legal expenses were necessary, based on briefing from city legal staff. He also said he believed the concerns expressed in O’Brien’s lawsuit had been addressed by the departure earlier this year of city administrators who dealt with employment issues, including the human resources director.

“I’m confident we have the right people in charge now,” Stuckart said.

Mike Piccolo, acting city attorney following the departure of Nancy Isserlis earlier this year, said the city uses its own staff attorneys in addition to the work of outside firms on employment law cases to tamp down costs. If staff attorneys were working on these complicated cases, he said, they’d have time to do little else.

“We do have a couple of attorneys that do litigation, but when it gets to this level, you need more litigation services,” Piccolo said.

Maggart, the former fire captain, filed a claim in 2014 requesting a settlement amount of $950,000, alleging discrimination in his termination. Maggart claims he was forced out by the Spokane Fire Pension Board after failing a physical ability test that did not comport with the duties of his job.

The case is under appellate court review, after Spokane Superior Court Judge James Triplet ordered the city to turn over the documentation, including emails, that support the pension board’s finding that Maggart was disabled and could not perform his job. The city argued unsuccessfully it wasn’t legally required to turn those records over, and asked appellate judges to review Triplet’s decision.

Maggart contends he was unable to argue against the findings of the pension board and that a hearing wasn’t held to discuss the case before he was terminated.

The city alleges Maggart missed more than 2,000 hours of work on disability leave between 2008 and 2011. The pension board found that returning Maggart to work for the fire department would endanger himself and residents.

Piccolo said the city seeks outside counsel on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the expertise of a specific firm.

Stuckart acknowledged the high cost of defending the lawsuits but said he believed the city needed outside legal counsel for the cases. He also said the city had made progress on settling cases before they reached the courtroom, when costs can rise considerably.

“I’ve seen, over the last five years, the number of open cases decline,” Stuckart said. “We try to settle when it makes sense.”