Detroit union leader joins suit against mayor, ex-chief of staff
The head of a union representing city of Detroit public utility employees is the new lead plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by a local attorney against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Lawyer Corbett Edge O’Meara, a candidate for Wayne Circuit Court, on Tuesday amended a lawsuit he filed last month to add John Riehl, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207, as a plaintiff. The amended lawsuit also adds as plaintiffs Detroit activist Agnes Hitchcock and several other city residents.
The lawsuit alleges Kilpatrick and Beatty defrauded city taxpayers by paying public funds to protect their private interests when the city settled police whistle-blower lawsuits for $8.4 million in 2007. The settlement included a secret deal that provided for embarrassing and potentially incriminating text messages exchanged between Kilpatrick and Beatty to be kept under wraps.
James C. Thomas, a Detroit lawyer representing Kilpatrick, questioned whether O’Meara brought the suit to gain publicity for his campaign for judge.
Thomas said the concept of individual taxpayers suing a mayor to pay personal damages is “ludicrous.”
Both Thomas and Mayer Morganroth, who represents Beatty, have questioned whether O’Meara and the other plaintiffs have legal standing to bring the lawsuit.
The case is assigned to Wayne Circuit Judge Robert J. Colombo Jr.
Source: Paul Egan / The Detroit News