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Rulings made in city lawsuitMCALESTER, Dec 18, 2012 (McAlester News-Capital - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Associate District Judge James Bland issued rulings Monday in Pittsburg County District Court in a long-simmering lawsuit and counter-action between the city of McAlester and former City Manager Randy Green. "There wasn't anything that was really earth-shattering," Green told the News-Capital on Tuesday morning. "He (Bland) declared my employment agreement invalid." Green then compared the day in court to a poker game. "We started the day with five poker chips each," Green said. "The city had five chips and I had five chips. By the end of the day, the city had six chips and I had four." The hearing was set for Monday at 11:30 a.m. During the hearing, all "dispositive motions" filed by the parties involved in the case were to be heard by the judge. A dispositive motion is basically a legal request seeking a court order to dispose of all or part of the claims in a case without the need for a trial. City attorney Joe Ervin, City Manager Pete Stasiak and Green attorney Jim Polan, of Tulsa, did not return phone calls Tuesday seeking comment. The case has been making its way through the court system since 2006, when attorneys representing the city of McAlester filed a district court lawsuit on behalf of the city, the McAlester Public Works Authority and the McAlester Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and Trust against the former city manager. Green fired back with a third-party petition against the city and several of its representatives. Attorneys for the city and for Green both filed amended petitions in 2006, with both sides seeking monetary damages "in excess of $10,000" on several causes of action. Meanwhile, in some of the most recent action, attorneys representing the city of McAlester, the McAlester Public Works Authority and the city's Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and Trust filed a motion on September seeking a partial summary judgment in the case. Judge Bland issued an order filed Nov. 21 stating that at the joint request of the parties involved, Green, as the "defendant and third party plaintiff" would be given until Monday to file a "surreply brief" in response to the city's Sept. 26 action. Contact James Beaty at [email protected]. Contact Rachel Petersen at [email protected]. or for your computer, tablet, e-reader or smart phone. ___ (c)2012 the McAlester News-Capital (McAlester, Okla.) Visit the McAlester News-Capital (McAlester, Okla.) at mcalesternews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |