Media Coverage
15 severance payouts totaling $850k planned by Wayne County, scrapped amidst fallout
Mullin Takes On Airport Authority After Termination
Bing Whistleblower Alleges Corruption
Deborah Gordon listed in Detroit Business
'Top Lawyers' in metro Detroit - 2010
Deborah Gordon - Selected as a Leader in the Law
by The Michigan Lawyers Weekly for 2009
Deborah Gordon Rated as one of the "TOP 10" LAWYERS IN MICHICAN
Ratings by Super Lawyers
Click here to read Super Lawyers featuring Deborah Gordon
Deborah was named as one of the top ten lawyers in Michigan in the Super Lawyers publications of September, 2006 and September, 2007.
Listed as One of the Most Influential Women in Michigan by
Crain's Detroit Business
TV Interviews & News Videos
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September 30, 2011 - Mullin's $200k severance promised in undated, seven-sentence letter |
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January 25, 2011 - New evidence in case of fired official |
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December 12, 2010 - Former student suing Wayne State University and Salvation Army |
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December 8, 2010 - Woman Sues Wayne State, Salvation Army For Discrimination |
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November 9, 2010 - Michigan assistant AG fired after targeting openly gay student leader |
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November 2, 2010 - Assistant AG Andrew Shirvell Profiled on The Daily Show |
October 8, 2010 - Whistleblower lawsuit against Court |
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April 30, 2009 - Waterford settles harassment claim with former police clerk |
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March 24, 2006 - GM Layoffs |
Radio Interviews
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July 16, 2009 September 26, 2007 April 10, 2007 |
Media Coverage
Male nurse claims he lost job for treating Muslim women in scarves - Click Here
Gordon not worried about Andrew Shirvell's suit - Click Here
Shrivell v. Gordon: Former assistant attorney
general suing Bloomfield Hills attorney - Click Here
Judge slams anti-gay former state attorney for trying to
short-circuit lawsuit - Click Here
Detroit may pay $300K to former aide to Martha Reeves
September 27, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Detroit settles suit with former aide to councilwoman Reeves
September 27, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Ex-assistant attorney general must answer questions about law school
September 15, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Honigman Settles With Ex-Secretary Injured On The Job
June 1, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Shirvell files motion to dismiss claims made by Armstrong
May 11, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Shirvell fires back, claims he's victim of gay agenda
May 10, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Andrew Shirvell seeks dismissal of stalking complaint, adds counterclaims to Chris Armstrong's lawsuit
May 10, 2011 - Click Here for Story
UM student body president sues former assistant attorney general, alleging defamation and stalking
April 6, 2011 - Click Here for Story
U-M student files harassment lawsuit against Andrew Shirvell
April 6, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Prosecutors hold immunity as controversial sex abuse case moves forward
March 31, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Sexual harassment lawsuit against East Jackson Superintendent Paul Reeves settled
March 2, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Former Pontiac employee sues city
February 4, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Andrew Shirvell Was Warned Before Firing, Report Says
January 23, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Report details past problems with former Michigan assistant AG who targeted U-M student body president with anti-gay attacks
January 23, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Southgate Settles Whistle-Blower Case For $300K
January 17, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Judge calls rape prosecution, jailing of Oakland County dad 'troubling'
January 13, 2011 - Click Here for Story
Dad's arrest in sex case results in $1.8M settlement
December 12, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Waterford settles sexual harassment lawsuit for $95,000
December 12, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Student claims unwed pregnancy led WSU, Salvation Army to block degree
December 8, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Conversations Secretly Taped at School
November 14, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Attorney calls for retraction from fired assistant attorney general who
blogged about gay student
November 10, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Michigan assistant AG fired after targeting openly gay student leader
November 9, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Assistant AG Andrew Shirvell Profiled on The Daily Show
November 2, 2010 - Click Here for Story
U-M student leader seeks assistant AG's disbarment
October 29, 2010 - Click Here for Story
UM student wants Asst. AG disbarred, says he repeatedly harassed and defamed him
October 29, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Judge Accused Of Wrongfully Using Court Funds
October 11, 2010 - Click Here for Story
SOUTHGATE: City settles whistleblower lawsuit against judge
October 09, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Ex-aide: Complaints about judge's finances led to termination
October 08, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Sylvan Lake police, chief sued over '09 arrest
April 27, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Teacher's Aide Says She Was Fired for Reporting Third-Grader With Drugs
March 9, 2010 - Click Here for Story
Clawson school worker fired for reports
February 18, 2010 - Click Here for Story
City stalling in pregnancy bias lawsuit, lawyer says
November 27, 2009 - Click Here for Story
Ex-WCSX DJ sues, says she was harassed
November 18, 2009 - Click Here for Story
Bloomfield Hills lawyer takes on the big dogs -- and wins
November 8, 2009 - Click Here for Story
'U' settles case with former Dental School student
November 1, 2009 - Click Here for Story
Ave Maria Law in Toilet-Tier Rankings, Again. How?
October 9, 2009 - Click Here for Story
Letterman's behavior nothing to laugh at
October 3, 2009 - Click Here for Story
For all 2009 Media Coverage - Click here
For past Media Archives (2007, 2008 & 2009) - Click here
2011 MEDIA COVERAGE
Ex-assistant attorney general must answer questions about law school
By David Jesse
September 15, 2011
Andrew Shirvell, a former state assistant attorney general, must answer questions about whether the law school he attended warned the state bar about his conduct before he became a lawyer, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Shirvell is being sued by Chris Armstrong, a former University of Michigan student body president. The suit accuses Shirvell of stalking and defaming him and of inflicting emotional distress. The suit calls Shirvell's actions a "bizarre" campaign that included physical intimidation and numerous blog postings alleging Armstrong was advancing a "radical homosexual agenda."
Shirvell has countersued, saying he's the victim and that Armstrong is responsible for his recent professional troubles. Shirvell was fired by the state Attorney General's Office in November for using his state computer to update the blog and then lying to investigators about it.
Shirvell, representing himself, argued in court Wednesday that he shouldn't have to answer questions about whether his alma mater, the Ave Maria School of Law, sent a memo to the state bar. The school was located in Ann Arbor when Shirvell attended but has since moved to Florida.
The questions were posed to him during a deposition in July, but Shirvell refused to answer, prompting the Wednesday hearing.
On Wednesday, magistrate Judge Paul Komives ruled Deb Gordon, who is Armstrong's lawyer, could submit written questions around the issue, and Shirvell would have to answer. The judge said Shirvell's answers would remain confidential unless used in litigation.
Gordon said Wednesday in court that she believes the law school filed a "several-page" memo outlining concerns over Shirvell's conduct as a student.
"I intend to show he has a pattern in his life of going after certain people, some of whom are homosexual. He has lied in the past," she said.
Shirvell said even if he had to answer the questions, it shouldn't matter because the state bar ended up certifying him as a lawyer.
"They are desperate to relive controversies that have been put to bed by the state bar," he said Wednesday. He repeated his position that his speech was protected by the First Amendment.
Armstrong was not present at Wednesday's hearing, the first public hearing on the case fought up until now through legal briefs.
Shirvell has also deposed Armstrong for the lawsuit.
A hearing is set for next month on a motion by Shirvell seeking dismissal of several of the counts in the suit.
Shirvell files motion to dismiss claims made by Armstrong
By SARAH ALSADEN
May 11, 2011
Law360, New York (June 1, 2011) -- A former Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP secretary who says she was harassed and fired after suffering a back injury at work settled with the law firm, according to documents filed Wednesday in a Michigan federal court.
The terms of the settlement agreement are confidential, according to Sarah Prescott, an attorney for plaintiff Denise Fitzhenry. It resolves the suit Fitzhenry brought in October against the firm and its vice chairman Alan S. Schwartz, for whom Fitzhenry worked as a secretary.
In the suit, Fitzhenry claimed she was forced to skip medical appointments and was fired after she hurt her back by tripping on a loose piece of carpet at the firm. Schwartz — who according to Fitzhenry was a demanding boss — forced her to cancel doctor and physical therapy appointments after her injury, she alleged.
When he did allow her to attend such appointments, he harassed her by asking if she was "leaving again," according to the suit.
Schwartz also told the plaintiff that if she took leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, she would be demoted and might not have a job when she returned, the complaint contended. In August 2009, Fitzhenry took time off under the FMLA anyway and was demoted to the word processing pool when she came back, according to the suit.
Her new position aggravated her back injury, and she took leave again in November 2009, according to the complaint. She told the firm that she could return May 31, but Honigman said the company would not have a position for her, the suit alleged.
The complaint included claims under the FMLA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Americans with Disability Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in addition to several state law claims.
In March, Fitzhenry accused the firm of trying to skirt its obligations to produce documents related to her work performance.
She said the firm made a unilateral, undisclosed decision not to provide electronic documents, such as emails and instant messages, that dated back more than 90 days from the start of discovery. Fitzhenry was fired well before the 90-day period, according to the March 2 motion.
She also alleged attorneys for the firm did not ask for documents from her other supervisors or attorneys with whom she had worked, including one of the two people responsible for her annual performance evaluation.
Fitzhenry is represented by Sarah Prescott and Deborah L. Gordon of the Law Office of Deborah L. Gordon PLC.
Honigman Miller is represented by Elizabeth Hardy and Sonja Lengnick of Kienbaum Opperwall Hardy & Pelton PLC.
The suit is Fitzhenry v. Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP et al., case number 2:10-cv-14102, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
--Additional reporting by Erin Fuchs. Editing by Eydie Cubarrubia.
Honigman Settles With Ex-Secretary Injured On The Job
By SARAH ALSADEN
June 1, 2011
Former Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell filed a motion last Friday to dismiss several claims made against him in a lawsuit issued by former Michigan Student Assembly President Chris Armstrong.
Shirvell aims to rescind five of the six claims made against him in the suit filed on April 1 at the Washtenaw County Circuit Court including defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process, stalking and one of two counts of invasion of privacy. Shirvell also requested on May 1 for the suit to be transferred to federal court since he has recently moved to New York.
Shirvell's motion to dismiss does not include the first count of invasion of privacy - which states he "falsely and maliciously represented" Armstrong by dispersing private information through his blog "Chris Armstrong Watch," according to the April 1 complaint filed by Armstrong's attorney. In the blog, Shrivell claims that Armstrong, who is the first openly gay MSA president, was using his position on MSA to instill a "radical homosexual agenda."
In a press statement sent by Shirvell to The Michigan Daily on May 10, he wrote that he believes Armstrong's lawsuit is "politically motivated," and "is entirely without merit and totally devoid of reality."
Shirvell added that he has been caused economic and personal strife, using this as the foundation for the counterclaims he's making against Armstrong in an effort to dismiss the counts.
"Unlike Mr. Armstrong, I have suffered real economic damage, including significant loss of income, future earnings, and the right to enjoyment of my livelihood," Shirvell wrote. "And, I have suffered those damages as a direct result of Mr. Armstrong's wrongful conduct. I look forward to successfully litigating my claims in the Court."
Deborah Gordon, Armstrong's attorney, said in an interview on May 10 that she doesn't believe Shirvell's motion to dismiss the claims will be successful because his counterclaims lack basis, adding that it was Shirvell's own actions that led to his termination as assistant attorney general.
"The attorney general did lay out very specific reasons including him lying to the attorney general, him using state equipment for his blog, and many other things," Gordon said. "That's why he's out of a job, and out of an income - wrong-doing on his part."
Shirvell also wrote in the press statement that his actions against Armstrong are protected by the United States Constitution and will be recognized by the court, which he believes will ultimately dismiss the "frivolous lawsuit."
"I am confident that the Court will ultimately throw out Mr. Armstrong's baseless lawsuit and that my First Amendment rights will be upheld," Shirvell wrote.
Gordon said the transfer of the case to federal court will not affect the trial, and that though Shirvell claims he's confident that the court will side with him as a protection of his First Amendment rights, this will not be the case.
"The law does not protect people that lie about other people, intentionally and recklessly," Gordon said.
The best course of action for Shirvell is to apologize for his previous statements, Gordon said.
"What Mr. Shirvell really needs to do is take responsibility for what he has done and the lies he has published," she said. "He needs to retract them, he needs to apologize and he needs to try to move on with his life."
Shirvell fires back, claims he's victim of gay agenda
By David Jesse
May 10, 2011
Former assistant state attorney general and University of Michigan alumnus Andrew Shirvell, who was named in a stalking and harassment lawsuit last month, said in a filing last week he is the real victim and that the case has ruined his reputation and livelihood.
Shirvell, who is representing himself, was sued last month by Chris Armstrong, who was the first openly gay University of Michigan student body president.
He claims Shirvell engaged in a campaign against him, including writing on a blog that he is a radical homosexual activist who held orgies. He says in the suit that Shirvell showed up at places where he was, including in front of his house in the middle of the night.
In the May 6 filing, Shirvell asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying he was just exercising his First Amendment rights. He said he never had direct contact with Armstrong, rendering moot the stalking portion of the complaint.
The filing claims that Armstrong actually pursued a "course of action" against Shirvell "to make an example out of (me) in order to deter others from criticizing (Armstrong's) homosexual activist agenda."
"Mr. Armstrong's lawsuit is politically motivated," Shirvell said in an e-mail. "For months, Mr. Armstrong has garnered publicity for himself and for his political agenda by trashing me in the media. The lawsuit filed on April 1st is nothing more than Mr. Armstrong's latest publicity stunt. It is entirely without merit and totally devoid of reality. Mr. Armstrong has suffered no damages. I am confident that the Court will ultimately throw-out Mr. Armstrong's baseless lawsuit and that my First Amendment rights will be upheld."
The filing is the latest in a saga that goes back to the summer when Armstrong took over as student body president. Over the summer and early fall, Shirvell, who graduated from U-M several years ago, started a blog railing against what he called Armstrong's "radical homosexual agenda."
Shirvell turned up at a number of places where Armstrong was to protest against him. Shirvell was eventually banned from campus. U-M police asked for stalking charges to be brought against Shirvell, but the Washtenaw County prosecutor declined to bring that charge. Shirvell's campus ban was later modified to make sure the two weren't in the same place at the same time.
Shirvell was fired from his job by then-attorney general Mike Cox, who said Shirvell posted to the blog using state computers and on state time.
Armstrong and his attorney, Deborah Gordon, first sought Shirvell's disbarment, and then last month filed the lawsuit against him. The disbarment investigation by the Michigan state bar is ongoing.
In the filing, Shirvell also alleged Gordon, lawyer for Armstrong, conspired with the AG's office to get him fired. Gordon rebutted those claims in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon.
"What he really needs to do is take responsibility for his actions, retract his lies, apologize and try to move on with his life. I note that his motion does not deny that he said these things; nor does he state that they are true."
Andrew Shirvell seeks dismissal of stalking complaint, adds counterclaims to Chris Armstrong's lawsuit
By Lee Higgins
May 10, 2011
A former assistant state attorney general is asking a judge to dismiss numerous allegations in a lawsuit filed against him that alleges he stalked and defamed the openly gay former student body president of the University of Michigan.
Andrew Shirvell has filed a motion to dismiss in federal court in Detroit, claiming the lawsuit filed last month by former U-M student body president Chris Armstrong lacks specifics the court would need in order to grant relief.
In the May 6 filing, Shirvell also makes several counterclaims, including alleging that Armstrong pursued an unjustified course of conduct against him that resulted in him being improperly fired.
The filing comes in response to a lawsuit filed last month by Armstrong that alleges Shirvell stalked him and caused him emotional distress in 2010 with posts on Shirvell’s blog and Facebook. Armstrong was the first openly gay student body president at U-M and had been accused by Shirvell of pushing a “radical homosexual agenda.”
Armstrong's suit was initially filed in Washtenaw County Court, but is now pending in federal court.
Shirvell claims that he was engaging in activity protected under the First Amendment. He notes that Armstrong never alleged Shirvell "ever directly communicated" with him by email, instant messaging, over the phone or through other means.
Shirvell is requesting the court dismiss Armstrong's allegations of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process, invasion of privacy and stalking.
Shirvell claims the allegations are too vague. For example, he alleges that Armstrong has "not alleged any specific pecuniary harm resulting from the defamation" or explained how "any reputational damage translated into economic harm."
Shirvell alleges that Armstrong is to blame for his firing. He claims Armstrong filed a "meritless request" for a personal protection order against him, demanded U-M issue him a trespass warning and put out a press release falsely claiming he was engaging in "reckless, bullying behavior."
"Plaintiff's course of conduct was politically motivated and intended to make an example out of Defendant in order to deter others from criticizing Plaintiff's homosexual activist agenda," the filing says.
Shirvell is seeking relief from the court, claiming Armstrong's conduct has caused him to lose income and brought on emotional distress, depression and other issues.
Armstrong's attorney, Deborah Gordon, said Shirvell needs to "man up" and apologize.
"He really just needs to issue a complete and full retraction and apologize," she said. "He just needs to deal with this in an upfront way and move on with his life."
UM student body president sues former assistant attorney general, alleging defamation and stalking
By Ross Jones
April 6, 2011
ANN ARBOR (WXYZ) - A University of Michigan student is filing a lawsuit against a former assistant attorney general with the state, saying he stalked and defamed him for months. It's a story the Action News Investigators first told you about in September.
Chris Armstrong is the college student who says he was defamed by former assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell. Since our first report, Shirvell has been fired by the attorney general, there's a push to have him disbarred, and now, Chris Armstrong is going after him in court.
"I use the term rebel without a clue. He thinks he's a rebel. I mean he's obviously got issues," said his attorney Deborah Gordon.
She's speaking about the civil suit filed on Friday for her client, University of Michigan senior Chris Armstrong. The suit alleges defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and stalking, among other charges.
Back in September the Action News Investigators first told you how Andrew Shirvell had orchestrated a months-long internet campaign against the openly gay student body president at the University of Michigan. Shirvell had never met Armstrong, but that didn't stop him from setting his sights on the college student, calling him "Nazi like," a "racist," even claiming he hosted gay orgies in his dorm room.
"His agenda was...to promote the radical homosexual agenda at the University of Michigan, and to use his position to promote that cause," Shirvell told Action News last September.
"It's nothing but lies, perversions, stuff made up out of the mind of Andrew Shirvel, that he put down in writing and disseminated out there in the community," said Gordon.
Following our reports, Shirvell was fired by his boss, Attorney General Mike Cox. Since then, Armstrong has asked that Shirvell retract what he calls defamatory statements about his sexuality, friends, and family, but he never has.
"We want the record set straight, and since he's not going to set it straight, we're going to do it in the courts," said Gordon.
The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $25,000. There is still a pending request by Chris Armstrong and his attorney to have Shirvell disbarred. That request has not yet been heard.
As for Andrew Shirvell, he's believed to have left Michigan and is instead living in New York with family. Action News reached him on his cell phone earlier today seeking comment for this story, but he hung up the phone.
U-M student files harassment lawsuit against Andrew Shirvell
BY DAVID JESSE
April 6, 2011
The current University of Michigan student body president filed a lawsuit Friday saying a former assistant state attorney general stalked him and inflicted emotional distress last year by posting alleged defamatory statements on a blog as part of a "bizarre personal obsession" that included calling him a Nazi, Ku Klux Klan member and a "radical homosexual activist," according to a lawsuit.
Chris Armstrong, the first openly gay student body president at U-M, filed the suit against Andrew Shirvell in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. He is asking for more than $25,000 in damages.
Shirvell was not immediately available for comment this morning. He was fired in December from the attorney general's office for using public computers for his blog and for lying to the attorney general's staff about that use, the office said in an investigative report.
"This guy has behaved so irresponsibly, especially for an attorney," said Armstrong's attorney, Deborah Gordon. "He's a rebel without a cause."
Shirvell showed up at a number of public meetings last year to protest Armstrong and also wrote blog posts about Armstrong, saying he was pushing a "radical homosexual agenda." Shirvell also appeared on CNN and repeated many of his claims against Armstrong.
Shirvell was banned from U-M's campus, an order later modified to ban him from being in the same place as Armstrong. U-M police also asked the Washtenaw County prosecutor to authorize stalking charges against Shirvell last year, but the prosecutor declined, saying Shirvell was exercising his free speech rights.
"At this point, it's not about the money," Gordon said. "Mr. Shirvell has refused to retract any of his bizarre and untruthful points. We want to set the record straight."
The state bar's Attorney Grievance Commission is investigating Shirvell's actions because Armstrong and Gordon each wrote letters asking for Shirvell's disbarment.
Prosecutors hold immunity as controversial sex abuse case moves forward
By Ann Zaniewski
March 31, 2011
A couple's federal lawsuit over a controversial sex abuse case is moving forward, with a judge saying prosecutors have governmental immunity but also ruling that a number of other claims can stand.
"We're disappointed about some aspects of the governmental immunity decision, but overall, we are very pleased that we'll have our day in court against all of the defendants," said Deborah Gordon, the attorney representing Tali and Julian Wendrow.
The Wendrows allege that they were maliciously prosecuted and that their children were improperly removed from their care after Julian was accused in November 2007 of sexually abusing their teen daughter.
The Wendrows' daughter, who has autism and is unable to speak, was working in November 2007 with a paraprofessional at Walled Lake Central High School when she was alleged to have disclosed the abuse through a highly controversial method known as facilitated communication. In facilitated communication, a facilitator holds or supports a person's hand or arm while they type on a keyboard.
Tali and Julian Wendrow were arrested and criminally charged. The alleged victim and her younger brother were removed from their home and put in foster placements.
At a district court hearing, the teen was asked simple questions when her facilitator was out of the room. When the facilitator returned to help her answer the questions, many of the answers were nonsensical.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office eventually dropped the charges. Julian spent 80 days in jail before being released.
The Wendrows filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Human Services and officials from the agency; Oakland County and individuals in the prosecutor's office; West Bloomfield Township Police and police officials; and the Walled Lake Consolidated School District.
U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara issued an opinion this week in response to motions for summary judgment filed by the school district, Oakland County and the Department of Human Services. The Wendrows previously settled with the police department for $1.8 million.
"This allegation touched off an investigation and prosecution that proceeded like a runaway train," O'Meara wrote in his opinion.
O'Meara wrote that then-prosecutor David Gorcyca and assistant prosecutors Andrea Dean and Deborah Carley were protected by governmental immunity.
The judge said he finds that Gorcyca is entitled to governmental immunity with respect to the plaintiffs' tort claims, which included allegations of malicious prosecution and abuse of process, "except for any allegedly defamatory statements made after Gorcyca left office."
The judge let stand a number of allegations involving DHS and the school district, and also dismissed some claims.
O'Meara is allowing the Wendrows' claims that DHS, Oakland County and the school district violated laws that protect people with disabilities to move forward.
Robert Lusk, attorney for the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, said the district is considering whether to ask the judge to reconsider the claims left in place.
"We're pleased that the judge dismissed the claims that he did," Lusk said.
Gordon said the litigation has been a plus and a minus for the Wendrows. She said the minus is that they have to keep reliving what happened.
"But a plus because they have been able to bring to light all of these incredible injustices," she said.
Sexual harassment lawsuit against East Jackson Superintendent Paul Reeves settled
By Danielle Salisbury
March 2, 2011
A sexual harassment lawsuit filed against East Jackson Superintendent Paul Reeves and his former employer has been settled.
Bound by a confidentiality agreement, the parties involved are not to discuss the specifics of the settlement, said Bloomfield Hills lawyer Carol Laughbaum, who represented Arielle Muzzin, a former school counselor at Mount Clemens Middle School.
Muzzin sued Reeves, a past principal at the middle school, and Mount Clemens Community Schools in September 2009. She alleged she was laid off in November 2008 because she rebuffed Reeves' sexual advances while he was her supervisor and made a complaint against him in 2007.
Reeves began his duties at East Jackson in August 2009. The school board selected him to replace long-time retired superintendent Bruce Van Eyck, and decided last year to extend Reeves' contract through June 2012.
Muzzin and her lawyers settled with both Reeves and the district in December in Macomb County Circuit Court.
In a September case evaluation, a method of settling disputes before trial, three lawyers who reviewed the case valued Muzzin's claim at $300,000, Laughbaum said. Muzzin accepted this offer; the school district did not, said Laughbaum, who works in the law offices of Deborah L. Gordon.
In the law firm's experience with Macomb County evaluators, the case worth, a unanimous recommendation, was "very high," Laughbaum said. It seems the three lawyers "felt very strongly about (Muzzin's) claim."
Muzzin, a counselor at the school beginning in 2005, remains unemployed and is trying to move forward, Laughbaum said. "She is glad this is behind her."
Efforts Wednesday to reach Reeves and the Mount Clemens Community Schools superintendent were unsuccessful.
East Jackson School Board President Doug Scott supports Reeves. "I think he's a good employee who does a good job and tries to do it conscientiously."
He said he will judge Reeves on the job he currently is doing with East Jackson and not on allegations made in other districts.
Reeves has an evaluation coming up in the next month, said board Vice President Mishele Wilkins, who tried unsuccessfully last summer to place Reeves on leave. Declining to give examples, she said she believes there are issues with Reeves' performance. "I don't think the district is heading in the right direction."
While working in Mount Clemens and other districts, Reeves secretly taped dozens, if not hundreds, of school conversations. He did this because he said he needed to protect himself from what he thought to be conspiracies, according to a brief filed in October by Gordon and Laughbaum.
In Mount Clemens, he once received a 10-day disciplinary lay-off for allowing students to take a MEAP makeup test on the wrong day, according to the brief.
The district admitted to putting together two resignation packages in March and May 2008 to entice Reeves to leave the district because he "wasn't a good fit," the brief said. At the same time, a district official signed an "effusive" recommendation letter, drafted mostly by Reeves, so he could obtain other employment, according to the brief.
Muzzin complained to the district about Reeves actions, which she said included frequent attempts to discuss with her extra-marital affairs and pornography, and the district hired an outside investigator. The investigator, co-counsel for the district in the lawsuit, found it could not be determined whether Reeves sexually harassed Muzzin.
Muzzin's lawyers said the district's response to her concerns was neither prompt nor effective.
Former Pontiac employee sues city
By ANN ZANIEWSKI
February 04, 2011
A former city of Pontiac employee is suing the city and its leaders, alleging she was laid off for not approving a fund transfer that she believed to be illegal.
Andrea Wright is seeking a jury trial and monetary damages.
Wright joined city staff in 1993 and had worked recently as its budget administrator. She was picked in 2006 to be an employee member of Pontiac's General Employee Retirement System board.
The lawsuit says in August, Emergency Financial Michael Stampfler requested a motion for the board to approve a "420 transfer" of more than $4 million to the city's general fund and initiate a request for an opinion from the Michigan Attorney General's Office. The motion failed.
Stampfler and Mayor Leon Jukowski continued to advocate for the proposal, according to the lawsuit. Believing that a 420 transfer would be illegal, Wright voted against it at the Sept. 22 and Oct. 27 meetings of the retirement board.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, says Wright's name appeared right after that on a list of employees who were going to be laid off. Her name was not on an earlier layoff list that Stampfler had published in September.
"In her role on that particular (board), she had a fiduciary duty to the members of the system, and she felt that it would have been a breach of her fiduciary duty to give this money over to the city for their use, that it would put the money in jeopardy, and thereby do potential harm to the members' retirement money," said Wright's attorney, Deborah Gordon, who noted that Wright had a high level of seniority.
"She was a very solid employee, very knowledgeable, she did a good job on this retirement board. They just didn't like her vote."
Wright names Stampfler, Jukowski and the city of Pontiac as defendants. She is alleging wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, a violation of Michigan's Whistleblowers' Protection Act and unlawful retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. She is seeking damages in an unspecified amount in excess of $25,000, the jurisdictional minimum.
Messages left Friday for Stampfler and Jukowski were not immediately returned.
The Oakland Press wrote a story about the incident in November after Wright had penned a letter to Stampfler and Jukowski about what happened.
Stampfler said at the time that the first list of employees was preliminary, and it was known there would be changes.
"There were several changes and she is not the only change," he said. "We knew that would have to happen as we went through the fine points and certainly we haven't singled anyone out for anything."
Jukowski said the allegation is "clearly untrue," adding the list had been amended several times. The decision to eliminate her position was based on incorporating her duties to other staff members, he said.
According to reports, Jukowski had supported the transfer of funds to help pay the estimated $6.1 million for the 2010-11 budget year in health care costs to employees who receive or will receive pensions from the General Retirement System.
Andrew Shirvell Was Warned Before Firing, Report Says
AP
January 23, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A former assistant state attorney general who was fired after being accused of harassing the gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan was previously warned about using state resources for anti-gay attacks on politicians, according to details of a report published Sunday.
A report compiled by the attorney general's office said Andrew Shirvell was warned last February after sending an e-mail to a former state representative and others that included a gay slur, said AnnArbor.com, citing the report that it obtained.
The warning came two months before Shirvell started a blog that criticized student assembly president, Chris Armstrong, as a racist with a "radical homosexual agenda." The e-mail was listed among the eight reasons for Shirvell's firing.
A message seeking comment was left Sunday with Shirvell's attorney, who has said the actions were constitutionally protected as free speech. A spokesman for the attorney general's office said Sunday he didn't have a copy of the report with him, but one could be available as early as Monday.
National criticism erupted over the blog last fall. The attorney general's office drew more than 22,000 e-mails, 150 letters and 940 phone calls, most advocating for Shirvell to be fired, documents show. He was fired in November.
Then-Attorney General Mike Cox said at the time that the firing came after a state investigation revealed that Shirvell "repeatedly violated office policies, engaged in borderline stalking behavior and inappropriately used state resources."
Shirvell, a 2002 University of Michigan graduate and one of about 250 lawyers in the attorney general's office, handled cases in which convictions are appealed in federal court, writing defenses for the state. It was not a management or supervisory position.
After Shirvell was fired, Armstrong and his lawyer Deborah Gordon petitioned the state Attorney Grievance Commission to have Shirvell disbarred. That process is still ongoing. Gordon said Armstrong has not ruled out further legal action against Shirvell.
The investigation found that Shirvell harassed Armstrong's friends as they were socializing in Ann Arbor and made numerous calls to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office while Armstrong was working there as an intern.
The investigation revealed that while at work during normal business hours, Shirvell called Pelosi's office and posted attacks on Armstrong on the Internet.
Report details past problems with former Michigan assistant AG who targeted U-M student body president with anti-gay attacks
By David Jesse
January 23, 2011
Former Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell was warned about using state resources to launch anti-gay attacks on politicians two months before he began targeting the University of Michigan's student body president, newly released documents show.
The earlier warning stemmed from an e-mail Shirvell sent at 11:57 a.m. Feb. 3 to a former state representative before a protest planned at the Capitol building. The nature of the protest isn't clear.
"The grassroots will NEVER let you and your (gay slur)...hijack our pro-life, pro-family party in pursuit of your PERVERTED radical homosexual agenda," Shirvell wrote to former state Rep. Leon Drolet and others.
A recipient of the e-mail contacted the attorney general's office, prompting his supervisors to warn Shirvell not to use state resources that way again and not to "engage in that conduct again," according to an investigation report compiled by the attorney general's office and obtained by AnnArbor.com.
But he did, the documents say, eventually leading to a 586-page investigative report on which Shirvell's firing was based.
The investigation was launched after Shirvell, a U-M alumnus, drew national attention for his anti-gay blog attacking Chris Armstrong, the university's first openly gay student body president. Shirvell started the blog last April.
The e-mail to Drolet was listed among the eight reasons for Shirvell's firing on Nov. 8. After national attention in the case mounted in late September, the attorney general's office drew more than 22,000 e-mails, 150 letters and 940 phone calls, most advocating for Shirvell to be fired, documents show.
The investigation was conducted over the course of a month and included more than 40 witness statements and interviews, a forensic computer examination and several interviews with Shirvell.
The report accuses Shirvell of calling police to create a newsworthy event, improperly using state resources and verbally assaulting his supervisor.
Shirvell has said he was just exercising his free speech rights and did it outside of work hours. He could not be reached for comment for this story.
"Employees should not be fired solely for exercising their protected First Amendment rights, irrespective of how unpopular their speech might be," according to the report, authored by Douglas Bramble, director of the office of human resources, and Thomas Cameron, bureau chief of the Criminal Justice Bureau. "However, AAG Shirvell's conduct in violating office policy, borderline harassing behavior, inappropriately using state resources and evasive, sometimes false statements given at the Disciplinary Conference, are factors which support our recommendation for his termination."
The conflict
Shortly after Armstrong was elected, Shirvell started a blog condemning the U-M student body president for his "radical homosexual agenda."
He also showed up outside Armstrong's residence, at student government meetings and at other events to protest. University of Michigan police asked prosecutors to charge Shirvell with stalking, but prosecutors declined and said Shirvell's actions were not considered harassment under the stalking statute.
U-M also placed Shirvell on a trespass list, barring him from campus, but that order was later modified to just ban Shirvell from having contact with Armstrong on campus.
Armstrong filed for a personal protection order against Shirvell, but dropped his request after Shirvell left him alone.
After Shirvell was fired from his job, Armstrong and his attorney, Deborah Gordon, petitioned the state Attorney Grievance Commission to have Shirvell disbarred. That process is still ongoing.
Gordon said Friday that Armstrong has not ruled out further legal action against Shirvell, who is still listed in state bar records as working in the state attorney general's office.
"The AG did a thorough investigation," said Gordon, who has a copy of the findings. "It's sad. He comes across as a very misguided person who has no professional judgment.
"He obviously doesn't have the ability to function as an attorney. He's obviously filled with hate and willing to make up things about people without any consideration for the effect it will have on their lives."
The report
Shirvell, who was a paid worker on then Attorney General Mike Cox's campaign, was hired in the office on May 6, 2007. He worked in the appellate division, where he was an average to above average employee, the investigation said.
But the investigation turned up a number of incidents during his employment.
He was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while visibly impaired in 2009 and was sentenced to six months of probation.
And there was the Feb. 3 e-mail to Drolet. Shirvell promised he would never engage in such conduct again after he was confronted, the documents show.
"His supervisors immediately confronted AAG Shirvell, who admitted that he sent the e-mail from a state computer, but said he was ‘on the lunch hour' and he sent it from his personal e-mail account. Both of his supervisors, Joel McGormley and Eric Restuccia, verbally counseled him that this was an unacceptable use of state resources and to never engage in this conduct again."
But the investigation found he continued such conduct, posting political comments on Facebook from April 26 to July 29.
"During the Disciplinary Conference, however, AAG Shirvell denied using any state resources whatsoever in his efforts against Mr. Armstrong. He stated that all of his Facebook and blogging posts about Mr. Armstrong were made from his home computer. This is entirely inconsistent with the dates and times of several of his Facebook posts and his payroll records," the investigation memo said.
The investigation also detailed a verbal assault Shirvell is accused of making on his supervisor.
According to the report, Shirvell's supervisor sent an e-mail Aug. 31 to the entire division about an issue that came out of a case Shirvell handled in court.
"In response to this seemingly innocuous e-mail, AAG Shirvell stood in his supervisor's doorway and proceeded to scream at him, repeatedly stating: 'this is (expletive) and (expletive).' AAG Shirvell further screamed that he was not going to work any more (expletive) overtime or do anything for the (expletive) division.
"Staff described AAG Shirvell as being ‘unhinged' and some staff believed that he was on ‘the brink of physically assaulting' his supervisor. Even giving every benefit to AAG Shirvell, it is difficult to understand how an innocuous e-mail from a supervisor ‘pushed his buttons' and elicited such extraordinary anger."
Shirvell was suspended for two and a half days.
On Sept. 4, the day after returning to work, Shirvell went to Armstrong's off-campus house at 1:30 a.m.
"After reviewing all of the evidence, it is clear that he went to Mr. Armstrong's home for the purpose of taking pictures of a party that AAG Shirvell had learned was to be held at Mr. Armstrong's home," the documents state. "During the Disciplinary Conference, AAG Shirvell admitted he was not there to protest or advocate any position."
Instead, Shirvell told them, he was there to determine whether Armstrong was following the rules governing underage drinking. According to documents, Shirvell observed more than 100 people there, said he saw someone urinating outside, and called police.
Once officers arrived, Shirvell took photos and video.
"This ‘raid' was played up in AAG Shirvell's blog the following day as a ‘stunning turn of events' with 'exclusive pictures and videos' of police ‘descending' on Mr. Armstrong's house," the investigation said.
The investigation report said a number of people in Shirvell's office told him to stop blogging because it was undermining his professional credibility and was inviting civil litigation.
"Solicitor General Restuccia specifically recalls telling AAG Shirvell that he could be opening himself to civil liability for what he was saying, but AAG Shirvell responded, ‘he did not care and it would be better to be on the curb than not be true to his beliefs' and if 'they' sued, he would just file for bankruptcy," documents state.
The department didn't buy Shirvell's argument that it was protected speech.
"The totality of the circumstances establishes that AAG Shirvell's conduct has affected this department's ability to operate efficiently and effectively," the report said.
Southgate Settles Whistle-Blower Case For $300K
Ex-Court Official Says She Was Fired For Questioning Judge's Conduct
The Associated Press
January 17, 2011
SOUTHGATE, Mich. - A Detroit suburb and its insurance company agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former court official who claimed she was fired because she questioned how a longtime judge handled money.
At the direction of his attorney, Southgate District Court Judge James Kandrevas invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 200 times when he was interviewed during a deposition in the case last summer.
Former court administrator Lori Shemka was paid $193,000 and her lawyers received $107,000, according to the agreement obtained by The Associated Press under the state Freedom of Information Act. Shemka said she was wrongly fired by Kandrevas in 2009 after objecting to how he created bank accounts and used money. He said she was "incompetent" and "just a snooper."
"She was snooping all over the place," the judge said during his deposition.
Shemka's lawsuit in federal court was closed in December, with no admission by the judge or the court of any wrongdoing. Southgate paid $50,000 and the balance was covered by insurance. "The insurance company instructed its counsel to settle. You make a business decision," said Southgate city attorney Ed Zelenak.
Kandrevas has been a judge since 1990, and the courthouse south of Detroit bears his name. In August, he said he was being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department over a grant application, and by the state police and the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, a watchdog agency.
The status of those investigations was not immediately known Monday. Messages seeking comment were left with Kandrevas and his attorney, Philip Thomas. In the past, Thomas has denied any wrongdoing by the judge.
Shemka's attorney, Deborah Gordon, said Kandrevas' decision to remain silent on many questions hastened the settlement, although "we had a very strong case."
"How can you be a judge and take the Fifth? There's something wrong with that," Gordon said. "Why are you a judge? This was not a small matter."
Judge calls rape prosecution, jailing of Oakland County dad "troubling"
By L. L. BRASIER and JOHN WISELY
January 13, 2011
The family of an autistic girl that recently settled a wrongful prosecution lawsuit with West Bloomfield Police for $1.8 million should learn soon if they can continue their claim against other defendants.
Lawyers for the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, the Walled Lake Consolidated School District and the Michigan Department of Human Services argued for 90 minutes this afternoon for governmental immunity from a suit filed by Julian and Thal Wendrow.
U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara said he would rule within a few weeks, calling the case "a very troubling fact situation."
"There are enough fact issues that this isn't going to go away," Corbett O'Meara said. "Obviously this is a very serious matter."
The Wendrows sued in 2008 after they were arrested. Former Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca charged Julian Wendrow with first-degree criminal sexual assault, accusing him of repeatedly raping his severely autistic 14-year-old daughter. Gorcyca charged Thal Wendrow with failing to protect the child. The child does not speak and functions on the level of a 2-year-old, according to court records.
Gorcyca and his chief assistant, Deborah Carley, based the prosecution on "statements" the girl reportedly typed in November 2007, while a Walled Lake Schools teacher's aide guided her hands on a keyboard. The method, known as Facilitated Communication, has been widely dismissed by experts who insist it is the aide who is actually communicating.
A physical exam of the girl showed no signs of abuse but Julian Wendrow spent 80 days in jail. His wife was released on tether. The girl and her 13-year-old brother were placed in foster care.
Oakland County's lawyer, Rick Patterson, argued for immunity but the judge said that argument "starts to lose the texture when you come to that decision to put both mother and father in jail where there didn't seem to be any check on the information they had…. This facilitated communication," Corbett O'Meara said. "Isn't there some check that should have been there?"
Walled Lake Schools attorney Kevin Sutton argued that the school was obligated to report the allegations.
But the Wendrows' attorney, Deborah Gordon, said, "The school district worked hand in glove with the prosecutor," despite knowing facilitated communication "was a sham."
Dad's arrest in sex case results in $1.8M settlement
BY JOHN WISELY AND L. L. BRASIER
December 12, 2010
More than three years after police in West Bloomfield arrested a man and accused him of raping his autistic daughter, the township's insurance carrier has agreed to pay his family and attorney $1.8 million to settle a wrongful-arrest suit.
Julian Wendrow served 80 days in jail and faced life in prison; his wife, Thal Wendrow, faced decades behind bars, accused of allowing assaults to happen. Their 14-year-old daughter, who cannot speak, and their son, 13, were in foster care.
The evidence against them? A statement the girl, who functions as a 2-year-old, reportedly typed with the help of a teacher's aide. The statement claimed her father had raped her since age 7 as her mother stood by. A physical exam showed no evidence of abuse.
Prosecutors dropped the case in March 2008 for lack of evidence, but township lawyers deny any police wrongdoing.
The family's attorney, Deb Gordon, said: "They nearly sent an innocent man to prison for life."
Evidence shaky, case fell apart
A school aide reported that a 14-year-old autistic girl, who can't speak and functions at the level of a 2-year-old, was telling her that her father began raping her when she was 7 and her mother stood by.
The claim came from a method known as facilitated communication, in which the aide helped the girl type on a keyboard.
There was no physical evidence the girl had been assaulted, but the typed message became the key evidence against West Bloomfield residents Julian and Thal Wendrow.
Prosecutors dropped the case in March 2008, about four months after arresting the parents. The girl and her 13-year-old brother were placed in foster care.
The case dissolved in front of a judge when the girl couldn't communicate answers to even simple questions, such as the color of her sweater. The aide helped the girl type in court, but hadn't heard the judge's questions. The girl's responses were mostly gibberish. Other courts have long refused to accept testimony provided through facilitated communication.
"They pushed this thing in spite of literally having no evidence of any kind of abuse, other than this facilitated communication nonsense, which is in effect, a Ouija board," said Bloomfield Hills attorney Deborah Gordon, who represents the Wendrows. "What the police department did was unbelievably horrific."
On Tuesday, a settlement in the Wendrows' federal lawsuit was made public. The family and the attorney will share a $1.8-million settlement from the township's insurance carrier. The lawsuit continues against the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools and the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Those defendants are due in federal court in Ann Arbor on Thursday. They have asked the judge to dismiss the case on the grounds of governmental immunity.
The Wendrows named the West Bloomfield Police Department as a defendant, in part, because of a two-hour interrogation a detective conducted with the 13-year-old boy shortly after his parents' arrest, telling him that they had videos of both the boy and his father sexually assaulting the girl. The boy had no adult representative present for the interview.
Detective Joseph Brusseau, who remains on the police force, later admitted in depositions that he had lied about police finding videos.
The boy, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, can be seen on video rocking and crying during the interview and insisting that neither he nor his father had assaulted anyone.
The Free Press obtained a copy of the video of the interview, and the parents said they had no objections to putting it on the Free Press' Web site, freep.com.
William Hampton, the attorney representing the Police Department, said the settlement was "nothing more than a business decision by the insurance company, with no admission of wrongdoing or of any liability."
It's unclear how much township insurance premiums will rise because of the settlement.
Hampton also said the department would investigate the case the same way again, including the interrogation of the boy and the jailing of the father.
"We'll assess everything, but really, right off-hand, I can't think of anything they would do differently because we really don't think they did anything wrong," he said.
Oakland County prosecutors said in depositions that they did not investigate the facilitated communication method before charging the Wendrows, and could not find anyone to testify that the method is reliable, despite nationwide calls after the arrests.
Still, they pursued the prosecution.
Waterford settles sexual harassment lawsuit for $95,000
By L.L. BRASIER
December 12, 2010
Waterford Township has settled a lawsuit by a female employee in the police department who said her managers were sexually harassing her -- the second such settlement in less than two years.
Arlene Hampton, an administrative specialist in the police records division, filed suit against the department in August 2009, alleging that male supervisors routinely made sexually suggestive statements to her and commented on her body. The lawsuit contended that female employees were referred to as the "bra brigade" and the "bra corps."
Township trustees, on advice of their attorney and insurance carrier, have agreed to settle the suit for $95,000. The final papers in the Oakland County lawsuit are expected to be filed this month, closing the case. The carrier, Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority -- a self-insurance group representing about 300 municipalities statewide -- is responsible for the payout.
Hampton's suit was filed eight months after Penny Dye, a police department clerk, received a $325,000 settlement for similar allegations against the same administrators. Dye, an employee in the department for 10 years, left before filing her suit. Hampton remains employed by the department.
Robert Seeterlin, the township's director of fiscal and human services, said Friday that the township has taken steps since Dye's lawsuit to educate employees about sexual harassment, including mandatory training sessions for all officers. Hampton's complaints, he said, occurred before the training.
"That training included how to address a complaint, and how they have to be taken seriously," Seeterlin said.
Police departments may be particularly susceptible to sexual harassment because they tend to be dominated by one sex -- male, experts say. Law enforcement officers frequently form close relationships because of the danger of their work, a sense of cohesion that discourages them from reporting or criticizing inappropriate behavior, so it flourishes.
"In a cohesive environment, there tends not to be a lot of naysayers," said Caren Goldberg, a professor of Human Resource Management at American University in Washington and an expert on sexual harassment.
Deborah Gordon, a Bloomfield Hills attorney who represented Dye and has successfully sued other police departments for sexual discrimination, agreed that law enforcement agencies can be hotbeds for abuse.
"It is the nature of the entity. Historically, these department are male dominated and historically macho," she said. "Then you get into these smaller communities, and they tend to have lower standards of trainings and professionalism."
Student claims unwed pregnancy led WSU, Salvation Army to block degree
Woman alleges unfair treatment for being unwed and pregnant
By Mark Hicks and Robert Snell
December 8, 2010
A former Wayne State University student has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging she was stopped from earning a master's degree in social work because she was unmarried and pregnant.
Tina Varlesi filed suit alleging School of Social Work officials and the Salvation Army, where she was completing a required internship in early 2008, discriminated against her for months. The Farmington Hills woman was advised to drop out of the program, told to "wear baggy clothes" during the internship and called a "beached whale," the suit said.
In an evaluation, supervisors told Varlesi, who had a 3.96 grade point average at the time, she failed 53 of 54 categories for her internship, according to the suit. She then was dismissed from the social work program. Despite filing a complaint with Wayne State's Office of Equal Opportunity, Varlesi's attempts to challenge her grades and termination were denied.
Her lawyers argue in the suit filed last week that the school and the Salvation Army, which receive federal funds, violated terms of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal funds.
"Wayne violated the law by allowing her pregnancy to become a factor in how she was treated and graded," said her attorney, Deborah Gordon. "Our client was a very good student. She should've been allowed to complete the program, get her degree and move on with her life."
Since then, Varlesi has applied to other social work programs but been denied because of being dismissed, Gordon said. "They've taken away her ability to have her career. She's going to have to start all over."
Wayne State University spokeswoman Jessica Archer declined comment, saying the university does not comment on pending litigation. A Salvation Army spokeswoman, Michelle Zdrodowski, also declined comment for similar reasons.
Conversations Secretly Taped at School
By Mitch Hotts
November 14, 2010
A former Macomb County middle school principal who is the target of a sexual harassment lawsuit routinely taped conversations he had in school with a hidden tape recorder because he felt people were "coming after me," according to court records and interviews.
Paul Reeves, a former Mount Clemens Community Schools District official and now superintendent of East Jackson Community Schools, admitted to the secret audio taping in sworn testimony in a deposition connected to the lawsuit.
Transcripts of Reeves' testimony show he would tape not only conversations with employees and the school superintendent, but also his voice messages on his office phone system, which he stored in a library of tapes he kept at his Grosse Isle home.
"Wow, that's news to me," said Earl Rickman, president of the Mount Clemens Board of Education. "I hadn't been told that. I am aware there are depositions going on for his lawsuit, but I had not been subpoenaed so I wasn't aware of that."
Reeves, 51, is named along with the school district in a lawsuit filed in 2009 by Arielle Muzzin of Washington Township, who worked for the district as a counselor in the middle school from September 2005 until November 2008, when she was laid off for what she claims was retaliation for rejecting Reeves' advances.
As part of the deposition for the lawsuit, Reeves admitted he used a Sony digital recorder hidden in his coat pocket to tape conversations on dozens of occasions. The device, about the size of a cell phone, was voice activated.
Michigan law allows secret taping of conversations as long as one of the participants consents.
Reeves, who did not return phone calls to his office or residence for comment on Friday, said in the deposition that he had started the practice in past districts where he worked at the suggestion of his wife because he felt there had been a conspiracy against him.
"There were a number of ... documents and conversations of misinformation, and I believed I needed to record it to protect myself," he was quoted as saying in the transcripts.
He went on to say that he would download the contents every night onto a CD that he stored at home. He claims to have recorded virtually every conversation he had with key administrators in Mount Clemens such as former superintendent Charles Muncatchy and Assistant Superintendent Phil Easter.
According to the transcripts, Reeves said he didn't start taping Muncatchy's conversations until the former school boss suggested Reeves should find employment elsewhere due to his lengthy daily drive to work from Grosse Isle to Mount Clemens, roughly a 40-mile trek.
"That's when I started taping everyone at Central Office," he said, according to the transcript.
Muncatchy, who recently resigned to take a new job at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit, told The Macomb Daily in October that he had learned of the taping through the deposition. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Reeves said he previously taped conversations with officials in districts he formerly worked at including Plymouth-Canton and Riverview.
In both districts, he testified, he had conflicts with union representatives or managers who were "coming after me," so he taped their discussions.
Deborah Gordon, the Bloomfield Hills attorney handling Muzzin's sexual harassment case against Mount Clemens Schools, said she's never encountered anything like Reeves' tape collection.
"He has a habit and history of secretly recording conversations apparently because he believes there are conspiracies against him at all of the districts he's worked at," she said, adding Reeves' belief that officials in Mount Clemens were "out to get him."
Reeves also taped his discussions with Muzzin, the counselor who filed the lawsuit.
She is suing for alleged violations of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Bullard Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act, seeking judgment for lost wages and benefits. A case evaluator for Macomb County Circuit Court has recommended the case be settled for a $300,000 payment to Muzzin.
Reeves had been on the radar of Mount Clemens officials for much of his tenure in the district.
In 2008, he was suspended for 10 days after students in his school were given a MEAP makeup test on an unauthorized day.
In 2007, school officials were forced to overturn statements Reeves made in a letter addressed to parents that indicated students were banned from the city's downtown area without a parent or guardian following a skirmish involving about two dozen students in the school. The district's attorney told school board members that it cannot restrict anyone from traveling on public streets.
Not long after the MEAP incident, school officials offered Reeves a resignation package. He later was allowed to provide input on a letter of recommendation from the administration that he used to seek employment elsewhere.
He was hired in East Jackson in 2009 and recently received a one-year extension on his contract, which includes a base salary of $98,000 plus an $8,000 payment he receives in lieu of insurance benefits.
Details of the deposition have filtered to the East Jackson district. Mishele Wilkins, vice president of the school board there, said she found the harassment allegations, along with his tape recording practices, "very disturbing."
"I am extremely bothered by what I'm hearing about Mr. Reeves," she said.
"And I haven't been satisfied with his performance to date. Our board president asked him if he had been taping conversations in our buildings and he said no, but how do we know for sure?"
Attorney calls for retraction from fired assistant attorney general who blogged about gay student
By ANN ZANIEWSKI
November 10, 2010
A prominent Bloomfield Hills attorney reiterated her calls Tuesday, Nov. 9, for a retraction from a former assistant attorney general accused of harassing the University of Michigan's gay student assembly president.
Andrew Shirvell, 30, came under fire in recent weeks for a blog he wrote characterizing 21-year-old Chris Armstrong as a "racist" and a "liar" who promoted a "radical homosexual agenda." He was also accused of harassing the student leader on campus.
On Monday, Nov. 8, Shirvell lost his job.
"We feel very gratified that the correct result was reached, that a thorough investigation was done, that the truth came out," said Deborah L. Gordon, Armstrong's attorney. "There've been consequences of the actions of Mr. Shirvell, which have been totally reckless and really inexplicable."
Shirvell's attorney has said that his client was exercising his right to free speech.
Gordon said during the university's welcome week at the start of this fall semester, Shirvell showed up to campus events that Armstrong was hosting. She said he would stop by tables set up to provide information to students and "start defaming Chris Armstrong." He also passed out negative literature about him, Gordon said, and made statements that were lies.
Shirvell and Armstrong did not personally know each other.
"We have no explanation" for Shirvell's behavior, Gordon said.
Shirvell's attorney, Philip Thomas, said while people might not share Shirvell's views, his right to express them is constitutionally protected.
"Andrew is a very, very firm believer in this literal reading of the Bible that doesn't allow for you to sit down and interpret it, and the Old Testament has a lot to say about homosexuality," Thomas said. "While I may not agree with it and you many not agree with it and a lot of other people may not agree with it, he still has the right to express those beliefs."
Thomas said he thinks Shirvell, a University of Michigan graduate himself, "felt that Mr. Armstrong wasn't somebody that should be president of the student body."
Thomas said people have focused on Shirvell's position as an assistant state attorney general, but what he did had nothing to do with his job.
Shirvell went on leave about a month ago amid criticism over his blog. Thomas said he had attended the first day of a disciplinary hearing last Friday. He expected it to continue sometime this week, but then was called in and fired Monday.
In a statement released to the media, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said, "To be clear, I refuse to fire anyone for exercising their First Amendment rights, regardless of how popular or unpopular their positions might be. However, Mr. Shirvell repeatedly violated office policies, engaged in borderline stalking behavior, and inappropriately used state resources, our investigation showed."
Cox cited as an example Shirvell showing up to a private home three separate times, once at 1:30 a.m.
"That incident is especially telling because it clearly was about harassing Mr. Armstrong, not engaging in free speech," he said.
Cox said the investigation found that Shirvell contacted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office while Armstrong was working there as an intern "in an attempt to slander Armstrong — and ultimately attempting to cause Pelosi to fire Armstrong."
Cox said that Shirvell called Pelosi's office during his working hours and would sometimes post attacks on Armstrong on the Internet while at work. He also said Shirvell lied to investigating assistant attorneys general during the disciplinary hearing.
Thomas said he doesn't know yet whether Shirvell will appeal the decision to the Michigan Civil Service Commission. Aside from that course of action, Thomas said his client would have the right to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
Thomas said he and Shirvell haven't had a chance to discuss whether he'll respond to the request for a retraction.
Gordon has filed a grievance against Shirvell with the State Bar of Michigan and asked him for a retraction. Armstrong is contemplating a lawsuit.
The case has garnered national attention. Gordon, a Birmingham resident who is known for her work in employment and civil rights law, was interviewed Monday night on TV by CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Gordon has been in the press before. But what she hasn't encountered is a case quite like this.
"It's inexplicable," Gordon said. "Here you have a young college kid who's got a great reputation, gets elected by the student body, (is a) good student, a good guy all around, and low and behold, this person, a 30-year-old man, can't stand the fact that this guy is gay ...
"Why he cares what the president of the Michigan Student Assembly, why he cares about him, I have not a clue."
Michigan assistant AG fired after targeting openly gay student leader
By the CNN Wire Staff
November 9, 2010
(CNN) An assistant attorney general in Michigan is out of a job, fired after targeting an openly gay University of Michigan student leader online and in person -- then lying about his actions to investigators -- state Attorney General Mike Cox said Monday.
Andrew Shirvell "repeatedly violated office policies, engaged in borderline stalking behavior and inappropriately used state resources," Cox said.
The lawyer for Chris Armstrong, the university's student body president, lauded the decision by Cox to axe Shirvell.
"It's inexplicable -- he knows nothing about Chris," attorney Deborah Gordon said on CNN's "AC 360" about Shirvell, who claimed that Armstrong was a "racist, elitist liar" and "privileged pervert."
"We're very gratified that justice was done ... and, for the time, Shirvell is going to be held responsible," Gordon said.
Shirvell's lawyer, Philip J. Thomas, acknowledged his client's termination to CNN but did not comment further. He told the Detroit Free Press that his client was "devastated" by Cox's announcement, claiming that Shirvell's bosses gave him positive reviews and knew of his activities outside work.
"This smells political to me," Thomas told the newspaper. "There's been a tremendous piling-on against Andrew. The liberal media started this tempest in a teapot."
Gordon responded by telling CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday night that she felt it was "pathetic and lame for (Shirvell) to be whining about being bullied."
In late September, Cox defended Shirvell's authoring of a blog titled "Chris Armstrong Watch" that railed against the college senior and sociology major.
"Here in America, we have this thing called the First Amendment, which allows people to express what they think and engage in political and social speech," Cox told CNN. "He's clearly a bully ... but is that protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution? Yes."
But in Monday's announcement, Cox said he concluded that Shirvell's dismissal was warranted due to actions "unbecoming a state employee" that went beyond the blog.
Cox said he wasn't firing Shirvell for "exercising ... First Amendment rights, (however) unpopular (the) positions might be," but for persistent and personal harassment.
According to Cox, Shirvell showed up at Armstrong's home three times -- including once at 1:30 a.m. Cox said that this early morning visit, especially, showed that Shirvell was intent on harassing Armstrong, not just exercising his right to free speech.
While Shirvell may not be charged criminally with stalking, Cox said that he behaved in a way that "was harassing, uninvited and showed a pattern that was, in the everyday sense, stalking." He cited numerous examples, including:
-- Calling the office of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where Armstrong worked, "in an attempt to slander Armstrong" and get him fired.
-- Trying to "out" Armstrong's friends -- some of whom were not gay -- as homosexual.
-- Harassing Armstrong's friends while out socializing in Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan.
Cox had originally defended Shirvell in part because he believed his blog was being done when he wasn't at work. But he said Monday that Shirvell had, in fact, posted online "attacks" on Armstrong and called Pelosi's office while he was on the job as an assistant attorney general.
In his statement, Cox also said that Shirvell lied to investigators "on several occasions during his disciplinary hearing."
After his blog garnered national media attention, Shirvell placed it behind a privacy firewall, making it available only to invited readers.
In early October, he took a voluntary leave of absence from his job. Around that time, Shirvell, a graduate of the University of Michigan, was barred from the Ann Arbor campus.
Shirvell defended his postings on "AC 360" on September 28, acknowledging that he protested outside Armstrong's house and called him "Satan's representative on the student assembly."
"I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights," Shirvell told Cooper. "I have no problem with the fact that Chris is a homosexual. I have a problem with the fact that he's advancing a radical homosexual agenda."
Armstrong, who said he has never spoken with Shirvell, told CNN days later that his principal issues as the school's student body president were longer cafeteria hours, gender-neutral housing and lower tuition costs.
"The things that are said about me are not my issues," Armstrong said.
Gordon said that she and her client aren't done going after Shirvell. That includes trying to have him disbarred as a licensed attorney in Michigan. She said investigators' finding that Shirvell lied to the attorney general's office is central to their case.
"This man is a loose cannon with a law license," said Gordon.
Assistant AG Andrew Shirvell Profiled on The Daily Show
By Bill Gallagher
November 2, 2010
Andrew Shirvell was profiled on The Daily Show, which is Comedy Central's parody newscast.
Shirvell is an assistant Michigan attorney general who until recently wrote a blog denouncing Chris Armstrong, the openly gay president of the University of Michigan Student Assembly.
Deborah Gordon represents Armstrong and has filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission against Shirvell.
"This is a man that's an assistant attorney general and he is on The Daily Show being made a fool out of, not to mention what he's done to my client," said Gordon. "That's my gut reaction to The Daily Show. It's really a sad thing for the attorney general's office."
Shirvell's been on leave and faces a disciplinary hearing in the attorney general's office Friday.
The Daily Show's Jason Jones mocked Shirvell's pursuit of Armstrong.
"He fabricates things. He seems to be delusional. He bandies around words like the KKK (and) Nazi. Virtually everything he has said about my client is nothing but a flat out lie created out of the mind of Andrew Shirvell," Gordon said.
Shirvell insists he's done nothing illegal or immoral.
Shirvell's lawyer did not immediately respond to phone calls for comment.
Armstrong's lawyer scoffs at Shirvell's claim of freedom of speech.
"Mr. Shirvell is an assistant attorney general. Apparently he's not familiar with the law. Mr. Shirvell, the First Amendment does not protect lies and defamation," said Gordon.
U-M student leader seeks assistant AG's disbarment
By Lori Higgins
October 29, 2010
Chris Armstrong is going after Andrew Shirvell's law license.
Armstrong, the president of the Michigan Student Assembly at the University of Michigan, today filed a misconduct complaint with the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.
Shirvell is the Michigan assistant attorney general who has been under fire for a blog in which he attacks Armstrong, the first openly gay president of the MSA.
Armstrong is seeking an investigation, discipline and possible disbarment of Shirvell, according to a press release sent by his attorney, Deborah Gordon of Bloomfield Hills. The complaint is on the grounds that Shirvell "repeatedly harassed and defamed Armstrong in a relentless, six-month campaign of lies, dishonesty, heckling, hate speech, and even job interference."
The misconduct rule Shirvell is accused of violating says it's professional misconduct for a lawyer to "engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or violation of the criminal law."
Armstrong said in his filing that Shirvell made "obviously false, disgusting, and utterly outlandish allegations about Armstrong's lifestyle and personal behavior and tried to get Armstrong ousted from a summer internship on Capitol Hill."
"I felt that I could not stand by and let Mr. Shirvell continue his reckless, bullying behavior," Armstrong says in the release.
The filing comes four days after Armstrong withdrew a request for a personal protection order against Shirvell, saying he had been assured that Shirvell would not contact him again.
Shirvell's blog, which is now private, has described Armstrong as promoting a "radical homosexual agenda." He has also called Armstrong a racist and Nazi.
Shirvell is on a voluntary leave from the attorney general's office, but plans to return Nov. 5. He faces a disciplinary hearing that day.
The complaint alleges five specific actions Shirvell has taken against Armstrong:
- Calling Armstrong "Satan's representative" on the MSA
- Repeatedly harassing and heckling Armstrong outside his home and on other locations in and around the U-M campus
- Falsely accusing Armstrong of binge drinking and improper conduct at churches and on school grounds
- Trying to get Armstrong removed from a summer internship in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office in Washington
Gordon, in a letter to Shirvell, is also asking that he retract his misrepresentations and defamatory statements, stop "his ugly hate speech, and cease any stalking behavior and harassing conduct directed at Armstrong."
Armstrong's attorney filed a complaint herself against Shirvell, citing a Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct that a lawyer who has knowledge that another lawyer has violated the rules shall inform the commission. She released a copy of her complaint, but declined to release a copy of Armstrong's complaint.
Shirvell's attorney, Philip Thomas of Grosse Pointe Park, said he was shocked to see the news release today - four days after Armstrong dismissed his PPO request.
"Why here on Oct. 29 after we resolve something on Monday of this week? Both sides made a good faith pledge. There would be no further contact, no further problems. None of it makes sense to me," Thomas said.
Thomas had just returned to his office from Ann Arbor, where he attended a hearing to try to overturn an order that bars Shirvell from stepping foot on the U-M campus.
Thomas said he can't comment on the specifics of the grievance commission complaint without seeing it. But, he said, "Everything that Mr. Shirvell did was protected by his First Amendment rights to free speech - as objectionable as somebody may find it."
UM student wants Asst. AG disbarred, says he repeatedly harassed and defamed him
By Ross Jones
October 29, 2010
(WXYZ) LANSING - UM student body president Chris Armstrong is asking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to disbar Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, saying he "repeatedly harassed and defamed" Armstrong in a six-month campaign published on the Internet.
Armstrong, who is openly gay, is represented by Bloomfield Hills attorney Deborah Gordon, who issued a statement today announcing that disciplinary charges had been filed by her client. In Armstrong's filing with the commission, he asked that action be taken against Shirvell on the grounds that he has violated the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct by making "obviously false, disgusting, and utterly outlandish allegations about Armstrong's lifestyle and personal behavior."
Gordon has also filed a grievance on her own behalf, saying that lawyers are obligated to report instances of professional misconduct when they come to their attention.
The request for disbarment comes weeks after an Action News report that sparked a national debate and international news coverage. On his blog, entitled "Chris Armstrong Watch," Shirvell accused Armstrong of engaging in orgies and underage binge drinking. In other internet postings, he called him "Satan's representative on the student assembly," and protested outside of the student's home.
The blog is now only viewable to invited readers.
Gordon has asked that Shirvell retract what she called "misrepresentations and other false and defamatory statements," and that he cease any stalking behavior.
Andrew Shirvell could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer Philip J. Thomas told Action News that he was surprised that the grievance was filed,. Thomas added that he believed a resolution was being crafted between the parties after Armstrong dropped a request that a personal protection order be filed against Shirvell.
Judge Accused Of Wrongfully Using Court Funds
Ex-Court Administrator: Judge Used Court Funds For Personal Causes
SOUTHGATE, Mich. - A former Southgate district court administrator said she was fired after openly expressing her concern for the way a judge was using court funds for personal causes.
Lori Shemka is suing Judge James Kandrevas, 63.
Court Employee Says She Was Fired For Blowing Whistle.
Shemka's attorney, Deborah Gordon, said her client observed Kandrevas mishandling public money and opening a court bank account to advance a personal cause.
Gordon said Shemka was fired last year after expressing that she felt the judge's actions were inappropriate.
"It's a clear-cut case of the arrogance of power, and this judge wanted to run this particular court as he saw fit," said Gordon.
During a recent deposition, Gordon said Kandrevas refused to answer many questions about the court, citing his right against self-incrimination.
"I have confidence that when all of these allegations are flushed out, my client will be exonerated," said Kandrevas' attorney Philip Thomas.
Kandrevas has been a Southgate judge for 20 years, and the courthouse bears his name.
"She went into this courthouse as an administrator and quickly saw it's a one-man show there and she tried to clean it up," said Gordon about her client, who worked at the court for five months before she was fired in 2009.
The Justice Department has launched an independent investigation into the allegations against Kandrevas.
SOUTHGATE: City settles whistleblower lawsuit against judge
By Rene Cizio
October 09, 2010
SOUTHGATE - A whistleblower lawsuit against 28th District Judge James Kandrevas has been settled out of court by the city.
City Attorney Edward Zelenak said Friday that the city's insurance carrier recommended that the case be settled as a cost-savings measure over further litigation.
He said the City Council discussed the settlement during an executive session Wednesday and then unanimously approved it.
He would not provide details of the settlement at this time, but said, "The city got away very inexpensively."
A settlement in an unrelated lawsuit against Kandrevas also was approved by the council Wednesday.
Zelenak said there are no other lawsuits pending against the court.
The whistleblower lawsuit was filed Aug. 11 in Wayne County Circuit Court by Lori Shemka, a former court administrator. In it, she alleged wrongful discharge, violation of the state Whistleblowers' Protection Act and First Amendment violations.
Shemka, an attorney, worked at the court for about five months before she was fired.
She was hired Jan. 2 as court administrator, was appointed as a magistrate Feb. 4 and was fired May 15, but paid through June 1.
Shemka alleged in the lawsuit that she was fired for pointing out numerous improper and unethical financial practices at the court.
Among her allegations in the lawsuit were:
Commingling of funds.
Violation of the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Some court employees conducted non-court business in the court building during business hours and used court resources.
A separate work program bank account was set up without approval from the city, which is the court's funding unit, and the account contained about $200,000.
Those claims were dismissed after investigation by the state Court Administrative Office.
Another claim in the lawsuit was that Kandrevas created a nonprofit corporation Achievers Club softball program for disabled children and was using court employees and the court's name to collect donations.
The state Court Administrative Office responded by fax May 14 to Shemka and Kandrevas, ordering Kandrevas to stop collecting donations for his private charity while promoting his position with the court, or it could be reported to the state Judicial Tenure Commission, according to the lawsuit.
Another allegation was that there was fraudulent representation by the court to the state and federal governments in a drug court grant application seeking funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Shemka alleged that the grant was seeking money for two drug court employees on the basis that they were laid off by the city, which, she said, was not the case because the two employees' salaries and benefits were not funded by the city.
Kandrevas' attorney, Philip Thomas, said Kandrevas did not apply for the grant. He said court employees determine eligibility and fill out the applications.
"If the grant should not have been applied for, then it should have not been applied for," Thomas said. "It wasn't my client that made the determination to apply for the grant."
The U.S. Justice Department still is investigating the allegation.
Shemka's attorney, Deborah Gordon, said it wasn't until after Shemka brought all of her issues to Kandrevas and her concerns were not addressed by the judge that she took it to the next level and reported it to the state Court Administrative Office.
Shemka received a termination letter from Kandrevas on May 15, citing "philosophical differences" relating to the operation of the court. The locks on the building were changed and employees packed her personal belongings.
Shemka's lawsuit said that her firing was in retaliation for her refusal to violate state law, and that action violates state public policy prohibiting an employer from firing an employee for refusing to violate a law.
Thomas said Kandrevas asked the advice of Zelenak on firing Shemka two months before actually doing it, before the Court Administrative Office stepped in. Zelenak said he does not recall the date of their conversation, but that he did advise Kandrevas.
During Kandrevas' deposition for the lawsuit, Gordon said she was shocked by Kandrevas' "less than forthcoming" manner.
She said he invoked the Fifth Amendment provision against self-incrimination many times during the three-day questioning period, or said he didn't remember when asked a question.
"When he took the Fifth Amendment 222 times, it was just 'wow,'" Gordon said.
"I was really surprised by how unable he was to remember key facts and tried to distance himself from having knowledge or a role.
"I was shocked by how often he told me he had a bad memory; I get that from a lot of other people, but I don't expect that from a judge.
"Get off the bench if you can't remember or give a straight answer."
Thomas said they didn't answer because there is a possibility they would waive the right to answer more thoroughly if there were ever a criminal case, which he said he does not believe is a possibility.
"If we asserted that right 222 times, then we probably answered 2,222 questions," he said.
Thomas said the case was "far-reaching" and "meritless."
"It is very, very easy to make allegations against a public official," he said.
"When a person makes allegations against a public official, almost any (government) agency feels compelled to investigate it. If they don't, (it could appear) they're doing something unethical or trying to cover for a public official.
"You will not find one finding that Kandrevas has done anything wrong."
Ex-aide: Complaints about judge's finances led to termination
By L.L. BRASIER
October 8, 2010
Chief Judge James Kandrevas, 63, is such a fixture in Southgate that the 28th District Court building is named after him.
Now his former court administrator, Lori Shemka, claims in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that at times he has run his court like a fiefdom, opening bank accounts with court funds to support favorite causes, mishandling public money and providing misleading information on a federal grant application. She was fired in 2009.
The accusations have prompted simultaneous investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the state Judicial Tenure Commission, according to court records.
Kandrevas, through his counsel, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 200 times when asked about the financial dealings of the court in a recent deposition.
"What is particularly galling is that there is no evidence my client did anything wrong, yet the judge takes the Fifth Amendment and hides behind it," said Shemka's attorney, Deborah Gordon. "I find that very disconcerting."
Kandrevas' attorney Philip Thomas said the facts will exonerate his client. "It is very, very easy to make allegations against a public official," he said.
Whistleblower lawsuit targets a judge
Shemka had been on the job for less than five months and, she says, she didn't like what she saw.
Shemka, as the new court administrator for Southgate's 28th District Court, was uneasy about how longtime Chief Judge James Kandrevas handled public money, court records show. She was alarmed that he was soliciting donations in the community for a charity program that he ran through the courts, something court rules prohibit.
On May 15, 2009 -- just days after she reported her concerns to the State Court Administrative Office -- Kandrevas fired her. He cited "serious philosophical differences concerning the operations, policies and procedures" of the court, and ordered the locks changed at the courthouse.
Shemka filed a whistleblower lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming she was fired as retribution.
Kandrevas, through his attorneys, has denied wrongdoing. The State Court Administrative Office, which oversees courts, told the Free Press on Thursday that it has reviewed the matter and found nothing illegal.
A trial date on the whistleblower suit has been set for March 8 before federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor.
Separate bank accounts
In the suit, Shemka, a licensed attorney, alleges:
- Kandrevas set up two separate bank accounts where he deposited fines and fees generated by the court's work program and drug court -- even though the City of Southgate is in charge of court funding and oversight. The city was unaware of the accounts, City Council President Phillip Rauch told the Free Press on Thursday. Kandrevas was the chief signatory on the accounts, along with a court employee, according to court records.
One of the accounts routinely had a balance of around $200,000. It was used to purchase, among other things, items at Dollar Tree and Sam's Club and to pay for a Capital One credit card.
The account also was used to purchase items for a softball program, the Achievers Club, created by the judge for the benefit of disabled children. The judge routinely ordered those who appeared before him on criminal matters to play ball with the children as part of their community service.
Kandrevas, through his attorneys, contends there is no evidence he benefited personally from the accounts. Shemka, through her attorney, concedes there is no evidence Kandrevas purchased items for himself or wrote checks to himself.
- The judge routinely solicited donations for the Achievers Club, as did court officers, wearing court uniforms. The state prohibits judges from asking for money for any purpose, including charities. The State Court Administrative Office ordered Kandrevas to end the practice in 2009, after Shemka reported it.
- Shemka also alleges Kandrevas sought federal stimulus money in 2009 to replace two drug court workers, telling the government that their layoffs were the result of cutbacks by the city. But Shemka says those workers, who screened defendants for drugs, were funded by the private drug court account and were not city employees.
According to court records, Kandrevas laid them off because he was considering using an independent company to do drug screens for the court. The court was eventually awarded a $192,000 federal grant for the drug court. Kandrevas' attorneys say it was staffers, not the judge, who sought the stimulus money.
The Justice Department, according to court records and Kandrevas' attorney, is investigating the allegation that Kandrevas misled the government about the layoffs.
State office sees 'no misuse'
Shemka has hired Bloomfield Hills attorney Deborah Gordon to represent her.
"My view is Judge Kandrevas has run his own fiefdom for a long time in that city — he's the only judge — and when Lori Shemka tried to correct all of the problems, the things that were being done improperly ... he got rid of her very quickly," Gordon said.
Attorney Philip Thomas, representing Kandrevas in the Judicial Tenure Commission investigation and advising him on the other investigations, said his client "has done nothing wrong."
"I am confident that at the end of the day, my client is going to be vindicated," Thomas said.
The State Court Administrative Office said its investigations revealed "no misuse of public funds, attempts to conceal public money or any secret bank accounts."
Fifth Amendment invoked
Thomas, during Kandrevas' seven-hour-long deposition on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, advised his client to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege 222 times when Gordon questioned Kandrevas at length about the operations of the court.
Kandrevas, through his attorney, refused to answer basic questions in the sometimes contentious, 321-page deposition, a copy of which was obtained by the Free Press.
"Did you or the court or the work program have a Capital One credit card?" Gordon asked.
"Same (Fifth Amendment) assertion," Thomas repeatedly answered for Kandrevas.
Gordon, presenting paperwork showing the court was insisting that employees had been laid off because of city budget woes and needed federal stimulus money, asked: "That statement is simply incorrect and not honest, is that correct?"
Before Kandrevas could answer, Thomas again invoked his client's Fifth Amendment right.
When not invoking his constitutional rights, Kandrevas frequently answered that he could not remember much, including whether he had ever been sued -- he has, court records reviewed by the Free Press indicate -- and what he'd had for dinner the night before.
All this prompted Gordon to ask: "Well, why are you still on the bench if your memory is so bad?"
Kandrevas' attorneys complained she was being argumentative.
Deposition sealed for 30 days
Kandrevas, 63, is a longtime public official in Southgate, a downriver suburb of 30,000 people about seven miles south of Detroit's city limits. He was a city municipal judge in 1973, then served as city attorney from 1979 through 1981. He served as mayor for seven years in the 1980s, before taking the district court bench in 1990. The city's district courthouse is named after him, with the words James Kandrevas Judicial Building mounted on the outside of the brown brick building.
In campaign literature, Kandrevas uses a picture of himself standing beneath his name on that building.
Thomas, in an interview with the Free Press this week, defended Kandrevas' refusal to answer questions.
"When an allegation has been made that could even remotely be construed as criminal in nature, a judge has the same rights as anybody else under the U.S. and Michigan constitutions," Thomas said. "He is a sitting judge who is defending himself in civil litigation that may cross the line and go over into some criminal accusation."
Kandrevas sought to have his deposition sealed, saying his answers would be "embarrassing" to him and his family if made public, court records show. A federal magistrate agreed to seal the deposition before he gave it in the event his testimony would prove incriminating in the ongoing investigations.
But the federal magistrate sealed it for only 30 days and released it Sunday.
"Judge Kandrevas is an elected official and as such, is beholden to his constituency," Magistrate Virginia Morgan wrote. "To veil his deposition in this lawsuit, which is of particular concern giving it involves 'liberties' with taxpayers' dollars, would unduly restrict the public's interest in transparent governance."
Sylvan Lake police, chief sued over '09 arrest
By L.L. BRASIER
April 27, 2010
A longtime Sylvan Lake resident is suing the city's Police Department and its chief, saying he has been beaten, harassed and falsely arrested in retaliation for testifying against the chief in a 2007 sexual harassment suit.
Jeffrey Minor, 48, who has lived in Sylvan Lake for 15 years, says he was watching his neighbor's dog in March 2009 when the dog wandered into the street. According to the suit, a police officer arrested him for violating the city's leash law, beat him and took his cell phone when he tried to videotape the attack. The suit alleges that after his arrest, police drove Minor to the police station so that Police Chief Mark Silver could see him in custody. Minor, a former gym owner who has no criminal record, was held in the Oakland County Jail over a weekend, the suit says. Prosecutors who reviewed the case eventually dropped the charges.
Silver said Monday that he had not seen the suit and that the department would have no comment.
Minor was a key witness in a 2007 lawsuit filed by former Sylvan Lake Police Officer James Sherrod against the department and Silver. Sherrod claimed Silver made sexual advances toward him, then fired him when he refused.
Minor said in a deposition that Silver had made sexual comments to him when Silver arrived at his home to take a report on a neighborhood disturbance in 2003. Minor's testimony was used to bolster Sherrod's claim that Silver had a history of inappropriate behavior.
A mediation panel that reviewed the case in 2008 recommended that the city pay Sherrod $300,000, and Sherrod settled for that amount.
Minor, in his lawsuit filed Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court, alleges malicious prosecution, false arrest, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, has been assigned to Circuit Judge Wendy Potts.
Teacher's Aide Says She Was Fired for Reporting Third-Grader With Drugs
Michigan School Worker Seeks Whistle-Blower Protection After Losing Job
By STEPHANIE WASH
March 9, 2010
A special-education aide at a Clawson, Mich., elementary school has sued her former employer, claiming that she was unjustly terminated last year for reporting school violations, including an alleged drug-dealing operation run by a third-grader.
Janine Fisher-Ethier filed the lawsuit last month against Clawson Public Schools, co-worker Scott Just and Schalm Elementary School principal Patricia Pell in Oakland County Court.
They were served last week with the lawsuit, which the school district said is meritless.
According to the lawsuit filed Feb. 16, 2010, however, the "defendants terminated [Fisher-Ethier's] employment and otherwise retaliated against her because she had reported violations or suspected violations of laws."
Fisher-Ethier, 48, first became aware that a student was allegedly dealing drugs to other students on Schalm Elementary School property around April 2008, according to the complaint.
"The students were telling me that he was selling them for a certain amount of money and then I started to find them," Fisher-Ethier said in an interview. "I used to be an EMT so I knew to take the coding off the pills. I came home, ran the codes on the computer, and found out they were amphetamines."
The pills were found by several people at the school, including kindergarten students and a school secretary, she said.
"One girl found a tissue with pills in it in her desk," Fisher-Ethier said. "She said to me, 'This isn't mine, what do I do with it?' I told her to take it down to the bathroom and flush it."
The drug problem at the school was no secret, she said. "There were a lot of shenanigans in the bathroom," Fisher-Ethier said. "We had ceiling tiles getting popped, money was being left. They were leaving pills in the toilet-paper dispensers." Fisher-Ethier of Clawson spotted the suspected student in April 2008 attempting to enter an after-school program that he was not authorized to attend, according to the lawsuit.
She informed a "latchkey" supervisor of his alleged drug dealing and instructed her to prohibit the student from entering.
Within a week, Fisher-Ethier was reprimanded by principal Pell in front of her union president, according to the complaint.
"That's the day she told me if I didn't shut my mouth and walk away, she would fire me," Fisher-Ethier said.
Pell, she said, turned a blind eye to the ongoing problem and, according to the complaint, Fisher-Ethier was instructed do the same if she saw any more pills.
Pell placed a letter in Fisher-Ethier's file the next day, threatening termination for any future "breech [sic] of confidentiality."
In the letter, dated April 14, 2008, Pell wrote, "... on more than one occasion, you have overstepped your authority and shared confidential information with others. You have chosen to share information that has not been substantiated, thereby putting the reputation of yourself and students at risk.
Teacher Concerned for Her Own Son
"Some of the information you shared with community members was actually 'hearsay' reported by third-grade students. This disregard for the rights and privacy of others cannot be tolerated in our workplace."
Fisher-Ethier said that what she reported was not hearsay. "You always tell the kids, 'You see something wrong, you tell someone,'" Fisher-Ethier said. "[Pell] was trying to make all the kids seem like liars. But then I see the pills floating around. The kids were right."
Pell was even presented with physical evidence of the pills after the suspected student left his duffle bag in the school office and it was searched, Fisher-Ethier said.
"She probably threw them away," Fisher-Ethier said in the interview. "She didn't call the student, the police or the parents." She said that worried her and she became increasingly concerned about the safety of the students. "Kids were misbehaving," Fisher-Ethier said. "They were all getting into trouble. We couldn't say anything. It was sad to watch." She said she was also concerned about her own son, who has autism and was then in fifth grade. "I was afraid of retaliation against him. I had informed his teachers and paraprofessionals of who the student was and that he was never to come near the classroom," Fisher-Ethier said. Pell has declined to comment.
Her concerns about the suspected student grew on May 8, 2008, when the student "drew a picture and wrote a note threatening to kill a specific student," according to the complaint.
"His teacher had a tattletale box on her desk because we had so many problems in the school and the students snitched," Fisher-Ethier said.
The photo, which is now being held by police, showed a student bleeding from knife wounds, Fisher-Ethier said. Clawson police have yet to respond to repeated requests from ABC News to comment on the photo and other details of the case.
The picture and note were given to Pell, according to the complaint.
But Fisher-Ethier said Pell failed to notify the parents of the threatened child, although the information apparently filtered through.
In May 2008, the parents contacted Clawson police, who then reached out to Fisher-Ethier, according to the lawsuit.
Fisher-Ethier spoke with her union president "for advice on how to respond, given [Pell's] previous threats to her job," according to the complaint.
On his advice, she decided to give police a written statement detailing her account of the third grader selling amphetamines and the death threat. At the time, Fisher-Ethier said, "it most likely would get [me] fired."
Clawson Public Schools cut ties with Fisher-Ethier the following year, after she was accused by co-worker Scott Just of "improper transition of a student."
Infraction Purportedly on Videotape
Just alleged in November 2009 that Fisher-Ethier "instructed two students to haul a special-education student down the hallway by his hands," according to her lawsuit.
She denied what she called Just's retaliatory allegations for complaints she had lodged months earlier when she witnessed his alleged ongoing sexual harassment of a female co-worker. Fisher-Ethier approached Just and told him to "cease his harassing conduct" after witnessing it in or around the fall of 2008, according to the complaint.
Eventually, Fisher-Ethier and other concerned staff encouraged their co-worker, Carrie Burnard, to report the alleged harassment to Pell in February 2009.
In an interview with ABC News, Burnard said Pell told her "she didn't want to have to tell her boss, because if she did, [Just] would have to be fired and she didn't want that to happen."
Burnard said Pell apparently failed to inform the superintendent. "I was told it was not any of my business to know if he was even talked to," Burnard said. "My principal said it was her issue to take care of."
Burnard continued to work at the school, she said, and did not speak to Just again.
ABC News was unable to reach Just for comment.
Weeks later, the superintendent's office summoned Burnard to a meeting where she met with Pell and was given an evaluation labeling her an "unsatisfactory teacher," Burnard told ABC News.
Burnard said the complaints mentioned in her evaluation "were not truthful" and were "all related to incidents that [she] had with Scott Just."
"She said I didn't work well with my grade-level group. Well, that was Scott Just and another teacher," Burnard said.
Burnard said she was handed a letter of resignation April 14, 2009, which she refused to sign. She was terminated a week later.
Burnard's allegations later resurfaced, in November 2009, in a conversation Fisher-Ethier had with another school employee, according to the complaint.
Fisher-Ethier told her co-worker she had seen Just sexually harass Burnard in the past, which Burnard corroborated.
Within an hour of the conversation, Just "falsely and maliciously" aired his grievance against Fisher-Ethier, according to her lawsuit.
The allegations arose from an incident in which she was having trouble walking a student with Down Syndrome to the restroom, Fisher-Ethier told ABC News.
Two students noticed her trouble and attempted to bring the student off the floor. "As they started to pull him, I verbally told them to stop," she said. "But I told them not to drop his arms because the child wore glasses and I didn't want him to smash them. If they had let go, he would've fallen nose-first. I was in the middle of giving instructions when Mr. Just came flying out. He immediately screamed at the kids, 'If an irresponsible adult asks you to do an irresponsible thing, don't listen to that adult,'" Fisher-Ethier said.
Fisher-Ethier defended her actions in two separate meeting with Pell. Her union informed her Nov. 15, 2009 that she would face disciplinary action if she did not resign, according to the lawsuit.
When Fisher-Ethier learned of this, she e-mailed every member of the school board and outlined each alleged violation she had previously brought to the attention of Pell and Clawson police.
Fisher-Ethier met Nov. 29, 2009, with Clawson Public Schools superintendent Cheryl M. Rogers, Pell and a union representative. She was given an official letter of termination "without notice of hearing, warning, prior suspensions or other progressive discipline," according to the complaint.
In the letter, Rogers wrote that the accusation of mistreatment of a student "was documented by the testimony of teachers Scott Just and Kelly Soueidi who witnessed the transport, and it was further evident from the review of the incident on video... As a result of your actions, you have jeopardized the well being of a child."
Fisher-Ethier's attorney, Deborah Gordon, has requested a copy of the alleged videotape that Fisher-Ethier has never seen.
In an email to ABC News, Rogers wrote, "The matter has been referred to our legal counsel for handling. We believe the suit lacks merit, and the District looks forward to having the claims adjudicated in a court of law."
She has declined repeated requests by ABC News for further comment.
Fisher-Ethier said she hoped the court will rule in her favor under Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act and the federal Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, which protects employees from being discharged, threatened or discriminated against for reporting a violation of law or regulation.
She is seeking more than $75,000 in her lawsuit, for lost wages and damages for "tortious interference with an advantageous business relationship or expectancy; defamation; and violation of Plaintiff's due process rights."
Suit: Clawson school worker fired for reports
Clawson aide says principal took no action on allegations
By Mike Martindale
February 18, 2010
Clawson -- A special education worker at a Clawson grade school has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired because she reported violations at school including a third-grade drug dealer and a teacher who sexually harassed a female colleague.
Janine Fisher-Ethier's lawsuit, assigned to Oakland Circuit Judge Leo Bowman, names Clawson Public Schools, Patricia Pell and Scott Just as defendants. Pell is the principal of Schalm Elementary School, where Just is employed as a teacher.
Fisher-Ethier says she was hired by Clawson Public Schools in January 2007 as a special education paraprofessional, but troubles began in April 2008 when she reported to a latchkey supervisor at the school that a third-grade student was selling amphetamine pills to other students on school property.
On May 8, 2008, the same third-grader drew a picture and wrote that he was going to kill a specific classmate, and Fisher-Ethier turned the material over to Pell, said Fisher-Ethier's attorney, Deborah Gordon.
"Nothing was done about the incident but the targeted student's parents heard about it from other students and contacted police, who contacted Fisher-Ethier, who answered questions honestly," said Gordon.
"This was apparently viewed as more bad publicity."
In February 2009, Fisher-Ethier and other Schalm staff encouraged a female teacher who had allegedly been sexually harassed by another teacher to report the matter to Pell. It was later determined Pell never reported the allegation to the superintendent as required by policy, Gordon said.
"In November, Scott Just told Pell my client had instructed two students to 'haul a special education student down the hallway by his hands' -- something that never happened," Gordon said.
A union official told Fisher-Ethier on Nov. 15 the school intended to file disciplinary charges based on the false allegations unless she resigned. The same day, Fisher-Ethier e-mailed all board members with the violations she had previously reported and learned the board had never been made aware of the allegations, Gordon said.
On Nov. 19, Fisher-Ethier was told her employment was terminated immediately. Gordon said it is a violation of her right of due process.
Neither Pell nor Just could be reached for comment Wednesday, and the school is closed for the week, an employee said.
"We are unaware of the lawsuit or claims and until we are served have nothing to say about it," said Clawson School Superintendent Cheryl Rogers.
2009 MEDIA COVERAGE
City stalling in pregnancy bias lawsuit, lawyer says
November 27, 2009
The lawyer for six Detroit police officers who are suing the city over alleged pregnancy discrimination is accusing the city of foot-dragging and dishonesty in responding to the federal court action. Read This Article
Ex-WCSX DJ sues, says she was harassed
By Paul Egan
November 18, 2009
The former co-host of the "JJ and Lynne" morning show on WCSX-FM (94.7) filed a federal lawsuit against the classic rock station's owners Tuesday, alleging she was sexually harassed by her co-host James Johnson and retaliated against when she complained about that and the fact he was paid more.
According to the complaint, Lynne Woodison Lyman joined WCSX in 1997 and co-hosted with JJ from 2000 until November 2008, when the station cited low ratings in terminating the show.
"Plaintiff was surrounded by a discriminatory and unlawful work environment where women were described as sex objects and derided on a daily basis," Lyman alleges in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit by her attorney, Deborah Gordon of Bloomfield Hills.
"Plaintiff's co-host showed her nude photographs on his computer screen on a daily basis and would harass her with derogatory terms and sexual references while they were broadcasting on the air."
Johnson, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to an e-mail message sent to his Facebook page. The only named defendant in the suit is station owner Greater Media Inc., also known as Greater Boston Radio Inc. John Gallagher, market manager for WCSX in Ferndale and two other Detroit-area Greater Media stations, said Tuesday he had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
Lyman alleges managers labeled her a "b----" when she complained about the hostile work environment and also retaliated against her for complaining in 2006 about Johnson receiving an annual "management development bonus" of about $24,000 that she did not receive.
Johnson was paid more despite the fact she did more work and received better performance appraisals, Lyman alleges.
"Plaintiff's co-host, James Johnson, was regularly given warnings, negative write-ups, and negative reviews," the suit alleges. "Mr. Johnson was also threatened with a lawsuit for his inappropriate behavior in grabbing a female employee at a Greektown Casino event in or about 2003, for which he was never disciplined."
Lyman, 58, alleges gender and age discrimination and retaliation. Gordon said Lyman is not currently working in radio and she is seeking damages in excess of $1 million. "They really wrecked her career," Gordon said.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman.
Bloomfield Hills lawyer takes on the big dogs -- and wins
By L.L. BRASIER
November 8, 2009
It might be said that attorney Deborah Gordon has an issue with authority figures.
She sues them all the time.
And most of the time she wins -- big.
Gordon, 59, of Birmingham is widely viewed as the best attorney around when it comes to taking on normally lawsuit-proof entities such as courts, police departments and county prosecutors.
Michigan's governmental immunity laws generally protect such parties. But Gordon, described by friends and foes as ferocious in the courtroom, successfully has sued police departments in Sterling Heights, Waterford and Sylvan Lake, and even pizza mogul Tom Monaghan.
She once even dragged all three Bloomfield District Court judges onto the witness stand and interrogated them, earning her client a $3-million jury award in a wrongful-discharge lawsuit.
Perhaps it's no surprise that Gordon is not afraid to take on authority, considering her lineage.
She is the daughter of Lou Gordon, the feisty host of a Channel 50 interview show in the '60s and '70s. Lou Gordon was beloved for sticking up for the little people.
Currently in Deborah Gordon's sights: Detroit City Councilwoman Martha Reeves, facing a wrongful discharge suit from an office worker; and former Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca, along with West Bloomfield police, who are accused of the wrongful imprisonment of a West Bloomfield Township couple -- Julian and Thal Wendrow -- who were accused of abusing their autistic daughter.
The Wendrow case fell apart and the charges were dropped, but not before the girl's father spent 80 days in jail. A trial is planned next year.
"Sometimes these people with all this power have to learn to behave," Gordon said. "And sometimes they have to know when to say, 'Sorry, we made a mistake.' "
Lawyer helps clients win tough disputes with governments
People who meet Gordon for the first time after arriving in her Bloomfield Hills law offices sometimes seem surprised.
"You sounded taller on the phone," clients will often say.
At 5 feet 2, and not much more than 100 pounds, she seems unimposing.
But, turned loose in a courtroom, Deborah Gordon is anything but diminutive.
A ferocious and feared litigator, Gordon is arguably metro Detroit's premiere attorney when it comes to suing in cases of wrongful discharge and civil rights violations. And she is an expert in one of the trickiest areas of Michigan law -- overcoming governmental immunity issues that often stop citizens from suing rogue police departments, run-amok prosecutors and incompetent or vindictive local governments.
Such cases are notoriously difficult to win. Michigan laws give broad governmental immunity to law enforcement and other public officials, an acknowledgement by legislators that such agencies need wide discretion in how they handle cases. Those suing must prove that public officials were acting without regard to their constitutional rights or welfare, a tough sale in some courtrooms, legal experts say. Roughly two-thirds are dismissed before ever reaching trial.
But in her 30 years of practice, Gordon has taken on -- and almost always triumphed over -- some of metro Detroit's most powerful players, including sitting judges, chief executive officers, politicians, police departments and prosecutors. Among her targets: Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan, the Sterling Heights and Waterford police departments, the University of Michigan's Dental School and the entire three-judge bench of the 48th District Court in Bloomfield Township.
"The idea of going after things that are wrong, and unjust and egomaniacal, and having the ability to do something about it, it's just a phenomenal feeling," she said in her bright and cluttered office, decorated with photos and sketches of past courtroom battles and political signs -- she is a big Obama supporter.
Despite her high-octane personality, her full caseload and the drudgery of preparing for seemingly endless trial work, she is a contented lawyer in a field often filled with stressed-out and unhappy people.
"I am so grateful, so fortunate," she said, her feet tucked up on her crowded desk. "I love what I do, I take only the cases I want, the cases where I think I can bring my clients, and myself, some satisfaction."
Gordon's practice is so rarefied that she turns down almost every case presented to her, selecting only the ones that she is certain she can win. At any given time, she has 30 to 35 active cases, and a staff of three attorneys.
She also takes cases only on contingency -- meaning she never charges by the hour. Her pay comes from her cut of verdict awards, typically a third. Should she lose? She gets nothing.
"It gives me a lot more freedom," she said. "I don't want anybody to pay me by the hour."
Sexual harassment victories
Gordon's latest victory was a $1.1-million verdict against the Sterling Heights Police Department earlier this year. Gordon represented an animal control officer who claimed she was fired in retaliation for complaining to her bosses that a fellow employee was harassing her.
A Macomb County jury agreed.
Attorney Lawrence Scott, who represented Sterling Heights, declined to discuss the case, citing potential appeals. But he was quick to praise and lament Gordon as a foe.
"She is very aggressive, and she is effective," Scott said.
He said he thought his clients were sometimes manhandled by Gordon on the witness stand.
In 2003, Gordon represented four women employed by Tri-Chem, a Troy firm, who alleged that as saleswomen, they were required to send prospective customers photos of themselves seminude and to make sexually suggestive remarks during their sales pitches. It was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
"It would have been an incredible case to try," Gordon said. "We have this saying around the office: Just when we think we've seen it all, along comes something like that."
Then there was the Sylvan Lake police officer who was fired after complaining that the chief was making inappropriate sexual remarks to him. Gordon, in taking depositions, introduced a resident of the Oakland County city who also testified that the chief, who was married, showed up on his doorstep during a routine call, and commented on the size of the resident's genitalia.
The case settled for $300,000.
Lou Gordon's legacy
Gordon has crusading in her DNA. Her father, Lou Gordon, was a hugely popular, muck-raking broadcast journalist in Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s. He once called out Bob Hope about his support of Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War, and in interviewing Alabama Gov. George Wallace, openly questioned his sanity.
His impact on Deborah, the middle daughter of three, was profound.
Her mother, ill, lived in another state, so it was up to her father to raise his daughters. He taught them to question authority from the time they could talk. And he taught them the fine art of debate.
"We were a Jewish family, so we grew up arguing all the time," she recalled. "And then, five minutes later, it was like, 'Hey, let's go shopping at Northland.' "
She was political, following the civil rights movement on the family's black-and-white TV set even as a child.
She trained to be a teacher and graduated from U-M with a teaching certificate. But in her first year of teaching, she heard about a woman in law school and was intrigued.
"We were teachers, or nurses, or we got married. But women didn't go to law school then," she said.
It was in the law that she found her passion.
Today she practices mostly in federal court, and in state courts in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Avern Cohn, a longtime judge on Michigan's federal court bench in Detroit, has watched Gordon over the years. She has had many cases before him.
"She is like this skilled surgeon," Cohn said. "She knows how to get the best out of the case. Many of her victories are scored because of the obtuseness of the defendant, and their failure to recognize the shortcomings of their case.
"A lot of people have really misbehaved, and refuse to recognize it," Cohn said. "She has a good nose for discriminatory conduct. She doesn't lose a good case, and most of her cases are scored because of the foolishness of the defendants going to trial."
That, and sheer perseverance.
"I'm always impressed by her. It's a very specialized law, and she is one of the premiere attorneys in that area of law," Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien said. "She is a bulldog."
'U' settles case with former Dental School student
By Kyle Swanson
November 1, 2009
University officials have settled out of court with a former Dental School student who says she was wrongfully dismissed from the school.
A settlement was reached outside of court last week after University officials dropped an appeal of a ruling that ordered the University to pay the former student more than $1.7 million. The amount of the settlement has not been disclosed.
In May 2006, Alissa Zwick, a former Dental School student, filed two lawsuits against the University after being dismissed from the University in her third year of study. Zwick claimed she had been caught in a turf war between a Dental School administrator and several faculty members over how to accommodate her attention deficit disorder.
The associate dean of the Dental School told Zwick she was expelled from the Dental School because she wasn't fit to practice dentistry. At the time of her expulsion, Zwick had a B average.
Zwick's lawsuits claimed her expulsion was a violation of free speech, due process, breach of contract and defamation. The cases, filed in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Claims, were consolidated and sent to a U.S. District Court for judgment.
After the University filed a motion to have the case dismissed, all claims were dropped except Zwick's due process claim.
The case went to trial in federal court and in December 2008 the jury awarded Zwick $220,000 in economic damages, $500,000 in non-economic damages and $1 million in punitive damages. The University was also ordered to pay approximately $320,000 for Zwick's legal expenses.
The University began an appeal after the verdict was issued, which was dropped as a result of last week's settlement. As part of the settlement, both parties are asking the court to erase the earlier verdict in favor of the settlement agreement.
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed that the appeal had been dropped and that a settlement had been reached.
"The matter has been resolved and the earlier court judgment has been vacated," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald refused further comment, saying he wasn't permitted to comment on the details of the settlement or any other specifics of the case.
Deborah Gordon, Zwick's attorney, told the Associated Press Friday that she was not allowed to comment on the details of the settlement.
"I am only allowed to say the case has been resolved," Gordon said.
Details of the settlement have not yet been filed with the Court.
Zwick no longer studies dentistry, despite having been accepted to eight other dental schools before enrolling at Michigan. She is now pursuing a master's degree in Speech Pathology at Eastern Michigan University.
Ave Maria Law in Toilet-Tier Rankings, Again. How?
October 9, 2009
Yesterday, Fumare shared an Ave Maria School of Law alumni email that summarizes AMSL's place in the 2009 U.S. News ranking of law schools.
- peer assessment: 1.3 out of 5 (same as 2008)
- lawyer/judge assessment: 1.9 out of 5 (down from 2.1)
- GPA and LSAT percentile scores: all down from 2008
- student acceptance rate: got worse
- student/faculty ratio: got worse
- Michigan bar passage rate: decreased sharply from 96.3% to 75%
The Alumni Association Board of Directors — who apparently sent the email — goes on to remind people that these numbers were taken prior to relocation to Florida, as if the move will help with GPA, LSAT, student/faculty ratio, or any other metric.
Rather than put hope in relocation, the Alumni Board should also realize that these metrics do not reflect the fallout from the wrongful termination settlement that was recently won by three former AMSL professors. A review of the AveWatch server log makes one wonder if any law school in America does not know that AMSL reversed all of its punitive tenure decisions against the professors.
The academic legal community also knows what Ave Maria Law is, thanks largely to the evidence uncovered in the suit. The University of Chicago's Brian Leiter summed it up best by calling the settlement "a suitable rebuke to the nutty Tom Monaghan and former Dean Dobranski, who did his bidding."
"Nutty"
With over three years of articles, AveWatch had to create a whole category devoted to "nutty". Who wants to pay $33K/year to have a diploma from a fourth-tier school with an administration deemed "nutty" by its legal peers (Catholic or otherwise)?
AveWatch asked several observers to comment on what the lawsuit's findings and settlement mean. What can be learned from this?
Charles Rice (Professor Emeritus, Notre Dame Law School; Co-Founder and Gubernator Ejectus, AMSL):
Three causes:
1) A free-standing law school is required to be run by its governing board, with decisions made in the interest of the school. Tom Monaghan subordinated the interests of AMSL, and all those who relied on him and his promises, to his separate business interests. If he developed a university organically in Florida, AMSL could easily have phased in with it pursuant to the program laid out by Joe Falvey. We could have ended up with two excellent law schools, one in Florida and one in Ann Arbor. TSM had no adequate appreciation for the quality and potential of AMSL. When he came up with his fantasy vision of the "Catholic town with university" and insisted that AMSL jump-start it by moving lock, stock and barrel to the suburbs of Immokalee, he destabilized AMSL in his pursuit of that fantasy. With the concurrence of Dobranski and the Board, TSM ran AMSL as a sole proprietorship to serve his own ends.
2) Bernie Dobranski at first tried to restrain Tom Monaghan's interference with the operation of the school. But when Tom insisted on the instant move of AMSL to jump-start his university, Bernie flipped and became the obedient resident agent of the sole proprietor, Monaghan. Bernie's actions disintegrated into a pattern of arbitrary treatment and meanness toward those who disagreed, especially faculty. His treatment of Safranek, Puccillo and Lyons is beyond contempt and beyond my power to describe. But Monaghan and the compliant Board members share in the responsibility for it.
3) Most important, the Board, with very few exceptions (most notably Jim Ryan) abjectly failed in its fiduciary duty to be a governing board. They appeared, wrongly, to regard AMSL as "Tom's law school" because they saw Tom as the money man. The attitude of the Board was one of automatic submission to TSM and his resident agent, Bernie. The result was a betrayal of the Board's fiduciary duty to AMSL and its community. The Board members were honorable, pleasant and obviously competent people. But as a group, the Board was sycophantic toward Tom and Bernie, and essentially worthless. The result was to waste a great opportunity. Serving on that Board was a disgusting experience. On the other hand, in my opinion, if Jim Ryan had been chairman of the Board and Joe Falvey the Dean, AMSL, even with the same Board members, would have succeeded beyond the most optimistic expectations. The problem was essentially one of leadership.
A former Ave Maria professor:
In the end, it could be that the sole purpose of Ave Maria is to serve as a warning to others who think that a legal academic community can or should be used by a wealthy sole proprietor to bolster his other non-profit and for-profit business ventures. AMSL was a train wreck on the career and future of many bright, hard working, faithful Catholic legal professionals. The Governors should be ashamed of their docile tolerance of institutional problems. They failed to heed the warning of St. John Chrysostom who said that "unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices, it fosters negligence, and incites not only the wicked but the good to do wrong".
A former Ave Maria Professor:
The Ave Enterprises have lied to, tried to hurt, or attempted to destroy so many people including Charlie Rice, Janet Smith, John Hittinger, as well as Safranek, Pucillo and Lyons and literally hundreds of students. Both St. Thomas and Aristotle help us to know that bad actions may not spring from bad character. However, when actions are regular and flow naturally from people, we recognize that they flow from habits and character. Ave Enterprises exhibits a certain character that is based upon the character of its leaders. Even bad characters, though, do good things.
However, Ave Maria is an entity that is meant to have a life projecting out for generations. It seeks students, donors, faculty and staff who will entrust their work and their future to Ave Maria and its promise. Whether or not it will fulfill that promise is based upon its character.
All of these people, Rice, Smith, Hittinger, Safranek, Pucillo and Lyons as well as hundreds of harmed careers and destroyed futures for alumni show that the Ave Enterprises are the Catholic Academic Bernard Madoff.
Deborah Gordon (legal team representing Safranke, Pucillo, and Lyons):
This case was truly unique. First, the arrogance of Monaghan and Dobranski, both during the events themselves and later at deposition was astounding. Monaghan had a quiet but very determined arrogance, Dobranski was more aggressive. Both saw things only from their point of view and seemed incapable of realizing they had made many mistakes. In my opinion, both were very thin skinned and could not deal criticism of any kind. Neither hesitated to refer to those who disagreed with them as "dissidents," and did so proudly.While I am used to cynicism and dishonesty in my cases it was particularly galling to see that with defendants who hold themselves out as being devoted to religious principles. It quickly became obvious that in their minds the ends justified the means, the truth and morality be damned.
I was shocked that a religious school would have on board the likes of Father Orsi. More evidence that the criteria for employment is not the quality of the individual but how often he says "yes." Similarly, the fact that people of the stature, intellect and integrity of Rice and Falvey were disposed of said it all with regard to the kind of institution this was. The other surprise was how truly hands off the BOG was.
Finally, what was great was our clients. All were very helpful with the case, totally committed to seeing justice be done and had great senses of humor.
In addition, this was a complete and total victory. Our team could think of nothing our clients could get at trial they did not obtain with this settlement. Yes, a trial would have been extremely revealing and would shed more public light on the claims. But our clients could not have had tenure restored, and their names and records cleared with a trial — we had no way of obtaining injunctive relief. So, the settlement provided the opportunity to correct an injustice by reversing all of the laughable and illegal wrongs that were done, in addition to the monetary relief. It was very important to us to have the AMSL Board set the record straight. I felt the evidence in this case was overwhelming and would not have hesitated to go to trial if I thought the result would have been better.
Every time that Monaghan, Dobranski, and Dean Eugene Milhizer brag that AMSL initially achieved accreditation in "the fastest possible time," they only heap coals upon themselves and should be reminded that the school's fall under their mismanagement was even faster.
Letterman's behavior nothing to laugh at
By PATRICIA MONTEMURRI
October 3, 2009
David Letterman crossed a line he shouldn't have, and it isn't funny.
The TV audience laughed after Letterman, with rubber-faced expression, admitted he "had sex with women who work for me on the show."
"My response to that is, 'Yes, I have,' " deadpanned Letterman.
The audience even clapped.
But let's stop laughing.
Some may say the rules of professionalism are different in the entertainment industry, where costars frequently fall in love with their on-screen mates or the folks behind the camera, but that excuse doesn't cut it here.
Letterman is the chairman and the man who owns the company that produces his show. He's a boss. And bosses are asking for bottom-line trouble when they have sex with their subordinates.
These unnamed employees worked "for" Letterman, not just "with" him.
It's creepy -- a word Letterman himself used with disturbing effect as he described the extortion plot hatched against him -- when bosses bed their employees. After Letterman testified about the blackmail attempt to a New York grand jury, a CBS employee was arrested and charged this week with attempting to extort $2 million from the comedian. He pleaded not guilty.
Business undermined
Even if Letterman had consensual relationships with subordinates, his behavior raises several issues.
Whether he's a celebrity or not, it remains a situation in which a person has a powerful position over somebody at the workplace and raises the question of whether that position is being leveraged for sex.
Deborah Gordon, a local attorney who specializes in sex discrimination and harassment cases, was stunned by Letterman's on-screen demeanor.
"He makes light of it -- like what's the thing that I've done that is so creepy? I had sex with women who work for me. Ha. Ha. Ha. No big deal," Gordon said.
The fact that Letterman admitted he had sex with multiple women in the workplace "sends up a warning signal," Gordon said. It suggests a pattern of behavior and hints of a workplace where such affairs with the boss might be part of the expected job duties.
It undermines the whole operation. It raises questions of whether women at Letterman's office are being hired with sex in mind, and if there are repercussions for refusing an advance or after an affair has run its course.
At press time, no women had come forward claiming they suffered sexual harassment from Letterman. And legal experts say sexual advances have to be unwelcome to support a lawsuit. But having sex with subordinates is grounds for dismissal in corporate America, and there are bountiful reasons why companies harp on management to keep sexual affairs out of the office.
Consider this: When an employee brought a sexual harassment suit against Isiah Thomas, the former Detroit Pistons basketball star who was an executive with the New York Knicks, a New York jury returned an $11.6-million verdict against the Knicks' parent organization.
Arrogance on display
Letterman's viewers are programmed to laugh at what he says.
But in his attempt at humor, Gordon saw the spin.
"There is a lot of arrogance in these situations, and he seemed to have a very arrogant attitude -- like naturally I have sex with anybody in the job, like who doesn't," Gordon said. "That I found very offensive."
The owner of Worldwide Pants Inc. got caught with his pants down, and it's going to haunt him personally and professionally for some time to come.
