Former City Council attorney Michael Thornton, who was fired in May for allegedly breaching a confidence of the city attorney's office, has followed through on his promise to sue the city.
The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, is seeking at least $3 million from the city, Mayor George Stewart, City Attorney Gary Gregerson and Councilman Dennis Poulsen.In the suit, Thornton says the city wrongfully terminated him, breached its contract with him, violated covenants of good faith and fair dealing and did not follow city regulations and due process provisions of the U.S. Constitution. He also says that Pouslen defamed him.
Besides seeking at least $3 million in general damages, he's seeking unspecified punitive damages and wants to be reinstated with full back wages and benefits.
City officials had not been served with the suit as of Friday morning. Because Gregerson is named as a defendant, the city likely will contract with a private firm to defend the three officials.
Thornton worked as a contract employee of the City Council for more than four years. In February, at his request, he became a full-time employee in the city attorney's office.
In a study meeting this summer, several council members said Thornton wanted the new position because it offered more opportunities. However, they also said Thornton was frustrated with accountability requirements placed on him by Council Chairwoman Jane Carlile and he didn't like reporting to a non-attorney.
On May 29, City Attorney Gary Gregerson terminated Thornton. The only reason given publicly was that Thornton breached an office confidence.
Thornton said he was fired for warning Councilman Karl Thalman not to listen to surreptitious tape recordings of telephone conversations made by Councilwoman Shari Holweg and obtained by the mayor from Holweg's brother.
Thalman said Thornton informed him of a planned meeting regarding the tapes but said Thornton never warned him against listening to the tapes.
City administrators said Thornton was fired for a reason other than that which he stated publicly. However, they would not discuss the termination because Thornton would not sign a waiver.
In his lawsuit, Thornton says he became concerned that Stewart had violated state and federal laws by obtaining, listening and encouraging others to listen to Holweg's tapes. When he learned on May 24 about a meeting where some council members were going to be asked to listen to the tapes, he said his primary responsibility was to advise the City Council. Therefore, he told Thalman about the tapes and his concern that laws had already been violated, and that council members who listened to the tapes might be violating the law.
Thornton is claiming in his suit that Stewart and Gregerson schemed to fire him so the public wouldn't know of the mayor's alleged improper and illegal conduct. He said the two tried to get him to abandon his legal claims and to prevent dissemination of the facts to the media and public.
"The intent and purpose of the defendants Gary Gregerson and George Stewart in terminating the plaintiff's contract of employment was to prevent the plaintiff from further communicating his suspicion that the mayor and other officials had violated certain laws," the suit says.
The suit alleges that Poulsen publicly stated in June that Thornton was mentally and emotionally unstable, had embezzled city funds, violated laws and was unfit to be a city employee.
Thornton says the actions of the three officials have caused him emotional pain, damaged his reputation, hampered future employability and jeopardized his status in the community.
An investigation this summer by the county attorney's office cleared the mayor of any illegal conduct. In August, the City Council considered a resolution to rehire Thornton to his former posi-tion, but only two council members voted in favor of the proposal. The council has since contracted with attorney Niel A. Lindberg for legal services.