Kennett Twp. supervisors settle lawsuit over chief's retirement
Two months after being accused of cutting a secret retirement deal with the police chief, the supervisors in a Chester County township agreed to settle a lawsuit over the deal and comply with transparency laws in the future.
Two months after being accused of cutting a secret retirement deal with the police chief, the supervisors in a Chester County township agreed to settle a lawsuit over the deal and comply with transparency laws in the future.
At a meeting Wednesday night, Kennett Township supervisors approved a court stipulation to that effect, saying its nondisclosure agreements are subject to the state's Sunshine Act.
It effectively ends a lawsuit filed in July by resident Michael Hammon contending Kennett Township supervisors had violated the Sunshine law by signing a retirement pact with former Chief Albert McCarthy without publicly discussing or voting on it.
Under the deal made May 7, McCarthy was to continue receiving his salary through Oct. 1 - which the lawsuit alleged would have cost about $45,000 - and agreed that he would not rescind his retirement.
The agreement had a nondisclosure clause that said the parties could not discuss the existence of the pact.
To settle the case, Hammon sought the public approval of McCarthy's deal, the approval of Wednesday's court stipulation, and the reimbursement of his legal fees.
In the same motion Wednesday, the board of supervisors approved the township's insurance company to settle the case and pay Hammon's fees.
The supervisors retroactively approved the agreement - and the payments to McCarthy that had already been made under it - at a special public meeting on July 29.
At that meeting, about two dozen residents spent nearly an hour asking questions.
Supervisor Scudder Stevens said the case did not create a transparency problem and asked residents to wait for all the facts.
On Wednesday, he said the settlement meant "neither side gets what they really want."
Said the township's lawyer, David Sander: "No admission of liability on either side. No admission that anybody did anything wrong."
McCarthy's name was removed from the lawsuit after the supervisors approved the agreement in July, said Mark Sereni, Hammon's attorney.
McCarthy was a sometimes troublesome figure during his four decades of tenure in Kennett Square Borough and then Kennett Township.
The retirement deal came less than a month after McCarthy and Hammon were involved in a motor vehicle accident. Hammon contends that McCarthy crashed his patrol vehicle into Hammon's car, and has initiated a lawsuit.
In 2011, McCarthy rear-ended a vehicle after suffering a seizure.
Confidential agreements can be made without violating transparency laws, so the case likely won't have widespread implications.
"Although I don't consider this settlement precedent-setting from a legal perspective, it does send the strong reminder to other municipalities that their taxpayers expect - and deserve - good and transparent government," Sereni said.
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