The case of Mattox v. Montclair is closed, but it’s not over. The acrimony continued this week with email blasts copying the media on the back and forth between former councilman Ted Mattox, Montclair Township Attorney Alan G. Trembulak, and the law firm of Genova, Burns &Vernoia. Following a court order, the town is to provide Mattox with copies of all invoices for legal services incurred by the Township in connection with the Mattox v. Montclair litigation. The numbers are out: Town Manager Joe Hartnett told Baristanet that the town paid out $173, 840.57 during the three year legal battle. His full statement is after the jump; these are Hartnett’s closing remarks:
“It is truly unfortunate that Montclair taxpayers were required to bear the expense of litigating this matter for three years because Mr. Mattox chose the highly unusual action of suing the Township rather than resolving his personal conflicts and disagreements with his colleagues on the Council,” Hartnett stated, “especially since the courts consistently determined throughout this case that all Township officials acted in good faith and with the public’s interest in mind in awarding these contracts.”
It’s clear from the email exchanges that Mattox took offense when Trembulak notified him to come pick up the documents at the clerk’s office and pay the OPRA fee (which the lawyers subsequently recommend waiving). This morning, Mattox told Baristanet he still has not received the documents. Mattox sent this statement:
Taxpayers were suckered into bearing the expense of litigating this matter for three years because Mr. Mattox chose to uphold the law (which by law he was required to do). Current and former Mayors and Council members have chosen to violate the law.
Township Manager Joseph Hartnett released the following statement Thursday, September 24:
In light of the recent Court decision dismissing the remaining claims in the lawsuit filed by former Councilman Ted Mattox in 2006, the Township Legal Department has calculated the final costs incurred by the Township for legal services rendered by the law firm of Geneva, Burns & Vernoia. The Township was forced to hire outside counsel to handle this litigation because former Councilor Mattox named the Township’s attorney, Alan Trembulak, as a defendant, thereby disqualifying him from being able to perform the legal work at no cost to the Township.
For the three year period from September, 2006, through August, 2009, the total billing was $183,840.57, with net cost to the Township of $173,840.57, and $10,000 paid by the Township’s insurance provider. Approximately $21,000 of the cost is attributable to the Counterclaims filed by the Township and the balance of the Township’s costs (approximately $153,000) related directly to the defense of the contract claims initiated by Mr. Mattox. The invoices also confirm that the Township incurred approximately $15,000 in legal costs as a result of Mattox’s refusal to agree with the Township to dismiss the remainder of all claims and counterclaims after the contract claim was decided by the Court in August of 2008, a dismissal which the Court has now subsequently ordered in agreement with the Township’s position.
The yearly breakdown was: 2006 – $18,372.54; 2007 – $128,990.27; 2008 – $22,247.91; and 2009 – $14,229.85.
Mattox sent Baristanet a lengthy response today accusing Hartnett, of, among other things hiring an expensive outside lawfirm unnecessarily. You can read in its entirety by downloading the document here. This is an excerpt:
…It should also not be forgotten how we got “here” in the first place. It began with the $800,000.00 Wayfinding signage program for tourists visiting Montclair and illegal contracts being doled out to the previous administration’s friends on a no-bid basis. By my math, the township elected to spend $173,000.00 losing a lawsuit, but the residents still saved $800,000.00 on a misguided signage program. The decision to spend $173,000.00 was the township’s (the former and current administrations) decision. Joe Hartnett claims “that all Township officials acted in good faith and with the public’s interest in mind in awarding these contracts.” Unfortunately for Joe Harnett and Alan Trembulak, the courts did not agree.
I believe both of these “gentlemen” are a disgrace to this wonderful town.
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really who are these guys trying to convince in the flame war?
Us? All I see is a bunch of assholes with wounded egos taking money out of MY wallet.
Mattox was right. I think, though, that now it’s time to let it fade away. If anything, the township should be a lot less likely to ignore proper governance process going forward. Not a bad result.
Mattox sued and won, which means the township was judged to have been acting improperly. The disclosure of the $173k rubs salt in those wounds, but rather than take the embarrassment on the chin and move on, Hartnett chooses to flame Mattox. What a girlie man.
Walleroo: Mattox sued and lost.
http://www.montclairtimes.com/NC/0/2697.html
and Mattox took the bait.
His response should have been one line.
“I am grateful for Mr. Hartnett’s careful accounting, and I am gratified to have saved the township $800,000 at a cost of $173,840.57″
Take the blue pill, and you wake up in your bed, where you can believe what you want to believe….
Former councilman-at-large Ted Mattox last year won his initial claim challenging the township’s awarding of no-bid contracts totaling $112,000 to two quasi-public agencies–the Montclair Economic Development Corporation, which has since dissolved, and the Montclair Arts Council. Superior Court Judge Walter Koprowski Jr. ruled the contracts were misclassified as “extraordinarily unspecifiable services,” which are exempt from the public-bidding law.
Dr. von Roo, would you please give me a prescription for this blue pill? Right now, I would like to wake up and believe this Montclair is full of smart, happy, shiny people who all get along and work hard to keep us safe and prosperous all while maintaining the lowest real estate taxes in the state of NJ.
Sorry, jersey, you swallowed the red pill long ago, and you’re still falling down the rabbit hole.
3rdwarder, the link you posted gives the full story, but the bottom line is not “he sued and lost”…
“The original lawsuit was resolved in August 2008 when a Superior Court judge ruled that the MEDC and MAC contracts should have been awarded in a public bidding process.”
Maddox’s suit proved the town was wrong, but he could not prove the town acted maliciously so therefore he could not get his attorney fees back.
Maddox may very well be an ass, but he was right, and the taint from this is on Remsen and Hartnett.
All I see is a bunch of assholes with wounded egos taking money out of MY wallet.
His response should have been one line.
“I am grateful for Mr. Hartnett’s careful accounting, and I am gratified to have saved the township $800,000 at a cost of $173,840.57″
Thanks, ROC. Now I’ve nothing to add to the conversation.
except that according to walleroo Mattox only “saved” $112,000.
So we lost money on the deal.
Cost of lawsuit: $173,000.
Savings on contracts: $112,000.
Watching the Mattox-Hartnett mud circus: priceless.
From the desk of Herr Doktor Professor Metternicht von Klink-Walleroo IV
Ah, Walleroo’s post hadn’t shown up on my screen yet while I was in the process of agreeing with you.
This new info makes the first comment all the more true, though.
It seems that every institution in this town is completely broken. The schools (badly) and what passes for our local government. No one seems to have any respect for the taxpayers opinions or money (or intelligence).
Perhaps instead of circulating a petition to vote on the the BOE question we need to start looking at what it takes to recall some of our elected officials.
Enough is quite enough. Can we have some competent adults, please?
this town must be totally on the take
mr. trembulak is friends with plofker his office is in one of plofker buildings.
how does the town choose outside attorneys
is it based on who works for who
trembulak friends with ploker
plofker employees dave genova the son of the owner
of the law firm that just made 173,840.57 of our tax dollars wow wat a kick back
way to go steve allan dave and little dave
I see Montclair finally filled in all the potholes. Not paved the roads over, just filled in the holes. Nice to see money spent wisely and promptly as needed. Sarcasm.