Muscatine sues former city attorney who admitted to helping fired official with lawsuit
An attorney already sanctioned by the Iowa Supreme Court for undermining the city he was working for now is on the receiving end of a legal action by his former client.
Matthew Brick, of the Brick Gentry law firm in West Des Moines, admitted in filings before the Supreme Court that while representing the city of Muscatine, he shared confidential information with the city's then-administrator, Gregg Mandsager, about Mandsager's impending firing, and advised him how to lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the mayor and council.
The Supreme Court found Brick, who specializes in legal representation of cities including Muscatine and Newton, had violated multiple ethical rules over the course of almost a year by providing advice against his client's interest, and suspended his law license for 30 days. Brick served that suspension in August 2023.
Muscatine fired Mandsager in 2019, and he sued the city, its mayor and council in 2021. His complaint included claims for disability discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge and conspiracy. The case is scheduled for trial in July, but on Feb. 26, the city filed its own petition in the case, not against Mandsager, but against Brick.
City: former attorney sabotaged our case
In its filing, the city cites the Supreme Court disciplinary case and alleges that Brick "assisted in engineering or causing this lawsuit" by Mandsager.
In particular, the city says, Brick admitted that after a council member during a meeting requested an agenda item to terminate Mandsager, and Mandsager shortly after texted him that he was considering seeking leave underthe Family and Medical Leave Act, he encouraged Mandsager to do so. Mandsager's subsequent lawsuit accuses the city of discrimination for terminating him while on that leave.
At one point, Brick texted Mandsager during a City Council debate on Mandsager's termination, writing "Hold on, I'm busy trying to save your job." Brick subsequently sought to sabotage the city's legal position by preparing a termination letter for Mandsager he intentionally wrote to be legally insufficient, the city says.
In their petition, the city and the city officials sued by Mandsager accuse Brick of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. They also argue that, to the extent the court finds any liability by the city toward Mandsager, Brick should be on the hook for some or all of those damages.
Years of litigation between Muscatine officials
The new petition is only the latest in a chain of litigation stretching back to 2017, when Muscatine's City Council impeached then-Mayor Diane Broderson. A district court later found Broderson had been improperly removed and reinstated her. Mandsager then sued Broderson for defamation, and she responded with her own defamation claims against both Mandsager and Brick. Those claims were all voluntarily dismissed prior to trial.
Brick, whom Muscatine has since replaced as city attorney, did not respond to a message seeking comment, and does not yet have an attorney listed to represent him. An attorney representing the city in its petition against Brick also did not respond to a message from the Des Moines Register.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Muscatine sues former lawyer after Iowa Supreme Court suspension
